KALM Retrospective

KALM retrospective format

Keep

What is working well that we should continue doing?

The Keep column captures the practices, behaviors, and processes that are serving the team well and should be preserved. Encourage participants to be specific about what makes these things valuable, so the team understands exactly what's worth protecting. This is a great place to start because it sets a positive, affirming tone before moving into areas for change.

Add

What is missing that we should introduce or start doing?

The Add column is for new ideas, practices, or tools the team isn't doing yet but believes would help. Prompt people to think about gaps in their workflow, recurring pain points, or things they've seen work elsewhere. Capture these as concrete proposals so the team can decide what's worth experimenting with.

Less

What should we reduce because it's draining time or value?

The Less column surfaces things the team is doing too much of — activities that drain energy, time, or focus without enough payoff. Unlike a hard 'Stop', this is about dialing things down rather than eliminating them entirely. Encourage honesty here while keeping the conversation constructive and free of blame.

More

What valuable thing deserves more time or focus?

The More column highlights things that are already working but deserve greater investment or attention. This helps the team amplify their strengths and double down on high-value activities. Ask participants why each item deserves more focus so the team can prioritise the highest-impact opportunities.

When to use this retrospective

• When your team has outgrown basic Start/Stop/Continue formats and wants a more nuanced way to calibrate their practices.
• For recurring sprint retrospectives where the obvious wins and blockers have already been addressed and you want to fine-tune how the team works.
• When you want to balance positive reflection with constructive change without framing things as simply good or bad.
• For mature agile teams looking to drive continuous improvement by adjusting the intensity of existing practices.

Suggested icebreaker questions

• If your week were a thermostat, would it have been set to too hot, too cold, or just right?
• What's one habit you'd like to keep doing and one you'd happily do less of in everyday life?

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

• Start with the Keep column to set a positive, affirming tone before moving into areas that need change.
• Encourage specificity — vague items like 'more communication' are hard to action, so push for concrete examples.
• Use the Less and More columns to capture nuance; not everything is binary, and many practices just need dialing up or down.
• Give everyone quiet time to add their own ideas before discussion to reduce groupthink and ensure quieter voices are heard.
• Group similar items, then dot-vote to focus discussion on the highest-impact themes rather than trying to cover everything.
• Close the session by turning the top voted items into clear, owned action items with due dates so insights lead to change.

Frequently asked questions