| name | retro |
| description | Retrospective - review execution, capture learnings, update documentation |
| argument-hint | <prd-directory-name> |
| tags | ["retrospective","review","documentation"] |
Retro Skill
Review a completed (or partially completed) execution and capture learnings.
Purpose
After execution, review what happened:
- What went well
- What didn't work
- What the PRDs got wrong
- What patterns to carry forward
- What to update in project documentation
Execution Steps
Step 1: Read Execution Logs
Read all PRD files in prds/{{argument}}/:
- Master Plan - check overall status
- Each PRD file - read execution log sections
- Collect: completion times, issues, failed tasks, agent notes
Step 2: Analyze
Produce a retrospective summary:
# Retrospective: <Feature Name>
Date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC
PRD Directory: prds/<dir>/
## Summary
- Total PRDs: X
- Completed: X
- Failed: X
- Total tasks: X
- Completed: X
- Failed: X
- Total execution time: Xm Ys
## What Went Well
- <pattern or outcome that worked>
- <task that executed smoothly>
## What Didn't Work
- <task that failed and why>
- <PRD specification that was ambiguous>
- <dependency that was missing>
## PRD Quality Issues
- <tasks that were too large>
- <missing file change specifications>
- <wrong assumptions about codebase>
## Patterns to Keep
- <good patterns discovered during execution>
- <effective task granularity examples>
## Suggestions for Next Time
- <improvements to planning>
- <improvements to PRD format>
- <improvements to execution>
Step 3: Update PRD Directory
Write the retrospective to:
prds/<dir>/retrospective.md
Step 4: Update Master Plan
Set Master Plan status to RETRO_COMPLETE.
Step 5: Suggest Documentation Updates
If patterns were learned that should be captured in project rules or CLAUDE.md, suggest specific updates. Don't apply them without engineer approval.
Optional: Code Review
If /team-review or a project-specific review skill exists, suggest running it on the changes made during execution. This catches issues that individual task agents might have missed.
Notes
- The retrospective is for the engineer, not the AI. Write it clearly and honestly.
- Don't sugarcoat failures. If PRDs were bad, say so.
- Focus on actionable improvements, not blame.
- The retro file becomes part of the project's institutional knowledge.