Templates · Essentials

WWW (Worked well, Kinda worked, Didn't work)

Sorts what the team tried into successes, half-successes and failures, with the attention on the middle.

What it is

A scale of three steps applied to what the team tried. The middle column is the point of the format: Kinda worked holds the half-successes, where the idea was right and the execution was not.

Goal

To stop good ideas from being thrown out with a poor first attempt. The team decides what to keep, what to try again differently and what to abandon.

When to use it

• After a sprint of experiments: a new practice, a new tool, a trial of a process.
• To review the actions decided at the previous retrospective.
• For a short session: three columns and brief cards.
• With a team that judges in black and white.

When to pick another format

The format evaluates what was done. It does not ask for new ideas, and it does not ask how people feel. For new practices, take Start, Stop, Continue; for feelings, Mad, Sad, Glad. If what sits between good and bad in your sprint is something young and promising, not something half done, Rose, Bud, Thorn has a column for it.

How to run it

1. Worked well: ask for clear successes, the ones to keep deliberately.
2. Kinda worked: ask for half-successes, and have each card say which half worked.
3. Didn’t work: ask what failed and should not be repeated as is. The words “as is” matter: the aim behind a failed attempt may still be worth pursuing.

Group and vote, then spend most of the discussion on Kinda worked. For each of the most voted cards, decide what to change in the execution for a second attempt: that is the action, with an owner and a date. For Didn’t work, decide between giving up the aim and reaching it another way. Close with Worked well and say aloud what the team keeps.

Columns

To start a retrospective from this template, see Create a retro.