I Like, I Wish, What If Retrospective Template

Also known as: I Like I Wish I Wonder · Like Wish What If · ILIWWI

Praise, wishes and ideas. Feedback that always ends with something to try.

  • ⏱ 30–45 min
  • 👥 3–12 people
  • 🧩 3 columns
  • Free · no sign-up

I like

What do you appreciate?

Things you appreciate and want to keep: practices, results, behaviours.

I wish

What do you wish were different?

Things you'd like to be different. Constructive criticism, phrased as a wish.

What if

What could we try?

Ideas and experiments: 'what if we…?' suggestions worth trying.

What is the I Like, I Wish, What If Retrospective?

I Like, I Wish, What If is a three-column retrospective in which team members share what they like, what they wish were different, and what ideas they want to try. It comes from design thinking, where it is widely used, notably at the Stanford d.school, as a simple and kind way to give feedback on prototypes.

The phrasing does much of the facilitation for you. 'I wish' turns criticism into a request, which is easier to hear than a complaint. 'What if' invites people to propose solutions instead of only listing problems. The result is a retrospective that feels positive without avoiding difficult topics.

Because it is short and friendly, it works well with new teams, mixed groups with stakeholders, and teams that tend to get defensive in retros. Some teams use 'I wonder' instead of 'What if', which invites open questions rather than proposals.

When to use I Like, I Wish, What If (and when not to)

✅ Use it when

  • ▸ With new or mixed teams, where people don't yet feel safe giving direct criticism.
  • ▸ When retros tend to become complaint sessions and you want more proposals.
  • ▸ After a demo, a pilot or a new process, to gather feedback on something specific.
  • ▸ When you have 30 minutes and want clear, actionable ideas.
  • ▸ To review a product or design with stakeholders outside the team.

⚠️ Avoid it when

  • ▸ When there is a serious issue that needs to be named directly. The soft phrasing can let it slip by; use Mad Sad Glad.
  • ▸ When the team needs to analyse root causes in depth. The format jumps quickly to ideas.
  • ▸ If the team already uses it every sprint and the answers have become predictable.

How to run a I Like, I Wish, What If Retrospective step by step

Total time: about 38 minutes for a team of 3–12 people. Adjust the timeboxes to the size of your team and sprint.

  1. 1

    Explain the phrasing · 3 min

    Give an example card for each column. Ask people to start every card with the column words: 'I like…', 'I wish…', 'What if…'.

  2. 2

    Silent writing · 7 min

    Everyone writes in the three columns. Encourage people to pair each wish with a matching 'What if' idea.

  3. 3

    Read I like · 5 min

    Read the positive cards and group them. These are the practices to protect.

  4. 4

    Read I wish and What if · 10 min

    Read wishes and ideas together, linking each 'What if' to the wish it answers. Unanswered wishes are good candidates for a quick brainstorm.

  5. 5

    Vote on ideas · 3 min

    Three votes per person, mostly on the 'What if' cards, since those are the experiments.

  6. 6

    Choose experiments · 10 min

    Turn one to three ideas into time-boxed experiments: what we'll try, for how long, how we'll know it worked and who owns it.

I Like, I Wish, What If questions and prompts for each column

Read a couple of these aloud if the board stays empty after the first minutes of writing.

I like

  • • What worked so well you'd want it every sprint?
  • • What did a teammate do that you appreciated?
  • • Which decision are you glad we made?

I wish

  • • What do you wish had gone differently?
  • • What do you wish you had more (or less) of?
  • • What do you wish we talked about more openly?

What if

  • • What if we tried the opposite of what we do now?
  • • What if we removed one step from our process?
  • • What experiment could we run for just one sprint?

I Like, I Wish, What If retrospective example

A newly formed team of six after their second sprint together. Here is what their board looked like at the end of the writing phase.

Example I Like, I Wish, What If Retrospective board in Giftro with the columns I like, I wish, What if filled with sticky notes
Example I Like, I Wish, What If board

I like

  • I like that standups finish in 10 minutes
  • I like how quickly design answers questions
  • I like our shared Spotify playlist on Fridays

I wish

  • I wish we estimated together instead of the lead doing it
  • I wish tickets had acceptance criteria before the sprint
  • I wish I knew what the other squad is building

What if

  • What if we did planning poker for big stories?
  • What if refinement had a 'definition of ready' checklist?
  • What if we joined the other squad's demo once a month?

Action items they agreed on

  • ☑️ Try planning poker for stories over 3 points for two sprints (owner: Nora)
  • ☑️ Draft a definition of ready and review it at the next refinement (owner: PO)
  • ☑️ Ask the other squad to join their monthly demo (owner: Felix)

Common mistakes and facilitation tips

Wishes that are complaints in disguise

'I wish John would test his code' is still blame. Rephrase it around the team or the process: 'I wish we had tests before merging'.

Too many experiments

'What if' is fun and ideas multiply. Pick one to three, timebox them and review them at the next retro.

Skipping the likes

Likes are not small talk. They show what the team values and what must survive any change.

No way to measure

An experiment without a success signal never ends. Agree on how you'll know it worked.

Variations and related templates

I Like, I Wish, What If retrospective FAQ

What is the I Like, I Wish, What If retrospective?

It is a three-column feedback format: what you like, what you wish were different and what ideas you'd like to try. It comes from design thinking and turns criticism into constructive proposals.

Where does I Like, I Wish, What If come from?

It is a design thinking feedback method, widely taught at the Stanford d.school, used to give feedback on prototypes. Agile teams adopted it for retrospectives.

What is the difference between 'What if' and 'I wonder'?

'What if' invites concrete proposals to try. 'I wonder' invites open questions. Use 'I wonder' when you're exploring and 'What if' when you want experiments.

Is I Like, I Wish, What If good for new teams?

Yes. The positive phrasing makes it easy to give feedback before the team has built a lot of trust.

Can I run it online for free?

Yes. Click 'Use this template' to open a Giftro board with I like, I wish and What if columns. Share the link; nobody needs an account.

Run your I Like, I Wish, What If retro now

Free, real-time and no account needed. Share the link and your team joins in seconds.

Related retrospective templates

Rose Bud Thorn retrospective template

Roses (what went well), buds (what's starting to grow) and thorns (what hurt). Gentle, quick and balanced.

Start Stop Continue retrospective template

The classic three-column retro: what to start doing, stop doing and keep doing. Fast, clear, action-oriented.

4Ls retrospective template

Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. A balanced retro that captures lessons and what's missing, not just problems.

KALM retrospective template

Keep, Add, Less, More: adjust the volume of your practices instead of just starting or stopping them.

Worked Well, Kinda Worked, Didn't Work retrospective template

A three-level retro that adds the missing middle: what worked, what kinda worked and what didn't.