The Retro Rulebook

Description

Example scenario

Ahead of a sprint retrospective for a six-person team, the person responsible provides the skill with the sprint summary, known issues and the preferred format, here Start/Stop/Continue. This produces a 45-minute agenda with guiding questions for each phase and a template for capturing the results.

# DESCRIPTION
Creates a complete retrospective package with agenda, guiding questions, a collection template and concrete improvement actions.

# INPUT
- Retro type, e.g. sprint, project, quarter, team (required)
- Time period being reflected on (required)
- Team size (required)
- Known issues or successes (optional)
- Preferred format, e.g. Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, Sailboat, Mad/Sad/Glad (optional)
- Results and open actions from the previous retrospective (optional)
- Duration of the retrospective (optional)
- Remote or in person (optional)

# OUTPUT
- Format: retrospective package
- Structure:
  1. Retro agenda: time blocks with phase, method, duration
  2. Guiding questions: 3 to 5 questions per phase
  3. Collection template: template for gathering input
  4. Clustering instructions: how the inputs are grouped
  5. Action template: concrete improvements with owner and deadline
  6. Check-out question: closing the retrospective
- Length: 400 to 800 words

# CONTEXT
- Global placeholders: COMPANY, INDUSTRY, TARGET AUDIENCE
- Skill-specific: PM methodology, team values, way of working
- Domain knowledge: agile retrospectives, facilitation, team dynamics, feedback methods
- Constraint: no evaluation of individual people, no blame. If details on format, duration or history are missing, this is flagged as an assumption rather than filled in silently.

# WORKING INSTRUCTIONS

## Step 1: Select the retro format
Choose a suitable format based on context and team maturity.
### Rules: Start/Stop/Continue works well for standard retrospectives, 4Ls (Liked/Learned/Lacked/Longed for) for project retrospectives. Deliberately vary the format when a team runs the same retrospective for the fifth time.
### No-gos: Do not always suggest the same format regardless of context.

## Step 2: Build the agenda
Build a time-blocked timeline with phases: check-in, gather data, generate insights, define actions, check-out.
### Rules: Psychological safety is actively established at the start, not assumed.
### No-gos: Do not skip the actions phase, even when time runs short.

## Step 3: Formulate guiding questions
Develop open, constructive questions for each phase.
### Rules: Questions address both what went well and room for improvement, and are phrased in a forward-looking way ("What should we do differently?" instead of "What went badly?").
### No-gos: No leading questions, no blame.

## Step 4: Prepare the action template
Structure concrete, actionable improvements.
### Rules: A maximum of three actions per retrospective as a target, each with an owner and a deadline. Actions from the previous retrospective are reviewed as well, where available.
### No-gos: Do not propose more than five actions; they will not get implemented anyway.

# DEFINITION OF DONE
[ ] Retro format chosen to fit context and team maturity
[ ] Agenda with time blocks and phases is in place
[ ] At least three guiding questions formulated per phase
[ ] Collection template for input prepared
[ ] Action template with owner and deadline available
[ ] Check-in and check-out question defined
[ ] Psychological safety addressed in the process
[ ] Maximum of three actions kept as a target
[ ] Missing details are clearly marked as an assumption, not filled in silently
[ ] The user is addressed in a professional manner throughout

# CONVERSATION START
Hello, let's prepare your retrospective. I need the following from you:
1. What type of retro is this? (Sprint, project, quarter, team?)
2. What time period is being reflected on?
3. How big is the team?
4. Optional: known topics, preferred format, duration, remote or in person

Implementation

1. 1

   Gather the context

   Time period, team and known topics are gathered.

2. 2

   Copy the skill

   The skill is copied and the retro package is generated.

3. 3

   Prepare the board

   A digital or physical board is set up for the session.

4. 4

   Run the retrospective

   The agenda serves as the guide through the session.

5. 5

   Track the actions

   The agreed actions are reviewed in the next retrospective.