Random Sprint Retro Format Generator
Random retrospective format for your team.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Last checked
Stuck running Start/Stop/Continue every single sprint? This generator draws one of 12 retrospective formats — Sailboat, 4Ls, Mad/Sad/Glad, KALM and more — each shown with its structure and a one-line facilitation note so you can set up the board immediately. Enable the no-repeat option and formats you have already run stay excluded until all 12 have appeared.
Draw. Click "Get a format" for a random retro format.
Click Get a format to see a result.
Options
Recent results
- No history yet.
How it works
- Draw. Click "Get a format" for a random retro format.
- Run it. Use the structure and facilitation note to set up your retro board.
- Stay fresh. Turn on no-repeats so your team doesn't run the same format every sprint.
- Copy. Click Copy to paste the format and its structure into your retro invite.
About the Random Sprint Retro Format Generator
Format fatigue is the problem being solved
Teams settle on one retrospective format, usually Start / Stop / Continue, and then slowly stop hearing anything new. The format is not at fault — the columns are simply a set of questions, and people who have answered the same three questions eleven sprints running answer them from memory. Changing the questions changes what gets noticed.
Each draw returns a format with its structure and a facilitation note explaining what it is good at and where it fails. Those notes are the useful part: several formats on this list are actively wrong for a team in a bad state, and the note says so rather than presenting all of them as interchangeable.
What "no repeats" guarantees
With No repeats on, the tool tracks which formats you have already drawn and picks only from those remaining. When you have worked through all of them it clears the record and starts the cycle again, so you get a full rotation before anything comes round a second time.
The record is stored in this browser. If retros are facilitated by different people on different machines, each facilitator has their own separate history and the rotation will not be shared — in that case, keep the list somewhere the team can see instead of relying on the option.
Reading the facilitation note before you commit
Some formats on this list carry real prerequisites. The emotional four-column formats need a team that already has enough safety to use them honestly, and will produce blank columns from a team that does not. Five Whys is not a general retro at all — it is for one specific incident, and it turns nasty if the chain of causes ends at a person. The appreciation format generates no actions by design and reads as avoidance if there is an unresolved problem in the room.
Drawing a format at random and running it without reading the note is how a retro goes badly. The draw is there to break the habit, not to remove the facilitator’s judgement — if what you get is wrong for this week, draw again on purpose.
Frequently asked questions
What formats are included?
Twelve common formats, including Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls (Liked/Learned/Lacked/Longed for), Sailboat, Mad/Sad/Glad, Plus/Delta, and KALM (Keep/Add/Less/More). Each result shows the format's structure plus a one-line facilitation note for running it.
How does the no-repeat option work across sprints?
Drawn format names are stored in your browser's local storage, so the memory survives between visits. You won't see a repeat until all 12 formats have been used, then the cycle resets automatically.
Does it generate the retro questions too?
No — you get the format's column structure and a short facilitation note. Your team supplies the actual discussion; the tool just decides which frame you use this sprint.
Can I share the chosen format with my team before the retro?
Yes. Click Copy to put the format name and structure on your clipboard, then paste it into your retro invite or board template. The draw also stays in the page's history list.
Is one format more likely to come up than another?
No. Picks use your browser's crypto.getRandomValues, so each of the 12 formats has an equal chance — unless no-repeats is on, in which case already-used formats are excluded until the cycle completes.
Related randomizers
Further reading
- Which retro format fits the sprint you actually had
Rotating retro formats keeps them fresh, but some sprints call for a specific shape. Here's a facilitator's guide to matching the format to what really happened — a rough sprint, a smooth one, a big milestone, or a team that's gone quiet.
- Format fatigue is why your retros are getting quieter
Start/Stop/Continue was great for the first ten sprints. Now the board fills up in silence and half the team says 'same as last time.' Here's the real failure mode behind quiet retros — and how rotating formats fixes it.