Retree

Retro template

Worked well, Kinda worked, Didn't work

A 3-lane board that grades each practice, with an honest middle lane for the partial wins.

Start a Worked well, Kinda worked, Didn't work retroAll templates

Worked well

What worked well?

  • Feature flags kept the search rewrite safe
  • The support rotation kept interruptions off the team

Kinda worked

What partly worked?

  • Daily deploys, but one person ran them manually
  • Pairing helped, but the pairs never rotated

Didn't work

What did not work?

  • Shared staging: teams overwrote each other twice
  • Reviewing a 900-line pull request in one sitting
  • 3 lanesPrefilled the moment you start.
  • Writing timer 10 minSuggested for the preparation stage.
  • Best forTeams part-way through a change of process or tooling.

How it runs

  1. Preparation

    Everyone writes behind blurred cards. Set the timer to 10 minutes.

  2. Grouping

    Reveal, then drag cards together. Watch for one practice in 2 lanes.

  3. Voting

    3 votes each, stackable. Spend them on the middle lane.

  4. Discussion

    Items queue by votes. Ask what is missing, then assign an owner.

  5. Finished

    The recap lists votes and owners. Copy summary hands you the Markdown.

Column by column

  • Worked well

    What worked well?

    Practices that did what the team hoped, with no asterisk attached.

    • Feature flags kept the search rewrite safe
    • The support rotation kept interruptions off the team

  • Kinda worked

    What partly worked?

    Results that leaned on luck or on effort nobody can repeat. Write the practice and its asterisk together.

    • Daily deploys, but one person ran them manually
    • Pairing helped, but the pairs never rotated

  • Didn't work

    What did not work?

    Practices that failed outright and should be stopped, not tuned. Name the cost, never a person.

    • Shared staging: teams overwrote each other twice
    • Reviewing a 900-line pull request in one sitting

Best for

  • Teams part-way through a change of process or tooling.
  • Sprints where most things half-worked and a verdict would flatten the truth.
  • Teams that mark everything green and need a lane for doubt.

Pick another template when

Tips

  • Grade the practice, not the outcome. A heroic release belongs in the middle.
  • One card per practice, so it can be grouped and voted on.
  • An empty middle lane means the team is rounding up.

Questions

  • What belongs in the Kinda worked lane?

    Anything that produced a result but leaned on luck, overtime or one person.

  • Is WWW the same as went well?

    No. A went-well board forces every item into a verdict, and WWW grades the middle ground instead.

  • Who invented the WWW format?

    No primary source names an author, so we do not credit one.

  • How long does a WWW retro take?

    About 45 to 60 minutes for a team of 5 to 8. The middle lane takes the largest share.

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