🦅🏛️ White House Briefing
Welcome to the White House Briefing retro! Review the triumphs, missteps, and reforms of our sprint as if debriefing a presidential agenda. Let’s legislate better outcomes together!
Template Columns
✅🗽 Successful Policies
Highlight the initiatives that delivered positive results in our sprint.
Base column: What Went Well❌🗽 Policy Pitfalls
Identify the missteps and challenges that hindered progress.
Base column: What Went Wrong🔧🇺🇸 Future Reforms
Propose actionable improvements to strengthen our next sprint.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
A presidential‑style sprint review that celebrates successes, uncovers policy‑level pitfalls, and drafts actionable reforms for the next sprint.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a structured, high‑level debrief that frames work as a national agenda, especially after a milestone or quarterly sprint.
How to facilitate
Introduce the White House Briefing theme, set ground rules, and explain each column metaphor.
Review the Successful Policies column, letting each member share one win and its impact.
Move to Policy Pitfalls, encouraging honest brief statements about obstacles and their effects.
Group similar pitfalls and vote to identify the top two issues that need immediate attention.
In Future Reforms, brainstorm concrete actions to address the top pitfalls and improve the next sprint.
Prioritize the reforms, assign owners, record them on the shared board, and close with a quick recap and commitment.
Pro Tips
Use a virtual gavel emoji to signal when a speaker has the floor, keeping remote discussions orderly.
Limit each win or pitfall to a 30‑second sound bite to maintain focus and momentum.
Capture actions directly in the shared board with due dates during the recap to ensure accountability.
FAQ
How can we prevent dominant voices from steering the briefing?
Rotate the speaker role for each column and use timed prompts so everyone gets an equal chance to contribute.
What if the team struggles to identify policy pitfalls?
Prompt with specific questions like “What blocked our progress?” or “Which decisions caused rework?” to surface hidden issues.
Can this format work for a small team of three?
Yes, the structure scales down; focus on one or two items per column and spend more time on deep discussion of each.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective