KALM Retrospective

What is the KALM retrospective?

KALM stands for Keep, Add, Less, and More. It is a balanced retrospective format that helps teams refine how they work without resorting to all-or-nothing decisions. Instead of only choosing what to start or stop, KALM lets you turn the dial: do more of what is promising, and less of what is not quite working.

That nuance is what sets KALM apart. Keep protects what is going well. Add brings in something new. Less eases off a practice that has become too heavy. More amplifies a habit that deserves room to grow. It is reflection aimed at steady calibration rather than dramatic change.

When to use KALM

KALM suits teams that want to fine-tune rather than overhaul. Reach for it when:

• Your workflow is mostly working and you want to optimise the details.
• The team tends to think in extremes, and you want to avoid "stop everything" decisions.
• A practice is useful but overdone, or promising but underused.
• You want a calm, low-pressure retro that still produces clear actions.

For teams that need decisive change rather than gentle adjustment, DAKI (Drop, Add, Keep, Improve) is the more direct cousin.

Warm up

To set the right mood for introspection and open dialogue, we've chosen a serene background image for your session. Enhance the ambiance further with some tranquil sounds using our Icebreaker feature. Immerse yourself in the calming atmosphere and let the discussions flow!

The four KALM columns

👍 Keep: what is working that we want to protect?

Affirm the practices, strategies, or behaviours that are serving the team well. Naming them out loud is a commitment to keep them, and a reminder not to lose a good habit when things get busy.

🙌 Add: what should we start doing?

Bring forward new ideas, tools, or practices that could improve how the team works. Pair each suggestion with the result you are hoping for, so the team can weigh it up.

⛔️ Less: what should we ease off?

Spot the practices that are not pulling their weight, or that have grown heavier than they need to be. The aim is to scale them back or refine them, not necessarily to drop them entirely.

❤️ More: what deserves more room to grow?

Highlight the budding habits that show promise. These are the practices worth amplifying, the ones that could pay off if the team leaned into them a little harder.

How to run a KALM retrospective

1. Set the scene. Open with a quick mood check-in and let the calm theme do its job.
2. Brainstorm. Give everyone five to ten minutes to add cards to Keep, Add, Less, and More on their own. Play some relaxing icebreaker music in the background to keep the mood calm, and switch on anonymous mode so the feedback stays honest.
3. Group and sort. Cluster similar cards so the themes are easy to see.
4. Discuss and vote. Talk through the groups and vote on what to act on first.
5. Commit to actions. Be specific about degree: "reduce standup from 15 to 10 minutes" or "increase code review from 50% to 80% of pull requests" gives Less and More something measurable.

A KALM retro usually runs 45 to 60 minutes. Quantify your Less and More wherever you can, then assign an owner and a date to each action.

KALM tips and common mistakes

• Quantify Less and More. A target ("down to 20% of our week") is easier to act on than a direction.
• Do not let Keep become an afterthought. Protecting what works is half the value of KALM.
• Keep the list short. Two or three changes the team finishes will beat a long backlog nobody owns.

KALM vs other retrospective formats

KALM sits between the decisive DAKI and the five-way Starfish. Choose KALM for gradual calibration, DAKI when the team needs clear Drop and Add commitments, and Start Stop Continue when you want the simplest possible format.

Start a KALM Retro View all retro templates

---

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the KALM retrospective template?

The KALM retrospective template (Keep, Add, Less, More) is a balanced retrospective format that helps teams systematically review their practices across four dimensions. Unlike binary formats that focus only on start/stop decisions, KALM provides nuanced gradations - recognizing that some practices need amplification (More) while others need reduction (Less) rather than complete elimination. This makes it ideal for teams seeking continuous refinement rather than dramatic change.

When should you use the KALM retrospective template?

Use the KALM template when your team needs to fine-tune existing practices rather than make radical changes. It's particularly effective for mature teams with established workflows who want to optimize performance, or when you want to avoid the all-or-nothing thinking that simpler formats can create. KALM works well when team members recognize that most practices aren't completely good or bad, but need calibration.

How do you run a KALM retrospective meeting effectively?

To run an effective KALM retrospective, follow these steps:

• Set the stage - Use a mood check-in and play icebreaker music to create a calm atmosphere for reflection
• Brainstorm - Give 5-10 minutes for individual brainstorming. Team members add items to Keep, Add, Less, and More columns anonymously for honest feedback
• Group and sort - Group and sort similar items together
• Discuss and vote - Review grouped items and vote to prioritize which practices to keep, add, reduce, or amplify
• Create action items - For top-voted items, assign owners and set specific targets. For "Less" items, define what reduction looks like (e.g., "Reduce standup from 15 to 10 minutes"). For "More" items, specify how to scale up (e.g., "Increase pair programming from 2 to 4 hours per week")
• Share summary - Export and share the retro summary with the team

The session typically takes 45-60 minutes. The key is being specific about degrees of change, not just what to change.

What makes a good KALM retrospective discussion?

Good KALM discussions focus on calibration and measurement:

• Keep - Identify specific practices worth maintaining and why they work
• Add - Propose concrete new practices with expected benefits
• Less - Define current levels and target reductions (e.g., "meetings take 30% of our time, reduce to 20%")
• More - Specify current baseline and desired increase (e.g., "we code review 50% of PRs, increase to 80%")

The power of KALM is in recognizing that most practices need adjustment, not elimination. Quantify where possible to make "Less" and "More" actionable.

How is KALM different from other retrospective formats?

KALM offers nuanced gradations that other formats lack. While Start Stop Continue forces binary decisions and DAKI demands complete addition or elimination, KALM recognizes that most practices need calibration. The Less/More distinction is particularly valuable - it acknowledges that practices might be beneficial but overdone (Less) or promising but underutilized (More). This makes KALM less confrontational than formats that demand stopping practices entirely, and more realistic for incremental improvement.

What are the benefits of using the KALM retrospective template?

The KALM template offers several key benefits:

• Nuanced decisions - Avoid all-or-nothing thinking with gradual adjustments
• Less confrontational - "Do less" is gentler than "stop completely"
• Optimization focus - Perfect for teams refining existing practices
• Realistic change - Incremental adjustments are easier to implement than radical changes

KALM also helps teams recognize the value in existing practices while still making improvements, making it ideal for continuous optimization rather than crisis intervention.

What are some alternatives to the KALM retrospective template?

If you're looking for different retrospective formats and templates, consider these alternatives:

• Starfish retrospective - When you want five gradations (Keep, Less, More, Start, Stop) instead of four for even more nuanced decisions
• DAKI retrospective - When your team needs more decisive action with clear Drop and Add commitments rather than gradual Less and More adjustments
• Start Stop Continue - When KALM feels too complex and you need simpler, faster decisions without the Less and More nuance

Each format serves different scenarios - KALM excels at optimization, while alternatives offer different levels of decision granularity.