What is a Plus Delta retrospective?
A Plus Delta retrospective is a great retrospective idea for newly formed teams and or inexperienced meeting facilitators. formats. During the meeting the agile team captures the positive aspects (“pluses”) of a project alongside areas for improvement (“deltas”) with a view to enhancing their future performance.
When should I use a Plus Delta retrospective?
For newly formed teams or inexperienced meeting facilitators, this format is a great tool to start with as it drives productive discussions by simply asking each team member to share what they think are the pluses and the deltas of the last sprint or project. From there, we can then identify areas of improvement and create action plans to make sure those agreed-upon ideas are executed and achieved.
Here are some common scenarios where a Plus Delta template can be helpful:
- To assess the effectiveness of a new process or system
- To evaluate the results of a project
- To review the performance of a team
- To highlight areas of success for a process
Alternative to Plus Delta Charts
- Plus Minus Delta
- Using a chart for a retrospective
- Do again /Do better and Plus/Change
Plus Delta Retrospective Format
Plus
Participants share what worked well in the last sprint. Write down everything that is going well. What are the things that you want to say the same? What strategies are working? What processes run smoothly?
Delta
What are the processes or activities that you want to add, change or improve? Write down everything that could be more effective. Is there a way to make a process more efficient? What wouldn’t be and would be done next time?
Suggested Icebreaker questions for Plus Delta retrospective
- What is one habit would you add for yourself this year?
- What is one thing you would add or change in your room? Why?
- Would you rather add or remove some friends on Facebook? Why?
Retro Rehearsal
Invite your team to rehearse the retro referencing something they recently ate.
For example, thinking about your last home cooked meal, what were the positives about it and what is one change you would make?
Ideas and tips for your Plus Delta retrospective
- Encourage people to provide both Pluses and Deltas. Both have value in the continuous improvement of processes. Keep an open mind when receiving feedback and record all pluses and deltas provided.
- Give people the time and space to open up and share. And, as long as they are not making derogatory remarks and understand the no-blame principle, then each idea should be discussed.
- No need to label Delta negatively: refer to it as ‘Delta’ (change). These are changes that could be made if redone, and improvements to be made in the future. This allows us to grow from past errors while looking towards the future with optimism.
- Anonymity. Names are not required. All opinions and ideas are equally valid.
- Use the way teams vote to manage culture. You’ll get interesting insights when people vote individually. A suggested improvement may need to be agreed afterwards at a future meeting.
- Follow up with an action list that you will check off at the start of the next team retro.
How to run a Plus Delta retrospective in TeamRetro
Start Your Session in a Click
Log into TeamRetro and choose your template. Customise questions and the workflow to create your perfect retro for your team.
Create Your Team Easily – No Separate Accounts Needed
Brainstorm Individually – Free From Bias
Smart Grouping for Faster Insights
Fair, Flexible, and Fast Voting
Engage, React, and Capture Key Insights
Walk your team through ideas one by one with Presentation Mode. Stay in sync, spark real-time discussions, and capture feedback with comments, live reactions, and polls—all in one place.
Turn Ideas Into Action
Propose next steps with team buy-in, get AI-powered action suggestions, and keep everything in one place. Committed actions sync to your personal dashboard and integrate with your workflow tools—keeping you on track.
Save, Share, and Stay on Track
Get quick AI-powered summaries, add facilitator notes, and store retrospectives in your library for easy access. Schedule your next session and track published actions to keep your team accountable at the next retro.
Turn Team Data into Actionable Insights
Uncover trends, common themes, and key engagement metrics at a glance. Track sentiment shifts, analyze conversations, and monitor completed actions to drive continuous improvement.