DAKI Retrospective
A retrospective format that asks the team to reflect across four dimensions: what to Drop (stop doing entirely), Add (start doing), Keep (continue doing well), and Improve (do better). More action-oriented than Start/Stop/Continue — the explicit 'Improve' category pushes teams toward concrete enhancement rather than just elimination.
How to run it
- 1
Divide the board into four quadrants: Drop, Add, Keep, Improve.
- 2
Individual silent reflection (5 min): each person writes sticky notes for each quadrant.
- 3
Share and cluster: go quadrant by quadrant, read notes aloud, group similar themes.
- 4
Dot vote on the top 2-3 items in each quadrant.
- 5
For each top item: agree on one concrete action, an owner, and a due date.
- 6
Close with a quick check-out: one word describing how the team feels about the session.
Tips
The 'Drop' quadrant is where teams get honest — protect psychological safety there.
Don't let the 'Keep' quadrant become self-congratulation. It should inform what to protect during improvements.
Limit actions to what the team controls — don't assign actions to people outside the room.
Review previous retro actions at the start before adding new ones.
Variations
KALM variant: Keep, Add, Less of, More of. Good for teams who find 'Drop' too binary for habits they want to reduce rather than eliminate.
Where it fits
Related methods
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