🎃👻 Trick-or-Treat Terror Retro
Gather your ghouls and goblins to haunt the sprint: share the spooky successes, banish the curses, and keep the sweet treats rolling forward.
Template Columns
🕸️ Start the Haunt
Identify new spooky initiatives to launch this sprint.
Base column: Start🚫 Stop the Curses
Pinpoint haunting habits that drain our energy and must be banished.
Base column: Stop🍬 Continue the Treats
Celebrate and keep the sweet practices that delight the team.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A Halloween‑themed sprint retro that surfaces new ideas, stops draining habits, and reinforces sweet practices.
When to use this template
Use when you want a fun, themed way to surface actionable insights and boost team morale, especially at the end of a sprint.
How to facilitate
Set the mood by sharing the Halloween theme and briefly explain the three columns: Start the Haunt, Stop the Curses, Continue the Treats
Give each participant 3–5 minutes to write sticky notes for each column, focusing on concrete actions or observations
Collect the notes, group similar items, and place them under the appropriate column on the virtual board
Facilitate a discussion column by column, asking the team to elaborate, vote on the most important items, and decide on next‑step owners
Summarize the agreed actions, record them in the sprint backlog, and close with a quick spooky shout‑out to celebrate the treats
Pro Tips
Use Halloween emojis or virtual backgrounds to keep energy high without distracting from the content
Limit each note to one idea and a clear owner to avoid vague action items
Allocate a timer for each column discussion to keep the retro within the timebox
FAQ
What if the team isn’t familiar with the Halloween theme?
Explain the metaphor briefly and reassure that the focus is on the three practical questions, not on costumes; you can keep the language simple.
How do we handle a large number of items in a column?
Group similar notes together, then use dot voting to surface the top three items to discuss in depth.
Can this retro be used for non‑sprint meetings?
Yes, the format works for any iteration or project checkpoint where you want to identify new initiatives, stop harmful habits, and reinforce positives.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
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Use this template to run your next retrospective