What is the Witches and Warlocks retrospective?
Witches and Warlocks is a great example of a fun sprint retrospective for teams. It’s a sprint retrospective idea that shows creativity and fun can bring value to a project,
This theme-based retrospective has been crafted to position team members to adopt an optimistic view of the sprint.
Witches and Warlocks retrospective format
Love Potion
What did we love about the last sprint? What made us feel good? nWhat are we proud of?
Magic Wand
What do we want to transform? What would we change if we could? What would make the next sprint easier?
The Perfect Spell
What should we aim for? What needs to be correctly aligned? What do we anticipate is needed?
Crystal Ball
What do we see in our future? What is likely to happen? What are our predictions for the next sprint?
Owl
What shout-outs do we want to send? Who made a difference? Who do we appreciate?
Suggested Icebreaker questions for Witches and Warlocks
- What magical object do you wish you owned?
- If you could cast a perfect spell, what would it do?
- What would you use a crystal ball to find out
Retro Rehearsal
Invite your team to rehearse the retro referencing a meme they’ve all seen.
For example, when they look at Success Kid what do they love/want to transform/try to make it/make it relevant again/acknowledge?
Icebreaker Activity
Set the stage with a little magic trick of your own or ask if someone knows a good trick they like to share. Can’t think of one? Here are 25 tricks you can try yourself.
Ideas and tips for your Witches and Warlocks retrospective
-
Create a little magic. Set the stage with a little magic trick of your own or ask if someone knows a good trick they like to share. Can’t think of one? Here are 25 tricks you can try yourself.
-
Prefer a slightly different ice breaker? Ask each person which spell they would like to have cast in the last sprint. A time rewind spell for more time, the ability to be invisible to avoid interruptions or a sleep spell because of the late nights working to deliver an outcome. These are great ice breakers to help get a sense of the room.
-
Make brainstorming anonymous to allow people to feel safe when contributing their thoughts. People will feel more engaged when they feel like they can air what they need to.
-
As well as acknowledging the contributions of various team members, the “Owl” category is a subtle way of keeping an eye on team morale and well-being; do the shout-outs reflect an obvious atmosphere of collaboration and gratitude, or is this an area that needs support?
-
This retrospective could inspire your team members to step up and create their own theme-based retrospective founded on their own passions and interests. It could be a great way of introducing different team members to the role of facilitator – after all, if they created the retrospective, they are incredibly well placed to deliver it!
-
Follow up with an action list that you will check off at the start of the next team retro.
How to run a Witches and Warlocks 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.