🚦🛣️ Traffic Signs
Navigate your team's journey like the open road—use traffic signs to guide habits, avoid hazards, and speed toward success. Let’s signal together for smooth, safe, and efficient delivery!
Template Columns
🟢 Green Light: New Lanes Ahead
Suggest new practices or experiments to begin for a smoother drive forward.
Base column: Startđź”´ Stop Sign: Roadblocks Detected
Identify behaviors or obstacles we should halt to avoid project accidents.
Base column: Stop🟡 Keep Going: Cruise Control
Highlight actions and routines that keep our journey on track and should continue.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Traffic Signs retrospective uses familiar road signals to help teams identify which habits to start, stop, or keep for smoother, safer progress.
When to use this template
Use this format when your team needs to evaluate current workflows, address obstacles, and encourage new improvements—especially after a challenging sprint or project.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone and briefly introduce the traffic signs theme to set a collaborative, journey-focused tone.
Explain each column: Green for new ideas or practices to try, Red for things to stop, and Yellow for routines that should continue.
Ask team members to reflect individually and add their thoughts to each column in Kollabe (5–7 min).
Invite participants to review each other's contributions silently to spot patterns or recurring topics.
Facilitate a group discussion, grouping similar ideas and clarifying any points as needed—ensure all voices are heard.
Vote together on the most critical items in each column for action or further discussion.
Prioritize actions based on votes and collectively decide on next steps, responsibilities, and expected outcomes.
Review the action plan, celebrate effective routines, and thank the team for their thoughtful input.
Pro Tips
Have participants share personal examples tied to each sign—concrete stories foster empathy and clarity.
Use visuals like digital traffic signs or a shared whiteboard to make the session more engaging online.
Encourage quieter teammates to share first to provide everyone a chance to contribute without group bias.
Revisit the previous retrospective’s action items at the start to assess progress and context.
FAQ
What if the team struggles to suggest items in the green 'New Lanes Ahead' column?
Prompt with questions like 'What’s one small experiment we haven’t tried?' or offer inspiration from agile best practices.
How do we avoid focusing only on faults in the red 'Stop Sign' column?
Balance by celebrating what’s working in the yellow column and ensure discussion time is distributed fairly across all columns.
Can we use this retrospective for cross-team reviews?
Yes, but keep the group size manageable for effective discussion—split into smaller groups if needed.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective