Retrospective Activity

Happy, Rant, Change

Playful Medium Popularity: 2

This activity:

Balances positivity, emotional release, and constructive improvement
Encourages team engagement by allowing open expression
Fosters continuous improvement with small, trialable changes
Builds trust by creating a safe space for frustrations to be aired
Promotes actionable steps for team growth

Introduction

This activity by Rebecca Loose, allows the team to express appreciation for positive moments, release tension by ranting about any frustrations, and brainstorm a single change to trial for the next sprint. It fosters a balanced environment of reflection, emotional release, and forward-thinking action.

👌 Things I Was Happy About

🤦‍♂️ Things You Want to Rant About

🤯 Ideas for Change

For the specific activity, the facilitator could use these points to describe the process:

The 👌 Things I Was Happy About column is for Celebrate and acknowledge moments or achievements during the sprint that made you happy or satisfied..
The 🤦‍♂️ Things You Want to Rant About column is for Vent any frustrations or issues you encountered during the sprint that you need to get off your chest..
The 🤯 Ideas for Change column is for Suggest a single actionable change that the team can trial during the next sprint to see if it leads to improvement..

TIP

Onboarding the team to the selected activity is important for a successful meeting. To learn more on what's needed to onboard your team to a retrospective meeting, read here.

Tips & Tricks

Encourage open, honest expression during the rant phase without judgment.

Limit the change suggestion to one small, actionable improvement to keep focus.

Use the happy phase to celebrate small wins and positive experiences.

Ensure that the team feels safe to vent and propose ideas for change.

Popularity: 2

The "Happy, Rant, Change" activity is sometimes used among Team O'clock teams. It seems that only a few teams use this activity for their retrospectives.

Recap