Retro template
4Ls Retrospective Template
The 4Ls retrospective asks what the team liked, learned, lacked, and longed for so you can inspect delivery, learning, and unmet needs together.
Best for
- Teams that want deeper reflection than simple wins and improvements.
- Product or engineering teams learning from a complex sprint.
- Retros where knowledge sharing matters as much as process change.
- Teams that want to uncover missing support, tools, or clarity.
Prompts to ask
- What did we like about this sprint?
- What did we learn?
- What did we lack?
- What did we long for?
- Which gap should become an action item?
How to run this retrospective online
- Create a Sprint Retro room in Agile Tools.
- Choose the 4Ls format during setup.
- Ask everyone to write ideas across liked, learned, lacked, and longed for prompts.
- Reveal and vote on the themes worth discussing.
- Turn the most useful insights into actions or experiments.
Facilitation tips
- Explain each L before writing starts so cards go in the right place.
- Use Learned to capture discoveries, not only problems.
- Use Lacked and Longed For to find missing support or future improvements.
- Keep final actions small enough to complete next sprint.
FAQ
What are the 4Ls in a retrospective?
The 4Ls are liked, learned, lacked, and longed for. They help teams reflect on positives, discoveries, gaps, and desired improvements.
When should I use a 4Ls retro?
Use 4Ls when you want a balanced conversation that includes learning and unmet needs, not only what went well and what went badly.
Can I run a 4Ls retrospective online?
Yes. Agile Tools provides an online retro room where teams can write, reveal, vote, discuss, and export a summary.