Method guide · Progress through phases
Realtime Retrospective
Use when reactions should be captured during an activity rather than reconstructed only from memory afterwards.
- People
- 5–100
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
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How this method works
Place anonymous reactions on a timeline while an activity is in progress, then read them at milestones. Use when reflection otherwise relies only on memory after the event, small concerns are buried beneath later impressions, or speaking would interrupt the activity. When a reaction occurs, each participant selects one of the three card types, writes a brief fact and puts the card in the box. At milestones, the facilitator places the cards on the timeline and reads the pattern without determining causes. The outputs are an anonymous live reaction timeline, milestones where reactions cluster, and a change to observe next. This is not suitable where card submission replaces emergency action, or where people try to identify contributors from anonymous handwriting. Do not put safety issues in the box: report them immediately to the facilitator.
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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- Open the recording timeline0–2 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Open. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Place reactions2–10 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Groups of 5–10.
Individual record
- Read the milestones10–14 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Read. Participation: Groups of 5–10.
Shared record
- Compare the three types14–18 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Compare. Participation: Groups of 5–10.
Shared record
- Pass the record forward18–20 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Pass. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 2 minutes, explain the three types—positive reactions, difficulties and surprises—and the rule that safety issues must be reported immediately.
- For 8 minutes, each person writes the time of their reaction and the observed fact on one card, then submits it anonymously to the group’s box.
- For 2 minutes, the facilitator opens the box and places the cards in chronological order on the group’s timeline sheet.
- For 2 minutes, the group marks 2 milestones where cards cluster; put guesses about causes in a separate field.
- For 4 minutes, compare the pattern of positive reactions, difficulties and surprises, and select one change to observe next.
- For 2 minutes, transfer one milestone and one observation from each group to the whole-group consolidation surface and record who is responsible.
If something changes
If
After 5 minutes of recording, a group has 0 submissions.
Then
Choose just one unsigned card indicating whether the immediately preceding event was seen as positive, difficult or surprising.
If
Comments guessing a contributor’s identity occur 2 times while milestones are being read aloud.
Then
Stop reading aloud. Retain only the facts on the cards and place them where handwriting cannot be seen.
Preparation
Materials
- Anonymous reaction cards: 3 per person, for positive reactions, difficulties and surprises
- Timeline sheets: one per group plus one for whole-group consolidation
- Milestone labels: 2 per group
- Submission boxes: one per group
- Pens: one per person
Room and setup
- Groups of 5–10, with group sizes differing by no more than one person
- One worktable per group for its timeline sheet and submission box
- One whole-group consolidation surface for overlaying the groups’ milestones
Adjust for people and time
For 1–4 people, anonymity is difficult to maintain; reduce the method to named individual timelines. Use one group for 5–10 people. For 11–100 people, distribute participants into groups of 5–10 with no more than one person’s difference in size. Give each person 3 reaction cards and each group one timeline sheet, one box and 2 milestone labels. At 50 people, overlay the milestones of 5 groups on one consolidation sheet; at 100 people, overlay those of 10 groups.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Report safety issues immediately to the facilitator rather than using the submission box. Do not use card submission instead of emergency action. Do not identify contributors from handwriting; stop the readout after 2 identity-guessing comments and hide the handwriting. Keep cause guesses separate from observed facts.
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.
- Matt Takane; Johan Bonneau: Realtime Retrospective
https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/realtime-retrospective/
CC BY 4.0 adaptation; 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: Matt Takane, Johan Bonneau
- Contributors listed in the official practice source (repository handles): @mtakane, @Zenigata
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Realtime Retrospective.
Source lineage
CC BY-SA 4.0 — this site's adaptation and translation contributions · Legal code · Official source policy
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Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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