Easter Egg Hunt Retrospective

An Easter-themed retro for wins, problems and surprises.

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Good Eggs

What went well and deserves to be celebrated?

We shipped the new feature ahead of schedule and the demo went brilliantly.
Pairing on the tricky integration saved us hours of back-and-forth.
Our daily standups were short, focused, and actually useful this time.
Cracked Eggs

What broke, went wrong, or caused frustration?

The staging environment kept falling over and slowed everyone down.
Requirements changed mid-sprint without us re-estimating the work.
Too many meetings made it hard to find focus time.
Golden Eggs

What pleasant surprises or unexpected wins did we find?

A customer reached out unprompted to say how much they love the new dashboard.
The hackday experiment turned into something we actually want to ship.
A new team member spotted an issue that saved us a costly mistake.
Eggs Still Hidden

What opportunities or next steps are waiting to be found?

We should automate the release process to remove manual steps.
Let's set up a shared backlog grooming session before each sprint.
There's an opportunity to document our deployment runbook properly.

What is the Easter Egg Hunt retrospective?

The Easter Egg Hunt Retrospective turns a look back at a sprint, project or quarter into a hunt. Your team searches for four kinds of egg: good eggs for wins worth celebrating, cracked eggs for what went wrong, golden eggs for the unexpected delights, and eggs still hidden for the opportunities you haven't chased yet. Framing feedback as things people found, instead of answers to pointed questions, makes it easier for quieter team members to join in. Once the eggs are collected, group them in TeamRetro, vote on the ones that matter most and turn the best finds into actions with owners. It suits the Easter season, but it works any time your retros feel a little stale and the team could use a lighter session that still deals honestly with problems.

Easter Egg Hunt retrospective format

Good Eggs

What went well and deserves to be celebrated?

Start the hunt with the wins, big and small, that the team is proud of. It sets a positive tone, and naming what works makes it more likely the team keeps doing it.

Cracked Eggs

What broke, went wrong, or caused frustration?

List the problems, blockers and frustrations the team ran into. Treat them as things to learn from, keep the focus on the situation and process, and look for patterns the team can fix together.

Golden Eggs

What pleasant surprises or unexpected wins did we find?

These are the surprises: things that went better than expected, or help nobody planned for. They often go unnoticed, so ask who or what made each one happen.

Eggs Still Hidden

What opportunities or next steps are waiting to be found?

Look forward. Ask what opportunities and improvements the team hasn't chased yet, pick the ones most worth going after, and turn them into next steps with owners.

When to use this retrospective

  • Around Easter, when you want a seasonal theme.
  • When energy in retros has dropped and you want a lighter format.
  • After a sprint or project, to celebrate wins while still being honest about problems.
  • When you want a low-pressure way to get quieter team members contributing.
  • At the end of a quarter or milestone, to balance celebration with planning ahead.

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • What's the best hidden treasure or unexpected gift you've ever stumbled upon?
  • If you could hide one 'golden egg' surprise for your team, what would be inside it?

Want a warm-up your team plays, not just answers out loud? Browse free icebreakers →

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Open with a short, light intro to the theme so people relax into the metaphor.
  • Timebox each hunt so you don't spend too long in any one basket.
  • Start with Good Eggs and Golden Eggs before you get to Cracked Eggs.
  • Group similar eggs and use dot voting to focus on the finds that matter most.
  • Close by turning the best Eggs Still Hidden into actions with owners, so the hunt leads to change.
  • Keep Cracked Eggs blameless. Talk about the process, not the person.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an Easter Egg Hunt retrospective take?
Most sessions take 45 to 60 minutes, depending on team size. Allow a few minutes for the themed intro, then timebox brainstorming, grouping, voting and actions.
When should I use the Easter Egg Hunt retrospective?
Use it around Easter, or any time you want a themed retro that still surfaces real wins and problems.
How is it different from a standard Start, Stop, Continue retrospective?
Start, Stop, Continue asks what to change about how you work. The Easter Egg Hunt covers wins, problems, pleasant surprises and future opportunities, so it leaves more room to celebrate alongside the fixes.
Is this template suitable for remote teams?
Yes. In TeamRetro everyone adds their eggs anonymously or by name, then the team groups, votes and creates actions together, live or asynchronously.
Can beginners or non-agile teams use it?
Yes. The metaphor needs no explanation beyond the four kinds of egg, so it works for teams new to retrospectives or outside formal agile processes.

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Baby Steps Retrospective

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