Meetings
4Ls retrospective template
Liked, learned, lacked and longed for: a retro that also captures what the team learned.
What it is
The 4Ls retrospective asks four questions about a sprint or a project. What did we like? What did we learn? What did we lack? What did we long for? The Learned box sets it apart from other retros, because it records lessons the next project can reuse.
When to use it
- At the end of a project, when lessons matter more than complaints
- When the regular retro has gone stale and the team wants a different format
- After an experiment or a pilot, to write down what you now know
How to run it
- 01
Explain the four Ls
Lacked is what was missing during the work. Longed for is what people wished they had. Then give everyone ten minutes to add notes to all four boxes.
- 02
Read Liked and Learned first
Start with what went right. Rewrite each learning as a sentence someone outside the team could use.
- 03
Group Lacked and Longed for
These two boxes often overlap. Drag related notes together to see what the team needs most.
- 04
Pick the actions
Choose one or two gaps to fix. Copy the lessons onto the kickoff board of your next project.
Opens a new board from this prompt:
"4Ls retrospective for a three-month website redesign with a remote design and development team"
Related templates
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Sprint retrospective
Four columns for what went well, what to change, new ideas and owned action items.
Meetings
Project kickoff
Goals, scope, roles, risks and milestones agreed in the first meeting of a project.
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