Method guide · Work with a structured grid
4Ls Retrospective
Separate what went well, was learned, was missing, and is wanted, then choose observable improvements with owners.
- People
- 3–15
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
A retrospective for dividing experience into what went well, what was learned, what was missing, and what is wanted. Use it when reflections favour success stories, learning is mixed with shortages, or wishes are voiced without owners. After each person writes one item per card, groups cluster related content and choose candidates across the four areas that will help in the next cycle. The result is records in four fields, selected improvement candidates, and action cards with owners and observation points. Describe shortages as missing conditions or resources, not people's faults. Do not use it for blame or individual appraisal, or before the events' facts have been established.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Bound the review0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Bound. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Write in four areas5–17 minutes from the start (12 minutes)
Action: Write. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Group within teams17–32 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Group. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Choose improvements32–45 minutes from the start (13 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Groups of 3–5.
Shared record
- Turn into action45–60 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Turn. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, show everyone one sentence each for the review period, subject, and length of the next cycle.
- For 12 minutes, silently write two cards each for what went well, what was learned, what was missing, and what is wanted.
- For 8 minutes, read one card per person at a time within groups and bring together only cards about the same event.
- For 7 minutes, retain four-area markers on each cluster and choose one spanning several areas.
- For 8 minutes, each person casts three dots on improvement-related clusters and decides the group's top two.
- For 5 minutes, rewrite the top two as actions observable in the next cycle and put them on action cards.
- For 15 minutes, place each group's action cards on the whole-group surface and confirm owners and observation points.
If something changes
If
Eight minutes into individual writing, nobody has written an item in the missing area.
Then
Read the four conditions of time, information, authority, and skills, and write just one missing condition.
If
Three minutes into action formulation, 2 or more cards contain ‘be careful’.
Then
Add one sentence stating who could observe what to confirm a change.
Preparation
Materials
- Eight four-area cards per person, two per area
- One A3 four-area sheet per group, plus one for whole-group integration
- Three selection dots per person
- Two action cards per group
- One writing implement per person
Room and setup
- One table per group of 3–5
- One work surface per group where the four fields can be gathered around
- One whole-group integration surface for improvement candidates
Adjust for people and time
With 1–2 people, reduce to individual records because perspectives across areas are difficult to compare. Divide participant count by 5 and round up for the number of groups, then form groups of 3–5 differing by no more than 1 person. Give one four-area sheet and two action cards per group. With 15 people, put six candidates from three groups on one integration sheet and cluster only cards with the same owner.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Treat missing items as conditions or resources, not personal defects. Do not use this for blame or individual appraisal, or while event facts are unconfirmed; smaller numbers use the stated individual-record fallback.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The catalogue minimum is 3, while scaling explicitly gives an individual-record fallback for 1–2. Both are preserved without changing metadata or describing the fallback as a full group retrospective.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Sherri Scheurich: 4Ls Retrospective
https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/4ls-retrospective/
Adaptation under CC BY 4.0; changes made
- CC BY 4.0
Current-page licence notice
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Credits on the checked source page
- Named contributors on the source page: Sherri Scheurich
- Contributors listed in the official practice source (repository handles): @scheurich
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: 4Ls Retrospective.
Source lineage
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Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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