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Facilitates structured sprint or project retrospectives by gathering data from status reports and velocity metrics, identifying what went well and what needs improvement, and generating actionable items with owners and due dates.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/agent-almanac:conduct-retrospectiveThis skill is limited to the following tools:
The summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Facilitate a structured retrospective that reviews recent project execution, identifies what worked and what didn't, and produces actionable improvement items that feed back into project processes. This skill transforms raw project data into evidence-backed learnings with specific actions, owners, and due dates.
Facilitate a structured retrospective that reviews recent project execution, identifies what worked and what didn't, and produces actionable improvement items that feed back into project processes. This skill transforms raw project data into evidence-backed learnings with specific actions, owners, and due dates.
Read available artifacts from the review period:
Extract key facts:
Expected: Data summary with quantitative metrics (velocity, completion %, blocker count).
On failure: If no artifacts exist, base the retrospective on qualitative observations.
List 3-5 things that worked well, with evidence:
## What Went Well
| # | Observation | Evidence |
|---|------------|---------|
| 1 | [Specific positive observation] | [Metric, example, or artifact reference] |
| 2 | [Specific positive observation] | [Metric, example, or artifact reference] |
| 3 | [Specific positive observation] | [Metric, example, or artifact reference] |
Focus on practices to continue, not just outcomes. "Daily standups kept blockers visible" is more actionable than "We delivered on time."
Expected: 3-5 evidence-backed positive observations.
On failure: If nothing went well, look harder — even small wins matter. At minimum, the team completed the period.
List 3-5 things that need improvement, with evidence:
## What Needs Improvement
| # | Observation | Evidence | Impact |
|---|------------|---------|--------|
| 1 | [Specific issue] | [Metric, example, or incident] | [Effect on delivery] |
| 2 | [Specific issue] | [Metric, example, or incident] | [Effect on delivery] |
| 3 | [Specific issue] | [Metric, example, or incident] | [Effect on delivery] |
Be specific and factual. "Estimation was off" is vague. "3 of 5 items exceeded estimates by >50%, adding 8 unplanned days" is actionable.
Expected: 3-5 evidence-backed improvement areas with stated impact.
On failure: If the team claims everything is fine, compare planned vs actual metrics — gaps reveal issues.
For each improvement area, create an actionable item:
## Improvement Actions
| ID | Action | Owner | Due Date | Success Criteria | Source |
|----|--------|-------|----------|-----------------|--------|
| A-001 | [Specific action] | [Name] | [Date] | [How to verify success] | Improvement #1 |
| A-002 | [Specific action] | [Name] | [Date] | [How to verify success] | Improvement #2 |
| A-003 | [Specific action] | [Name] | [Date] | [How to verify success] | Improvement #3 |
Each action must be:
Expected: 2-4 improvement actions with owners and due dates.
On failure: If actions are too vague, apply the "how would you verify this was done?" test.
Check previous retrospective actions for closure:
## Previous Action Review
| ID | Action | Owner | Status | Notes |
|----|--------|-------|--------|-------|
| A-prev-001 | [Action from last retro] | [Name] | Closed / Open / Recurring | [Outcome] |
| A-prev-002 | [Action from last retro] | [Name] | Closed / Open / Recurring | [Outcome] |
Flag recurring items (same issue appearing in 3+ retrospectives) — these need escalation or a different approach.
Write the complete retrospective:
# Retrospective: [Sprint N / Phase Name / Date Range]
## Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
## Document ID: RETRO-[PROJECT]-[YYYY-MM-DD]
### Period Summary
- **Period**: [Sprint N / dates]
- **Planned**: [N items / N points]
- **Completed**: [N items / N points]
- **Velocity**: [N] (previous: [N])
- **Unplanned Work**: [N items]
### What Went Well
[From Step 2]
### What Needs Improvement
[From Step 3]
### Improvement Actions
[From Step 4]
### Previous Action Review
[From Step 5]
---
*Retrospective facilitated by: [Name/Agent]*
Save as RETRO-[YYYY-MM-DD].md.
Expected: Complete retrospective document saved with actions, evidence, and previous action review.
On failure: If the retrospective has no improvement actions, it's not driving change — revisit Step 3.
generate-status-report — status reports provide the data for retrospectivesmanage-backlog — improvement actions feed back into the backlogplan-sprint — retrospective learnings improve sprint planning accuracydraft-project-charter — review charter assumptions and risk accuracycreate-work-breakdown-structure — review estimation accuracy against WBSnpx claudepluginhub pjt222/agent-almanacFacilitates structured sprint retrospectives with Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, or Sailboat formats. Analyzes team feedback and performance to generate prioritized action items with owners and deadlines.
Analyzes sprint delivery data to generate a structured retrospective brief with completion stats, pattern analysis, Start/Stop/Continue prompts, and a concrete experiment.
Facilitates and documents team retrospectives with structured formats (Start/Stop/Continue, 4Ls, Mad/Sad/Glad, Sailboat). Use at sprint, project, or milestone end to capture what went well, what to improve, and action items.