Run a Project Retrospective in 15 Minutes (4-Question Framework)

Project retrospectives take forever.

You gather the team. Someone talks for 20 minutes about a bug that got fixed. Another person brings up something from three sprints ago. An hour passes and you have no actionable takeaways.

Then you spend another 2 hours writing up the findings in a document nobody reads.

The 15-Minute Format

Record a 10-minute team discussion. Format the answers. Done.

The 4 Questions

Ask your team these exact questions:

1. What worked? (2 minutes)

What should we do again? What surprised us in a good way?

2. What didn't work? (3 minutes)

What slowed us down? What would we change?

3. What did we learn? (3 minutes)

What do we know now that we didn't before? What assumption was wrong?

4. What's next? (2 minutes)

What will we try differently? What needs to change?

That's it. Don't let anyone monologue. Keep it moving.

The Recording Method

Gather your team on Zoom for 10 minutes. Ask the 4 questions. Let people talk.

Record it. Transcribe it. Pull out the key points.

Format like this:

PROJECT RETROSPECTIVE: [Name]

WHAT WORKED:
• [Thing 1]
• [Thing 2]

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
• [Thing 1]
• [Thing 2]

WHAT WE LEARNED:
• [Learning 1]
• [Learning 2]

WHAT'S NEXT:
• [Change 1] — Owner: [Name]
• [Change 2] — Owner: [Name]

StatusDraft generates this from your recording—upload the team discussion and it formats the retrospective into a shareable card.

Why This Works Better

Short retrospectives with direct quotes from team members are more honest than polished documents.

Long retrospectives with analysis paragraphs? Nobody reads them. They go in a folder and never get referenced again.

The Async Version

Can't get everyone on a call? Send the 4 questions in Slack. Give them 24 hours to respond.

Collect the responses. Format them in the template.