Good, Bad, Ideas, Action Retrospective

Retrospective formats come in all shapes and sizes, and it's up to you to decide which format best fits your team!
Thankfully, the one we’re talking about today is quick, easy, and as straightforward as can be! Keep reading to find out how your team can run an effective Good, Bad, Ideas, Actions Retrospective, also called the Quick Retrospective. 

‍

What is the Good, Bad, Ideas, Action Sprint Retrospective?

The quick retrospective format is a great way to rehash some things that went well in the last sprint, as well as what didn’t go quite so well. Once the good and bad have been discussed, then the team works together to create new ideas and actions to use in the next sprint. This retrospective is productive and collaborative, making sure to include everyone on the team.

There are 4separate parts to this format, which include:

●     Good: This is the part of the retrospective meeting in which the entire team discusses the good that came out of the past sprint. Team members share everything they thought went well in order to use those good things to build new ideas for future sprints.

●     Bad: In this section of the meeting, the team discusses anything bad that happened or anything that went wrong. This can be anything from a small incident to something that went terribly wrong. Understanding exactly what went wrong and how it went wrong is a good first step in correcting these issues for next time.

●     Ideas: This is the point in the meeting where everyone throws out their ideas of improving the next sprint. They can use what they've learned from discussing the good and bad and go from there. This isn’t the planning part of the meeting, but more of a brainstorm, getting all of the ideas out to be discussed at further lengths later.

●     Action: In this section of the meeting, the team creates an action plan for the upcoming sprint. It can be one (or some) of the ideas listed during the previous section, but it should always take into account the good and bad, using those to come up with a solid plan of action. This is what your team will put into effect during the upcoming spring to hopefully improve some from the last time.

‍

How to run the Quick Retrospective Format?

The best way to hold this retrospective meeting is by having a whiteboard divided into four sections and giving each team member a stack of sticky notes. You can have them write the answers to the four topics on sticky notes and then stick them in the appropriate square on the board. Once everyone is done, then you can have a discussion and come up with ideas about how the following sprint can be improved.

What are the Good, Bad, Ideas, Action Sprint Retro format uses?

No matter how you call it , he Quick Retrospective or the Good, Bad, Ideas, Action retro, this retrospective is an excellent way to be straightforward and get right to the point in order to get everyone on the same page and ensure that everyone is in agreement with how things can be improved in the future. The important part of this format is to give each team member the chance to voice their opinions on what was good, what was bad, and to give their ideas and then work together to come up with an action plan.

When can the Good, Bad, Ideas, Action Sprint Retrospective be used?

This retro format is great for teams who are not familiar with retrospective meetings because it dives right in, and is easy to understand and use. It is best used at the end of a sprint so that the team can reflect on each of these aspects and come up with a solid action plan for the next sprint.

Go Quickly– GoRetro!

Do you think your team would benefit if your retrospective meetings got faster, simpler, and way more fun? Take a look at GoRetro and that could become a reality! This forever-free online retrospective tool helps you keep your scrum retrospectives as productive, quick, and painless as possible. 

With GoRetro’s plethora of customizable retrospective boards, team management features, and collaboration opportunities, it’s worth your while to give the site a look– so what’s stopping you? Create your own retrospective boards for free, today! 

Learn more about agile retrospective activities by visiting our retrospective templates gallery. Additionally, you can find more agile retrospective ideas in our blog post.

‍