🧟♂️🧟♀️ Zombie Outbreak
Survive the sprint's undead challenges, celebrate fresh brains (wins), mourn the dead code, and slay lingering bugs together.
Template Columns
🧟♀️ Fresh Brains
Share the victories that gave us new life this sprint.
Base column: Glad🪦 Graveyard Gloom
Reflect on the setbacks that left us feeling buried.
Base column: Sad🔥 Undead Fury
Vent the frustrations that made us feel like zombies.
Base column: MadAbout this template
A themed retro where the team battles sprint challenges as a zombie outbreak, celebrating wins, learning from setbacks, and tackling lingering bugs.
When to use this template
Use when the team needs a high‑energy, creative wrap‑up after a hectic sprint or wants to break routine retros.
How to facilitate
Introduce the zombie outbreak theme and explain the purpose of Fresh Brains, Graveyard Gloom, and Undead Fury columns
Ask participants to write their observations on virtual sticky notes and place them in the appropriate column
Group similar notes within each column and discuss the most impactful items
Vote on the top items in each column to identify priorities
Turn the highest‑voted frustrations into concrete improvement actions and assign owners
Summarize the agreed actions and close with a quick morale boost or survival pledge
Pro Tips
Keep the language playful but ensure the underlying issues stay clear
Limit each participant to three notes per column to keep discussion focused
Use timed blocks for each column to maintain momentum
Add emojis or icons to sticky notes to reinforce the zombie theme
FAQ
What if the team isn’t familiar with the zombie theme?
Briefly explain the metaphor and focus on the purpose of each column; the theme is just a fun wrapper for serious discussion.
How do we keep the retro productive and not just a game?
Set clear time limits for each phase and prioritize actionable outcomes over jokes, using voting to surface the most important items.
What if we have too many items in a column?
Use dot voting or a quick ranking to surface the critical items and defer the rest to the backlog for later review.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Glad, Sad, Mad
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective