What is the Hot Air Balloon retrospective?
The Hot Air Balloon retrospective is a fun and novel agile tool to reflect on your last sprint while building up the team. Participants are invited to identify: the things that contributed to their progress (Hot Air); those that made it difficult to deliver value (Sandbags) and those who contributed to the team’s success (Hugs and Kudos). The ideas shared inform actions to shape the smooth transition into the next sprint.
The Hot Air Balloon retrospective is a great one to use when looking for ways to support a positive working environment. Taking the time to offer “Hugs and Kudos” by acknowledging the efforts and contributions of others does wonders for team health. This small but impactful exercise in gratitude enhances positive connections and team morale.
Hot Air Balloon retrospective format
Hot Air
What is making us fly? What supports our success? What makes us feel great about the work we’re doing? What’s offering us a great return on time invested?
Sandbags
What is keeping us down? What is making it difficult for us to deliver value? What is needed but cumbersome?
Hugs and Kudos
Who do we want to acknowledge? What actions (no matter how small) made the last sprint easier, better, or simply more fun?
This style of retrospective can be used when your team is having trouble completing a task. Having the ability to see what has been slowing you down and what you have achieved despite this, can be helpful in providing confidence when trying to complete a difficult task.
Suggested icebreaker questions for the Hot Air Balloon retrospective
- Would you or have you ever traveled by balloon?
- Which do you think is more important – hot air or sandbags? Explain why.
- If you were part of a hot air balloon, which part would best represent you. Explain why.
Retro Rehearsal
Use the Hot Air Balloon retrospective to review your exercise routine. What do you need to do to improve your performance?
Ideas and tips for your Hot Air Balloon retrospective
- Customize your template. Expand your team’s review of their last sprint to include opportunities and risks by adding the dimensions “Sunshine” and “Storm”. Flip your retrospective to become a futurespective by including “Destination”.
- Circulate the retrospective template at the start of your sprint, rather than at the end. Then encourage team members to add items for ‘Hugs and Kudos’ at the end of each day. This way they are less likely to be forgotten and the team finishes their day with an exercise in gratitude.
- Rotate the Scrum Master. This will change the voices that are heard and give people a chance to contribute to the retrospective in a different way.
- Use a Return on Time Invested (ROTI) tool to monitor the effectiveness of your meeting.
- Keep your team agreements in view during your retrospective. Remember you can add to them at any time.
- Make the most of your presentation mode and drill down into ideas at the brainstorming, grouping as well as discussion stages of your retrospective. This will let those who contributed the input the chance to explain and feel heard.
How to run a Hot Air Balloon 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.
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Brainstorm Individually – Free From Bias
Smart Grouping for Faster Insights
Fair, Flexible, and Fast Voting
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.
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.
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.
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.