What is the Working Not Working Retrospective?
The Working Not Working retrospective is a straightforward yet powerful approach to team reflection that focuses on identifying what's effective and what needs improvement in your processes, projects, or team dynamics. This binary format helps teams quickly distinguish between successful practices and areas requiring attention. Originally popularized in agile environments, this retrospective format stands out for its simplicity and clarity. By creating a clear distinction between working and non-working elements, teams can easily prioritize their improvement efforts and maintain what's already successful. This format is particularly effective for teams who want to cut through complexity and focus on practical outcomes. It encourages honest feedback while maintaining a solution-oriented mindset, helping teams identify both positive patterns to replicate and challenges to address.
Working Not Working Retrospective Format
What is working?
What is going to plan?
Guide the team to identify successful practices, processes, and behaviors that should be continued or expanded. Encourage specific examples rather than general statements, and help the team recognize patterns of success.
What is not working?
What is not going to plan?
Help the team identify challenges and obstacles without falling into blame or negativity. Focus on systems and processes rather than individuals, and encourage constructive criticism that can lead to solutions.
When to use this retrospective
- When you need a quick, clear assessment of team processes and practices
- During periods of change to identify which new approaches are effective
- When the team feels overwhelmed and needs to simplify their reflection process
- To gather straightforward feedback about recent changes or implementations
Suggested icebreaker questions
- What's one thing that made your work easier this week?
- If you could instantly fix one thing about our current process, what would it be?
Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting
- Keep the focus on actionable items rather than vague complaints or praise
- Encourage balanced participation by asking quieter team members to share their perspectives
- Use dot voting to prioritize which non-working items to address first
- Create specific action items for addressing 'not working' items before concluding
- Document working practices so they can be replicated and standardized
- Schedule follow-ups to review progress on addressing non-working items
New to retrospectives? Read our guide on how to run a retrospective →
Related templates
Reflect, realign, and recharge your team every quarter.
SCOR Futurespective
Strategic planning framework to analyze future scenarios and prepare for what's ahead
Marketing Team Retrospective
Reflect, refine, and amplify your marketing campaigns together.
State of Nirvana Futurespective
Envision your team's ideal future state and plan the journey there