🧟♂️🪓 Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
Prepare for a survival retro! Reflect on how our team battled through challenges like skilled survivors, finding shelter in wins, dodging setbacks like zombies, and planning our next safe steps.
Template Columns
🔦 Safe Houses
Share the moments and strategies that kept our team safe, strong, and moving forward.
Base column: Glad🩹 Bitten Moments
Reveal the setbacks and situations that left us feeling vulnerable, like near-misses with zombies.
Base column: Sad🔥 Barricade Breaches
Discuss the frustrations and blockers where things almost—or did—spiral out of control.
Base column: MadAbout this template
This survival-themed retrospective uses the analogy of a zombie apocalypse to help teams reflect on wins, vulnerabilities, and critical blockers in a fun and engaging way.
When to use this template
Use this format when you've faced a challenging sprint, project, or period with unexpected hurdles. It's especially effective when energy is low and a creative approach could re-energize the team.
How to facilitate
Open the session by framing the retrospective as a zombie apocalypse scenario, inviting everyone to step into the theme and get creative.
Give each team member time to add cards to the Safe Houses, Bitten Moments, and Barricade Breaches columns, sharing personal or observed experiences.
Once cards are visible, group similar items and explore common patterns together.
Invite team members to discuss the most impactful or surprising points in each column, focusing on how the team survived and what nearly stopped them.
Ask the team to identify actions or habits that strengthened your 'defenses' and discuss how to reinforce them in the future.
Collaboratively generate action items to address key breaches or vulnerabilities, ensuring each item has an owner and a measurable outcome.
Close the session with a quick round: what’s one thing that would help the team feel even safer or stronger in the next period?
Pro Tips
Lean into the theme by using creative language—it can help ease tension and promote open sharing.
Encourage quieter team members to reflect on their survival strategies; small wins can be as valuable as big ones.
Prioritize a few key action items to avoid overwhelming the team with too much change at once.
Use brief check-ins during discussion to ensure everyone is engaged and comfortable moving on.
FAQ
How do we keep the zombie theme from being distracting?
Frame the theme as a creative lens, not the main focus. Guide discussions back to real team experiences using the themed columns as prompts.
What if some team members don’t like themed retrospectives?
Invite everyone to participate at their comfort level and clarify that the theme is a tool for reflection, not a requirement for roleplay.
How do we avoid dwelling only on negatives like setbacks and blockers?
Start with Safe Houses to spotlight strengths and successes before moving into challenges, maintaining a balanced conversation.
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At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Glad, Sad, Mad
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective