Run a Mad / Sad / Glad retrospective
Mad / Sad / Glad is the retrospective format that starts from how the work felt. Rather than asking what to change, it sorts the last stretch into what caused frustration, what caused disappointment, and what brought joy or motivation, which surfaces the signals a process-only retrospective can miss.
Quick facts
- Template
- Mad / Sad / Glad
- Columns
- Mad, Sad, Glad, Actions
- Group size
- Designed for 2–12 people
- Drafting
- Private in your browser until the reveal
- History
- Temporary; not saved permanently
How it works
- Open Retrospective in the Room and choose the Mad / Sad / Glad template when the board starts.
- Add Mad, Sad, and Glad cards privately, then reveal them together.
- Discuss what the cards show, spend your votes, and agree on actions.
What you can do
- Capture what caused frustration or anger.
- Name what caused disappointment.
- Record what brought joy or motivation.
- Reveal every card at once instead of one person at a time.
- Close with actions and an exportable Markdown summary.
Why use it in a Free4Chat Room
Writing privately first is what makes that honest: everyone drafts their own cards before anything is published, then the board reveals them at the same moment, and the Room's voice or chat carries the conversation about what the cards show.
Limits & privacy
Feelings here are attached to attributed cards: after the reveal everyone in the Room can read them and see who wrote them, and there is no separate private channel to the facilitator. The board is temporary with no history of earlier retrospectives, and unpublished drafts live only in your own browser. It holds one bounded board and ends in the same Actions column as every other template.
Frequently asked questions
What do the Mad, Sad, and Glad columns mean?
Mad is what caused frustration or anger, Sad is what caused disappointment, and Glad is what brought joy or motivation.
When should we use Mad / Sad / Glad?
When how the team felt matters as much as the process: after a difficult release, a tense stretch of work, or a change that landed badly.
Is it anonymous?
No. The board is private while you draft, but after the reveal each card shows the name of the person who wrote it.