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YWT (Did, Learned, Next) retrospective template

Free YWT retrospective board: what we did, what we learned, what we will do next. The Japanese reflection format, online.

Use this template — free, no sign-up

Opens a new board with these columns, right in your browser.

What is the YWT (Did, Learned, Next) retrospective?

YWT comes from the Japanese words yatta (what we did), wakatta (what we learned) and tsugi yaru (what we will do next). It is a reflection format rather than a problem hunt: the team lists its work, distils what it learned, and turns that into next steps. It is calm, constructive and good at capturing knowledge.

The columns

  1. Did
  2. Learned
  3. Next

When to use it

Use YWT at the end of a project or milestone, for learning-focused teams, or when you want a retro without a 'what went wrong' column.

How to run it in Peel in 5 steps

  1. Create a YWT board and share the link with the team.
  2. List what you did in the first column; this also acts as a memory refresh.
  3. Write what you learned from that work, then reveal and group.
  4. Vote on the learnings that matter most and discuss them.
  5. Write Next cards from the top learnings and turn them into actions with owners.
Use this template — free, no sign-up

Frequently asked questions

What does YWT stand for?

Y (yatta, did), W (wakatta, learned), T (tsugi yaru, next). It was popularised in Japanese companies as a reflection framework.

How is it different from KPT?

KPT looks for problems to fix. YWT looks for learnings to build on.

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