Six Hats for Improvement
It is about "putting on" a different hat to gain different perspectives on the same problem. In a group, all members must "put on" the same hat at the same time. Hats can be "switched" as many times as needed.
With the help of this technique, the discussion is structured so that at any given moment everyone is thinking in the same direction: everyone on data, everyone on emotions, everyone on problems, everyone on ideas. This prevents one person from defending a position while another criticizes it.
The Six Hats
White hat — Facts
It focuses on data and objective information. The team analyzes the sprint based on the facts: What happened? What metrics do we have? Which stories were completed? Which goals were met?
Red hat — Emotions
Focuses on emotions and intuitions. No justifications or analysis: How has the team felt during the sprint? What generates enthusiasm? What generates frustration?
Black hat — Criticism
It focuses on risks, problems, and negative aspects. What went wrong? What could go wrong in the next sprint? What is blocking the team?
Yellow hat — Optimism
It focuses on positive aspects and achievements. What went well? What can we celebrate? What is working and deserves to be continued?
Green hat — Creativity
It focuses on new ideas and alternatives. What could be done differently? What experiments could we try in the next sprint?
Blue hat — Process
It focuses on the process of the meeting itself. How is the conversation going? Do we need to reorganize it? What conclusions are we drawing?
How to Run the Activity
- The facilitator introduces the six hats and what each one means.
- The team works with each hat for a limited time (5-10 minutes per hat, depending on the total time available).
- Once all the hats have been covered, the team prioritizes the actions generated under the green hat and confirms the conclusions with the blue hat.
Common mistake
Skipping the red hat because "we don't talk about emotions at work." The red hat is what allows the team to express what usually goes unsaid: exhaustion, enthusiasm, frustration. Leaving it out produces retrospectives that analyze the symptoms but ignore the team's emotional state, which is often the root cause of process problems.
Resources
🔧 Designing a RetrospectiveTemplate · Scrum Manager
References
- De Bono, Edward. (1985). Six Thinking Hats. Little, Brown and Company.
- Derby, Esther; Larsen, Diana. (2006). Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great. Pragmatic Bookshelf.
See also
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