Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective

Sprint retrospective idea – Stop and smell the roses.

What is the Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective

The Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective is a simple, yet effective sprint retrospective technique designed to help identify the positive outcomes (Rose), the opportunities (Bud), and the challenges (Thorn) from your last sprint.

With their natural beauty, healing properties and incredible range of colours, it’s no wonder poets, artists and other creatives have been leveraging the abundant symbolism of roses since time immemorial, and now – with our Rose, Bud, Thorn template – it’s your turn.
The template has been designed to be deliberately simple to foster clarity of thought, and like many of our retrospectives, the opportunities to identify the positives are front and centre!
This is a great retrospective to use if you wish to help remind your team to view challenges (Thorns) as manageable accompaniments to the delivery of value (Roses).

Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective format

Rose

Participants share their positive outcomes, successes, and wins of the last sprint. What was delivered and by whom? What worked well? What outputs can be showcased and celebrated? What achievements do you want to stop to smell… oops… appreciate?

Bud

Participants share the opportunities they perceive are waiting to blossom. What potential wins could be delivered? What ideas have potential? What has worked before?

Thorn

Participants identify the challenges and issues that, like thorns, are causing pain.

This style of retrospective can be used when you don’t wish to over-complicate the review of your last sprint.

rose-bud-thorn-teamretro-image

Suggested Icebreaker questions for the Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective

  • If you were a rose, what colour would you be and why?
  • What superpower would a rose symbolise?
  • How could a rose be used to help during a zombie apocalypse?

Retro Rehearsal

Invite your team to rehearse the retro referencing this dessert.

For example, if you were presented with this dessert, what would you instantly think was good about it? How do you think it could be improved? What would put you off trying it? In each case, explain why responded that way.

Ideas and tips for your Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospectives

  • Use the categories for a quick team check-in (is the team enjoying the roses, identifying buds, or being scratched by thorns).
  • If possible, take the retro outside.
  • Experiment with the retro template to make it your own (small, medium and big buds could reflect the level of effort needed to nurture potential and perceived ROI).
  • Try to encourage ideas in each section. Even if your team hasn’t achieved anything. Having an idea regarding what needs to be achieved to complete the overall goal will undoubtedly be useful.
  • If you have just completed a particularly valuable sprint, award bouquets – you could have teams nominate members for the most resilient, most valuable, most important, or most improved player of the team.
  • Why not use a gratitude checkout – have team members cite who or what made a difference to them in the last sprint.

How to run a Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective in TeamRetro

Start Your Session in a Click

Log into TeamRetro and choose your template. Customise questions and the workflow to create your perfect retro for your team.

Create Your Team Easily – No Separate Accounts Needed

Invite your team in seconds via email, link, or Slack. Role based permissions and SSO options available.

Brainstorm Individually – Free From Bias

Encourage open and honest input with anonymous brainstorming. Set the mood with background music, give teams space to think independently, and keep the session flowing with built-in timers.
Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Smart Grouping for Faster Insights

Easily drag and drop similar ideas or let AI suggest groupings to save time. Choose between facilitator-led or participant-led grouping to match your team’s workflow.
Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Fair, Flexible, and Fast Voting

Keep votes private and unbiased with multiple voting options. Once voting is complete, TeamRetro automatically sorts results, helping your team focus on what matters most.
Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Engage, React, and Capture Key Insights

Walk your team through ideas one by one with Presentation Mode. Stay in sync, spark real-time discussions, and capture feedback with comments, live reactions, and polls—all in one place.

Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Turn Ideas Into Action

Propose next steps with team buy-in, get AI-powered action suggestions, and keep everything in one place. Committed actions sync to your personal dashboard and integrate with your workflow tools—keeping you on track.

Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Save, Share, and Stay on Track

Get quick AI-powered summaries, add facilitator notes, and store retrospectives in your library for easy access. Schedule your next session and track published actions to keep your team accountable at the next retro.

Grouping of ideas after brainstorming in a retrospective meeting

Turn Team Data into Actionable Insights

Uncover trends, common themes, and key engagement metrics at a glance. Track sentiment shifts, analyze conversations, and monitor completed actions to drive continuous improvement.

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