An emotion-based retro format that gives team members a safe space to express frustrations, concerns, and wins — building psychological safety and honest communication.
Drag example cards between columns or try voting to explore the format.
What frustrated or angered you this sprint? Name specific situations, not people.
Scope changes on day 14 of a 2-week sprint
Discovering production bug that was known for weeks
No time allocated for refactoring — again
What disappointed you? What could have gone better?
We didn't get to the accessibility improvements
Lost a team member to another project
Couldn't deliver on our sprint promise
What made you happy or proud this sprint? Wins, big and small.
Shipped the new API — it's getting great feedback
CI pipeline time dropped from 45 min to 12 min
Team bonding offsite was genuinely fun
New hire is ramping up faster than expected
Use these prompts and example cards to start a focused conversation.
What frustrated or angered you this sprint? Name specific situations, not people.
Example cards
Keep in mind: Don't attack individuals — keep it situational
What disappointed you? What could have gone better?
Example cards
Keep in mind: Don't minimize sadness — it's as valid as anger
What made you happy or proud this sprint? Wins, big and small.
Example cards
Keep in mind: Don't skip this column — celebration is essential
Mad/Sad/Glad takes about 20–30 min. Here's the flow.
Facilitator reminds the team this is a judgment-free space. All feelings are valid and welcome.
Team silently adds cards to Mad, Sad, and Glad. Encourage at least one card per column.
Cluster similar emotions, vote on what to discuss. Prioritize themes, not individual grievances.
Discuss the top-voted items in each column. Focus on understanding, not defending.
Identify 1-2 concrete changes that address the most important emotional themes.
The Mad/Sad/Glad retrospective is one of the most emotionally intelligent Agile retrospective formats in existence. Instead of asking "what went wrong," it asks "how do you feel?" — unlocking a level of honesty and psychological safety that process-focused formats often miss.
This format emerged from the recognition that team dynamics and emotional health directly impact sprint outcomes. A team that feels unheard or frustrated will ship slower, regardless of how efficient their processes look on paper. Mad/Sad/Glad gives every team member permission to name their emotions without judgment.
The psychology behind Mad/Sad/Glad is rooted in emotional granularity theory — the ability to identify and name specific emotions. When engineers say "I'm frustrated," it's often vague. The Mad column forces specificity: what exactly is making me angry? The Glad column captures genuine wins. The Sad column creates space for disappointment without shame. Together, these three buckets provide a complete emotional picture of a sprint.
If you like Mad/Sad/Glad, you might also enjoy these formats.
Make recognition specific. Thank the people who helped, celebrate shared wins, and recognize contributions that made a meaningful difference.
A structured four-column retro format — Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For — that balances positive reinforcement with honest improvement areas.
An intuitive traffic-light retro format — Red for blockers, Yellow for caution, Green for smooth sailing — that makes team health instantly visible at a glance.
A forward-looking retrospective format that helps goal-oriented teams reflect on progress, identify blockers, and plan the next sprint like climbing a mountain.
Mad/Sad/Glad is an emotion-based retrospective format where team members share what made them mad, sad, and glad during a sprint. It builds psychological safety and surfaces hidden team dynamics.
Unlike process-focused formats like Start/Stop/Continue, Mad/Sad/Glad centers on emotions. It's better for surfacing morale issues, burnout, and team dynamics that structured formats miss.
Every 2-3 sprints is usually better than weekly. Emotional retros are most impactful when the team has had time to accumulate genuine feelings to share.
Yes — LetRetro's async mode lets remote team members contribute to each column in their own time, making it easier to share honest emotions.
The facilitator should gently redirect from person-focused complaints to situation-focused feedback. Use 'I feel frustrated when X happens' instead of 'Person Y did Z.'
LetRetro's AI identifies emotional trends across sprints — spotting rising frustration or declining morale before they become crises.
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