Mad Sad Glad Retrospective

Surface team emotions and morale alongside delivery topics.

Mad Sad Glad is a retrospective format that invites the team to reflect through an emotional lens. Instead of process categories, it uses three feelings—frustration, disappointment, and joy—to surface what actually mattered during the sprint.

Board columns

  • Mad

    Frustrations, blockers, and things that made work harder than it needed to be. Process friction, repeated problems, or unclear expectations belong here.

  • Sad

    Disappointments and missed expectations—goals that slipped, quality that fell short, or opportunities the team wishes they had acted on.

  • Glad

    Wins, moments of pride, and things that energised the team. Celebrations of delivery, collaboration, or personal growth that keep morale healthy.

When to use this template

Use Mad Sad Glad after a stressful sprint, a difficult release, or a significant org change where you need to surface emotions before diving into process. It creates psychological safety by naming feelings as legitimate data.

How to run it

  1. 1

    Frame the retro as a space for honesty, not blame.

  2. 2

    Give the team 8 minutes to write cards across the three columns privately.

  3. 3

    Reveal and read cards together.

  4. 4

    Group recurring Mads and Sads by theme.

  5. 5

    Vote on the most impactful themes to discuss.

  6. 6

    Focus discussion on underlying conditions—what system produced this feeling?

  7. 7

    Close with one or two agreed process changes and a clear owner for each.

Facilitation tips

  • Normalise the Mad column—frustrated feelings often point to real systemic problems.

  • Use Glad cards to open the discussion on a positive note before diving into Mads.

  • Watch for patterns across multiple sprints—recurring Mads signal persistent blockers.

Run your next retrospective free

paraboll.online is free with no signup. Facilitate any retro format with your team in seconds.

Start free retro

More retrospective templates

All templates