Hopes & Fears Retrospective

Share your team's hopes and fears before the work starts

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Hopes

What do we want to happen?

I hope we can improve our deployment process to reduce stress during releases
I'm looking forward to learning new technologies through this project
I hope this change will help us better serve our customers
Fears

What don't we want to happen?

I'm worried we might not have enough resources to complete this project
I fear we could lose some of our team culture during this transition
I'm concerned about maintaining quality while moving faster

What is the Hopes and Fears Retrospective?

The Hopes and Fears retrospective asks your team two questions about an upcoming project, change or initiative: what do we want to happen, and what don't we want to happen? Everyone writes their own answers first, so the quiet worries get onto the board alongside the excitement. The board has two columns, Hopes and Fears. Hopes shows what people are looking forward to, which often turns into shared goals. Fears shows the risks people can already see, from not having enough resources to burning out before the deadline. Grouping similar notes shows which concerns are widely shared, and those are the ones to plan around first. Run it at the start of a project or during a period of change, while there's still time to act on what you hear. Saying a fear out loud in front of the team takes some trust, and seeing others share the same worry builds more of it.

Hopes and Fears retrospective format

Hopes

What do we want to happen?

Ask people to think about the good outcomes they'd like to see, and to be specific instead of general. Look for hopes that come up again and again, since those make good shared goals.

Fears

What don't we want to happen?

Make it safe to share concerns by saying up front that fears are normal and worth discussing. Look for themes that point to deeper problems, and turn the biggest fears into actions the team can take now.

When to use this retrospective

  • When kicking off a new project or initiative, to understand how the team feels and deal with concerns early
  • During organizational change, to bring worries into the open while there's still time to address them
  • Before a significant process change, to gather input and get the team on board
  • When morale seems low and you want to understand what's behind it

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • What was your biggest fear that turned out to be not so scary after all?
  • What's one hope you had that came true in your career?

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

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Start with Hopes to set a positive tone, then move to Fears
  • Group similar notes to see which hopes and fears are widely shared
  • Create specific actions that address the biggest fears and support the strongest hopes
  • Revisit earlier hopes and fears in later retrospectives so the team can see what changed
  • Use round-robin sharing so quieter team members get a turn
  • Keep the discussion on what the team can do, not on how bad things might get

Frequently asked questions

What is a Hopes and Fears retrospective?
It's a team exercise where people share what they hope will happen and what they fear might happen with an upcoming change, project or initiative. The fears become risks the team can plan for together.
How do you run a hopes and fears exercise?
Give everyone a few minutes to write hopes and fears privately, then share them, starting with Hopes. Group similar notes, vote on the fears that matter most and agree on actions to address them.
When should you run a Hopes and Fears retrospective?
Use it when kicking off a new project, during organizational change, before a major process shift, or when morale feels low and you need to hear the concerns behind it.
How long does a Hopes and Fears retrospective take?
Plan for 30–45 minutes. With only two columns it's one of the quicker formats, which makes it easy to add to a project kickoff.
How is Hopes and Fears different from a pre-mortem?
A pre-mortem asks the team to imagine the project has already failed and explain why. Hopes and Fears covers the upside too, so you leave with shared goals as well as a list of risks.

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