The Hot Air Balloon

The Hot Air Balloon is a powerful hybrid retrospective and futurespective template that helps agile teams reflect on past performance while preparing for upcoming challenges. Using the metaphor of a hot air balloon journey, teams identify forces that have been propelling them forward, factors holding them back, and both positive and negative conditions on the horizon.

What Is The Hot Air Balloon Retrospective?

The Hot Air Balloon retrospective uses a visual metaphor that transforms your team's experiences into elements of a balloon journey. Unlike standard retrospectives that focus solely on the past, this template creates a balanced view of both recent performance and future possibilities through four key components:

  • Hot Air: The forces propelling your team forward (positive past influences)
  • Sandbags: The weights holding your team back (negative past influences)
  • Sunny Skies: Positive opportunities on the horizon (future benefits)
  • Storm Clouds: Potential obstacles ahead (future challenges)

This balanced approach helps teams see their recent sprint not as an isolated event but as part of a continuous journey, allowing for more strategic planning and improvement.

Benefits & When to Use

The Hot Air Balloon retrospective is particularly valuable when:

  • Your team needs to connect short-term actions with long-term goals
  • You're approaching a significant milestone or transition
  • Team morale needs a boost by balancing challenges with opportunities
  • You want to identify both immediate fixes and proactive measures
  • The team feels stuck in problem-focused thinking

This format helps development teams break out of reactive cycles by creating a more complete picture of their situation, balancing problem-solving with opportunity-seeking.

How to Run a Hot Air Balloon Retrospective Session

Duration: 60-75 minutes

  1. Introduction (5 minutes)

    • Explain the hot air balloon metaphor and how each quadrant relates to the team's work
    • Clarify that the top sections relate to the future while the bottom focuses on the past

  2. Individual Reflection (10 minutes)

    • Have participants silently add sticky notes to all four quadrants:
      • Hot Air: "What is pushing us along?"
      • Sandbags: "What is slowing us down or holding us back?"
      • Sunny Skies: "What positive things are coming up?"
      • Storm Clouds: "What problems or obstacles are coming up?"

  3. Share and Discuss (20 minutes)

    • Take turns revealing sticky notes, starting with one quadrant at a time
    • Encourage brief explanations from each contributor
    • Use Metro Retro's highlight feature to focus on one person's contributions at a time

  4. Group Similar Themes (10 minutes)

    • Organize related notes into clusters
    • Consider connections between past issues (Sandbags) and future challenges (Storm Clouds)
    • Look for patterns between driving forces (Hot Air) and upcoming opportunities (Sunny Skies)

  5. Vote on Priorities (5 minutes)

    • Use Metro Retro's reaction tools to mark the sticky notes that resonate most
    • Focus on items with the most strategic importance, not just the most votes

  6. Generate Actions (15 minutes)

    • Create specific, assignable actions based on the prioritized items
    • Consider actions that:
      • Release "sandbags" that are holding the team back
      • Strengthen "hot air" elements that drive progress
      • Prepare for approaching "storm clouds"
      • Position the team to capitalize on "sunny skies" ahead

  7. Assign Ownership (5 minutes)

    • Determine who will be responsible for each action
    • Set timelines for completion or check-in

Tips for a Successful Session

  • Balance the quadrants: If team members gravitate toward negative items, explicitly invite positive reflections to ensure a balanced view.

  • Make connections: The real power of this template comes from finding relationships between quadrants—for example, how addressing a current "sandbag" might help the team weather an approaching "storm cloud."

  • Use the metaphor creatively: Ask thought-provoking questions like "If our balloon is off course, what adjustments would help us correct our trajectory?" or "How high do we want our balloon to fly?"

  • Remote facilitation: For distributed teams, consider working through one quadrant at a time to maintain focus, or use breakout rooms for initial brainstorming.

  • Action focus: Ensure every identified action has both an owner and a timeline—vague commitments like "We should communicate better" won't create real change.

With its balanced perspective on past challenges and future opportunities, the Hot Air Balloon retrospective helps development teams navigate their continuous improvement journey with greater awareness and strategic focus.

Use this template