Purpose

The Movie Poster Retrospective asks teams to design a movie poster that represents their sprint or project. By choosing a title, tagline, genre, stars, and plot summary, team members surface their collective narrative — what the experience felt like, who played key roles, and what the story arc was. This creative, visual format is excellent for team bonding and holistic reflection.

At a glance

• Group size: 4–12 people
• Duration: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Facilitation style: Open
• Setting: Both / Remote-friendly

How to run

1. Explain the exercise: the team will create a movie poster for the last sprint or project.
2. Small groups or the whole team brainstorm: movie title, genre, tagline, star actors (team roles), and a one-paragraph plot summary (10 minutes).
3. Draw or design the poster together (10 minutes).
4. Present the poster and discuss what it reveals about the team experience (5 minutes).
5. Extract 1–2 actionable insights from the narrative (5 minutes).

Materials needed

• Large paper or digital canvas
• Coloured markers, stickers, magazines for collage (or digital design tools)
• Timer

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Spending too much time on artistic quality and too little on reflection — set a strict time box.
• The poster becoming an inside joke without actionable takeaways.
• Dominant voices choosing the genre and title while others disengage.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Emphasize that artistic skill does not matter — stick figures are fine.
• Offer digital tools for remote participants (Miro, Canva, FigJam).
• Allow different roles: writer, artist, presenter — not everyone needs to draw.

Variations

• Movie Trailer: instead of a poster, the team writes a 30-second trailer script.
• Sequel Poster: create a poster for the next sprint as an aspirational exercise.
• Genre Clash: each sub-group picks a different genre for the same sprint and compares perspectives.

When NOT to use this

• When the team needs a quick, data-driven retrospective — use Happiness Radar or Plus/Delta.
• When time is very limited (under 20 minutes).

Source & further reading

• Creative retrospective practices from agile coaching communities.
• Retromat (retromat.org).