Purpose

The Hot Air Balloon Retrospective uses a vivid visual metaphor to help teams reflect on forces that lift them up (hot air / fire), weigh them down (sandbags), present storms ahead (risks), and the sunny skies they aspire to reach (vision). It captures both present dynamics and future aspirations in one engaging exercise.

At a glance

• Group size: 3–12 people
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Facilitation style: Semi-structured
• Setting: Both / Remote-friendly

How to run

1. Draw a hot air balloon with four zones: fire/hot air (what lifts us), sandbags (what weighs us down), storm clouds (risks ahead), sunny sky (our vision/goals).
2. Silent brainstorming: participants write sticky notes for each zone (5 minutes).
3. Share and place notes zone by zone (8 minutes).
4. Cluster and discuss themes (7 minutes).
5. Pick top sandbags to cut and actions to amplify the fire (5 minutes).

Materials needed

• Large whiteboard or digital canvas
• Sticky notes (four colours)
• Markers
• Timer

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Overloading the sandbag zone and neglecting to discuss the fire — balance negative and positive.
• Vague vision/sky entries like be better — push for specific, measurable goals.
• Not turning storm cloud items into mitigation plans.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Provide a pre-drawn template so participants focus on content, not artistic ability.
• Use text labels alongside the visual for screen-reader users.
• Allow pre-meeting input for participants in different time zones.

Variations

• Rocket Ship: replace the balloon with a rocket for a tech-oriented team.
• Submarine: flip the metaphor — currents pushing forward, leaks dragging down, sea monsters as risks.
• Weather Balloon: add a wind direction zone for external factors.

When NOT to use this

• When the team needs a highly structured, category-specific format — use Four Ls or Starfish.
• When the group is too large (more than 15) for meaningful discussion of all zones.

Source & further reading

• Inspired by collaborative product games and various agile coaching communities.
• Retromat (retromat.org).