| name | retro-synthesizer |
| description | Synthesize sprint retrospective notes into categorized action items and patterns. Use this skill when:
- You have sprint retro notes (raw text, meeting transcript, or structured notes) to process
- You need to identify recurring patterns across multiple retros
- You want categorized action items with owners and deadlines from retro discussions
|
Retro Synthesizer
Process sprint retrospective notes into structured action items, recurring patterns, and process improvement recommendations.
Workflow
- Accept input — User pastes retro notes or provides file path
- Categorize items into: What went well, What didn't go well, Action items
- Tag categories: Process, Technical, Team, External
- Identify patterns — If previous retro outputs exist, compare for recurring themes
- Generate recommendations
- Output — Print to conversation
Categories
| Category | Covers |
|---|
| Process | Sprint planning, estimation, ceremonies, communication, standups |
| Technical | Code quality, tech debt, tooling, CI/CD, testing, deployments |
| Team | Collaboration, knowledge sharing, workload balance, onboarding |
| External | Dependencies, stakeholder communication, blockers from outside |
Output Format
# Retro Summary — Sprint {N} ({Date})
## What Went Well
| Category | Item | Impact |
|----------|------|--------|
| Process | {description} | {why it mattered} |
## What Didn't Go Well
| Category | Item | Root Cause | Frequency |
|----------|------|-----------|-----------|
| Technical | {description} | {why it happened} | First time / Recurring |
## Action Items
| # | Action | Owner | Deadline | Category | Priority |
|---|--------|-------|----------|----------|----------|
| 1 | {specific action} | {name} | {date} | {category} | High/Med/Low |
## Recurring Patterns
{Items that appeared in 2+ retros — flag for systemic fix}
## Process Improvement Recommendations
1. {Specific recommendation with rationale}
2. {Specific recommendation with rationale}
Rules
- Every action item MUST have an owner (name, not "team") and deadline
- Flag items recurring across 2+ retros as "Recurring" — these need systemic fixes
- Recommendations must be specific and actionable ("Add PR size limit of 400 lines" not "Improve code review")
- If no previous retros available, skip "Recurring Patterns" section
Anti-Patterns
- Don't assign action items to "the team" — assign to a person
- Don't write vague recommendations — be specific enough to act on
- Don't ignore "went well" items — they validate what's working
Quality Checklist
