Love, Wish & Wonderland Retrospective

Love, Wish & Wonderland retrospective format

Love

What do you genuinely value and want to keep?

Use this column to surface the practices, habits and wins the team values and wants to protect. Ask people to be specific and to thank teammates by name. Starting with what's working builds the trust you need for honest reflection later in the session.

Wish

What changes or improvements would you like to see?

This is the place for constructive hopes: what people wish were different or possible. Ask for wishes framed as what you want, not as complaints, and focus on what's within the team's control. Group similar wishes and vote so you can pick the most useful ones to act on.

Wonderland

What bold 'what if' ideas could we explore?

Wonderland is the no-limits column. Invite the team to set practical constraints aside and dream. Capture even the wildest suggestions, since some of the best ideas start as a playful 'what if'. You can decide later which ones are worth a pilot.

Actions

What will we commit to doing next?

Turn the strongest loves, wishes and Wonderland ideas into clear actions, each with an owner and a date. Keep the list short enough to finish before the next session, and review it at the start of your next retrospective.

When to use this retrospective

• When the team wants a change from the standard sprint retrospective.
• After reaching a milestone or finishing a project, to celebrate and think about what's next.
• When morale or energy is low and you want to start from what's going well.
• At the start of a new initiative where open, blue-sky thinking is useful.
• When you want practical improvements and bigger ideas in the same session.

Suggested icebreaker questions

• If your team had a magic wand, what one thing would you instantly change about how you work?
• What fictional place or story world best represents your team right now, and why?

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

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

• Say at the start that Wonderland is judgment-free, so people feel safe sharing wild ideas.
• Start with Love to build some positive energy before moving on to wishes and what-ifs.
• Use anonymous input so quieter or more junior team members share openly.
• Timebox each column so Wonderland doesn't crowd out the actions.
• Group and vote on ideas to find the themes that matter most to the whole team.
• Turn the top wishes and Wonderland ideas into actions with owners, so the session changes something.

Frequently asked questions