Mad Sad Glad Retrospective
Mad, Sad, Glad is a retrospective format about emotions: team members share what made them mad, sad or glad. It surfaces frustrations and morale issues that task-focused formats miss, so it needs a safe, respectful setting.
- Duration
- ~35 min
- Team size
- 3–10 people
- Level
- Intermediate
- Category
- Team health & collaboration
When to use Mad Sad Glad Retrospective
- After a stressful sprint, release or incident.
- When morale seems low but nobody is saying why.
- Teams with enough trust to talk about feelings (participation is voluntary).
Purpose: Surface team emotions, frustrations, disappointments, and positive experiences.
The prompts
Mad
What frustrated or angered us?
Sad
What disappointed or discouraged us?
Glad
What made us happy or proud?
How to run a Mad Sad Glad Retrospective: step by step
- 1
Establish psychological safety · 3 min
Say clearly: sharing is voluntary, nobody has to disclose anything personal, and we talk about situations, not people. Offer anonymous posting.
- 2
Silent reflection · 5 min
Keep the room quiet so everyone thinks on their own first. Remind people one idea per card.
- 3
Share observations · 8 min
Ask each person to briefly read their cards. Clarify, don't debate. Move duplicates next to each other or into the right column.
- 4
Identify recurring patterns · 5 min
Ask what themes keep coming up. Move related cards together; add a comment naming the pattern.
- 5
Discuss important themes · 9 min
Pick the themes the group found most important. Listen first; don't rush to fix feelings.
- 6
Agree on improvements & close · 5 min
Agree on one meaningful improvement. Close by thanking people for their openness.
Example
Notes a software team might write:
Mad
- Scope changed twice mid-sprint
Sad
- We lost a teammate to another project
Glad
- The team helped me ship my first feature
Expected outcome: A better understanding of team morale and a meaningful improvement action.
Facilitation tips
- Glad cards matter as much as Mad ones — read them too.
- Name patterns, not culprits.
- Participation is voluntary — never call on someone to share a feeling.
- Don't push for personal disclosures. Respect it when someone passes.
- Keep discussion respectful; talk about situations and behaviours, never blame individuals.
Running Mad Sad Glad Retrospective in RetroPop
Each prompt is a column on a shared board. Everyone writes silently, then the team groups notes, votes with hidden totals, discusses the top cards and turns them into actions with owners.
Each stage comes with instructions for the facilitator and the participants and a suggested timer you can adjust. Teammates join with a link and their name; no account needed.
Start a Mad, Sad, Glad retro