Speed Car Retrospective
A visual retrospective using a racing car metaphor. The car represents the team — the engine is what drives them forward (strengths and energisers), the parachute is what slows them down (impediments), the road is the path ahead (goals), and bridge out means risks. The metaphor makes abstract team dynamics concrete and often generates more honest conversation than abstract formats.
How to run it
- 1
Draw a racing car on the board with: a powerful engine (or turbo), a parachute dragging behind, a road stretching ahead, and optionally a bridge with a gap.
- 2
Explain the metaphor: engine = what powers us, parachute = what slows us down, road/destination = where we're headed, bridge out = risks ahead.
- 3
Individual silent reflection (5 min): write sticky notes for each element.
- 4
Share and cluster: go element by element.
- 5
Prioritise: dot vote on the biggest parachute items (impediments) and most important engine items.
- 6
Define actions to remove the top parachute items and strengthen the engine.
- 7
Close with the team's destination: restate the Sprint/Quarter goal as a shared commitment.
Tips
The visual metaphor is the strength — take time to draw it properly (or print a template).
Focus most action time on parachutes — they're within the team's control.
Great for teams who find text-heavy retros monotonous.
Works well in hybrid settings with a shared Miro template.
Variations
Sailboat variant (same concept, nautical metaphor): anchor = impediments, wind = accelerators, island = goal, rocks = risks.
Where it fits
Related methods
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