Sherlock Retrospective

Investigate your last sprint like a detective.

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Case closed

What did we solve?

Successfully debugged the persistent login issue that was affecting our users
Finally figured out why our deployment pipeline was inconsistent
Resolved the communication gap between development and QA teams
Clues

What helped us on the way?

The daily stand-ups helped us spot patterns in the issues we were facing
Having detailed logging made it easier to trace the problems
The pair programming sessions revealed important insights
Elementary

What have we learned?

Early involvement of QA prevents most of our critical issues
Breaking down large features into smaller tasks improves our delivery speed
Regular backups saved us multiple times. It's elementary.
Puzzles

What remains a mystery?

Why does the system occasionally slow down during peak hours?
How can we better predict user behavior in the new feature?
What's causing the intermittent failures in our test environment?

What is the Sherlock Retrospective?

The Sherlock Retrospective asks your team to investigate its last sprint the way Sherlock Holmes works a case: start from the evidence, follow the clues and only then draw conclusions. The detective framing keeps the discussion on facts and patterns, which makes it easier to talk about problems without anyone feeling accused. The board has four areas. Case closed is for the problems the team solved and the goals it reached. Clues covers the tools, practices and habits that helped along the way. Elementary is for what the team learned, and Puzzles is for the questions nobody has answered yet. It works well when the team is chasing a recurring issue or wants to understand what led to a success or a failure. Puzzles often becomes the next investigation, so finish by agreeing who will look into the most important open questions before the next retro.

Sherlock retrospective format

Case closed

What did we solve?

Start with the cases the team closed. Ask for specific problems solved and goals reached, then look for patterns in how the team solved them.

Clues

What helped us on the way?

Ask which tools, practices and habits helped the team succeed. Look for the subtle factors as well as the obvious ones, and talk about how to keep using them.

Elementary

What have we learned?

Ask what the team learned this sprint, technical and process lessons alike. Help people put each lesson in a form the team can act on next time.

Puzzles

What remains a mystery?

This area is for open questions and unexplained problems. Treat each one as a case to investigate, and talk about how the team could find the answer and who will look into it.

When to use this retrospective

  • When the team needs to investigate a complex problem or a recurring issue
  • After a challenging project, to understand what led to success or failure
  • When you want more analytical thinking in your retrospectives
  • When the team wants a new approach to problem-solving

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • If you were a detective, what would be your signature method for solving cases?
  • What's the biggest mystery you've solved in your professional life?

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

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Ask people to bring evidence and observations to back up their points, the way a detective would
  • Use the detective theme to keep the discussion on facts and patterns and away from blame
  • Give the investigation enough time. Don't rush to conclusions before you've looked at all the clues
  • Keep a 'case file' of actions and insights to track progress over time
  • Ask probing questions to dig into issues and find root causes
  • Make it safe for team members to share observations and half-formed theories

Frequently asked questions

What is a Sherlock retrospective?
It's a detective-themed retrospective in which your team investigates its sprint like a case: what it solved, the clues that helped, what it learned and what's still a mystery.
What are the four areas of the Sherlock retrospective?
Case closed (what did we solve?), Clues (what helped us on the way?), Elementary (what have we learned?) and Puzzles (what remains a mystery?).
When should a team use the Sherlock retrospective?
Use it when you're chasing a recurring issue, after a challenging project, or when your team wants a more analytical retro that still has a theme.
How long does a Sherlock retrospective take?
Plan for 45 to 60 minutes. Leave enough time for Puzzles, since open questions take longer to discuss than wins.
What do you do with the Puzzles after the retro?
Give each important open question an owner who will look into it, and review what they found at the start of the next retro.

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