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Prompts Sprint Retrospective Facilitator

agent operations skill risk: low

Sprint Retrospective Facilitator

Guides a structured sprint retrospective by selecting formats such as Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, or Sailboat, analyzing raw feedback and sprint performance data, grouping themes, an…

SKILL 1 file

SKILL.md
---
name: retro
description: "Facilitate a structured sprint retrospective — what went well, what didn't, and prioritized action items with owners and deadlines. Use when running a retrospective, reflecting on a sprint, creating action items from team feedback, or learning how to run effective retros."
---
## Sprint Retrospective Facilitator

Run a structured retrospective that surfaces insights and produces actionable improvements.

### Context

You are facilitating a retrospective for **$ARGUMENTS**.

If the user provides files (sprint data, velocity charts, team feedback, or previous retro notes), read them first.

### Instructions

1. **Choose a retro format** based on context (or let the user pick):

   **Format A — Start / Stop / Continue**:
   - **Start**: What should we begin doing?
   - **Stop**: What should we stop doing?
   - **Continue**: What's working well that we should keep?

   **Format B — 4Ls (Liked / Learned / Lacked / Longed For)**:
   - **Liked**: What did the team enjoy?
   - **Learned**: What new knowledge was gained?
   - **Lacked**: What was missing?
   - **Longed For**: What do we wish we had?

   **Format C — Sailboat**:
   - **Wind (propels us)**: What's driving us forward?
   - **Anchor (holds us back)**: What's slowing us down?
   - **Rocks (risks)**: What dangers lie ahead?
   - **Island (goal)**: Where are we trying to get to?

2. **If the user provides raw feedback** (e.g., sticky notes, survey responses, Slack messages):
   - Group similar items into themes
   - Identify the most frequently mentioned topics
   - Note sentiment patterns (frustration, energy, confusion)

3. **Analyze the sprint performance**:
   - Sprint goal: achieved or not?
   - Velocity vs. commitment (over-committed? under-committed?)
   - Blockers encountered and how they were resolved
   - Collaboration patterns (what worked, what didn't)

4. **Generate prioritized action items**:

   | Priority | Action Item | Owner | Deadline | Success Metric |
   |---|---|---|---|---|
   | 1 | [Specific, actionable improvement] | [Name/Role] | [Date] | [How we'll know it worked] |

   - Limit to 2-3 action items (more won't get done)
   - Each must be specific, assignable, and measurable
   - Reference previous retro actions if available — were they completed?

5. **Create the retro summary**:
   ```
   ## Sprint [X] Retrospective — [Date]

   ### Sprint Performance
   - Goal: [Achieved / Partially / Missed]
   - Committed: [X pts] | Completed: [Y pts]

   ### Key Themes
   1. [Theme] — [summary]

   ### Action Items
   1. [Action] — [Owner] — [By date]

   ### Carry-over from Last Retro
   - [Previous action] — [Status: Done / In Progress / Not Started]
   ```

Save as markdown. Keep the tone constructive — the goal is improvement, not blame.

INPUTS

$ARGUMENTS REQUIRED

sprint or team context for the retrospective

REQUIRED CONTEXT

  • $ARGUMENTS (sprint context)

OPTIONAL CONTEXT

  • files (sprint data, velocity charts, team feedback, previous retro notes)
  • raw feedback (sticky notes, survey responses, Slack messages)

ROLES & RULES

Role assignments

  • Sprint Retrospective Facilitator
  • You are facilitating a retrospective for **$ARGUMENTS**.
  1. If the user provides files, read them first.
  2. Group similar items into themes.
  3. Identify the most frequently mentioned topics.
  4. Note sentiment patterns.
  5. Limit to 2-3 action items.
  6. Each must be specific, assignable, and measurable.
  7. Reference previous retro actions if available.
  8. Save as markdown.
  9. Keep the tone constructive.

EXPECTED OUTPUT

Format
markdown
Schema
markdown_sections · Sprint Performance, Key Themes, Action Items, Carry-over from Last Retro
Constraints
  • use one of the three specified retro formats
  • limit to 2-3 action items
  • include table for action items with priority, owner, deadline and success metric
  • keep tone constructive
  • save as markdown
  • reference previous retro actions if available

SUCCESS CRITERIA

  • Surfaces insights and produces actionable improvements.
  • Limit to 2-3 action items.
  • Each action item must be specific, assignable, and measurable.

CAVEATS

Dependencies
  • Requires $ARGUMENTS context.
  • Requires uploaded files if provided.
  • Requires previous retro actions if available.
Missing context
  • How $ARGUMENTS is supplied or formatted
Ambiguities
  • Format choice rule ('based on context') is not fully specified

QUALITY

OVERALL
0.85
CLARITY
0.90
SPECIFICITY
0.80
REUSABILITY
0.85
COMPLETENESS
0.85

IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

  • Add explicit decision criteria or default for choosing among the three retro formats
  • Specify how to handle the case when no files or raw feedback are provided

USAGE

Copy the prompt above and paste it into your AI of choice — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or anywhere else you're working. Replace any placeholder sections with your own context, then ask for the output.

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