Retrospective Template: WWW
What is the WWW (Worked Well) retrospective?
The WWW retrospective sorts everything from the sprint into three honest buckets: what worked well, what kinda worked, and what didn't work. The middle column is the clever part. Instead of forcing every item into a binary good-or-bad split, it gives the team room for the messy, partial outcomes that real work is full of. Those half-successes are often where the most useful improvements hide.
- Worked well
- Kinda worked
- Didn't work
Worked well
List the clear successes, the things you would happily do again. Recognizing them helps the team protect and repeat its best practices.
Kinda worked
Capture the partial wins, the things that helped but fell short. This column sparks the richest discussion, since these items can usually be tuned into full successes.
Didn't work
Be candid about what failed or caused problems. Naming these clearly lets the team decide what to stop, fix, or replace.
Benefits of this retrospective
- Simple three-column structure anyone can follow
- The middle column captures nuance other formats lose
- Encourages honesty without harsh judgment
- Quick to facilitate, even for new teams
- Highlights easy wins hiding in partial successes
How to run the WWW retrospective
- Create a board in QRetro using the WWW (Worked Well) template.
- Invite the team and give everyone time to add cards silently.
- Group related notes within each column.
- Pay special attention to the Kinda Worked column for improvement ideas.
- Vote on the items the team most wants to address.
- Convert the top topics into action items with owners.
