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Mad Sad Glad Retrospective

Mad Sad Glad Retrospective

A Mad Sad Glad retrospective is a chance for your team to focus on how the past sprint or project made them feel, rather than just the events that happened. Approaching the retrospective in this way can help to build emotional awareness within your team, and to approach the issues in a way that recognises that we’re all human.

With a Mad Sad Glad retrospective, your team brainstorms on feedback on sticky notes in three categories: things that made them feel Mad, Sad and Glad. These are mostly self-explanatory, but can be expanded as:

  • Mad: Things that were very frustrating, or made you angry with the process or work;
  • Sad: Things that were disappointing, or energy sapping;
  • Glad: Things that made you happy, or were energising.
Check out our Guide to Retrospectives for a comprehensive overview of why and how to run a successful retrospective.

You might also like to explore our other retrospective templates: