The Six Thinking Hats retrospective template

Review your Sprint or project through six meaningful perspectives.

Try this template for free Discover more retrospectives

Try this template for free Discover more retrospectives

What is the Six Thinking Hats retrospective template?

This retrospective's level of difficulty is medium

Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Developed by Dr. Edward de Bono, the Six Thinking Hats is a method to foster critical thinking within a group.

Firmly anchored in the concept of 'parallel thinking', this technique encourages a group to step out of its comfort zone by considering multiple aspects of a problem.

Thanks to the six hats, your teammates will conduct a complete assessment of your last initiative, with the desire to find innovative solutions to help the team improve. 🎩

The 6 elements of the Six Thinking Hats retrospective

Blue Hat

Frame the retrospective and set high-level goals.

e.g., let's discuss our last deliverable and see how we can improve.

White Hat

State the facts objectively.

e.g., we delivered our MVP on the scheduled date.

Red Hat

What emotions did you feel?

e.g., I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work.

Yellow Hat

What makes you optimistic and positive?

e.g., our deliverable will help thousands of users around the world!

Black Hat

What makes you pessimistic and negative?

e.g., our MVP does not respect our brand image, which annoyed our Brand team.

Green Hat

What creative ideas to move forward?

e.g., add a Marketing member to our multidisciplinary team.

Why & when should you use the Six Thinking Hats retrospective?

Employing the Six Thinking Hats model is valuable because it provides a structured framework for problem-solving and decision-making that encourages the inclusion of diverse perspectives.

It proves beneficial in complex problem-solving scenarios, promoting conflict resolution by effectively separating emotions from facts, fostering creativity during idea generation, and facilitating sound decision-making processes.

Moreover, the Six Thinking Hats activity is instrumental in regular retrospectives (such as Sprint or iteration retrospectives) for evaluating and enhancing team performance, making it a versatile tool for adapting to change and promoting more efficient discussions.

In a nutshell, the Six Thinking Hats retrospective template offers an adaptable and valuable means to improve communication, decision-making, and problem-solving across various scenarios.

Where can I find the Six Thinking Hats retrospective?

This retrospective activity is largely inspired by the work of Edward de Bono. Make sure to read "Six Thinking Hats", the book that says it all about this wonderful team activity.

No doubt your team will love the Six Thinking Hats retrospective experience!

You can try this model with your team for free on Neatro. No credit card is required.

Your team members won't even need to create an account to join you and participate in this online retrospective.