On this page (10 sections)
Rose, Bud, Thorn asks each person for three things: a Rose (what went well), a Bud (what could grow) and a Thorn (what hurt). It's short and kind, and everyone gets to say something good and something hard. That makes it a good check-in for a tired team, a new team, or the sprint after a rough one.
The three columns
| Column | What goes here | Example note |
|---|---|---|
| 🌹 Rose: what went well | A win, a highlight, something you're glad about | "The new onboarding guide had our new hire shipping on day two." |
| 🌱 Bud: what could grow | An early idea or a small thing that's working and could do more | "Three screens use the shared components now. The rest could too." |
| 🌵 Thorn: what hurt | A pain point, a frustration, something that cost you time | "Lost two days to flaky staging deploys." |
Buds are the point. Roses and thorns come easily; buds are where the action items are. A bud isn't a wish like "better tests". It's something that already exists in a small form: an experiment one person tried, a tool one squad uses. Ask of each bud: what would it take to grow it?
Where it comes from. No single person is credited with Rose, Bud, Thorn. LUMA Institute, which teaches it as one of its human-centered design methods, describes it as adapted from a Boy Scouts of America routine in which scouts name one positive experience, one negative one and one new goal or insight. LUMA uses it to sort research notes and calls it Rose, Thorn, Bud.
In Retro Rabbit
The Rose, Bud, Thorn template in Retro Rabbit
Pick Rose, Bud, Thorn from the format library when you create a Team Room (or later in its Settings) and the board starts with its three columns. Your team adds notes during the sprint, with or without their name shown, then votes on what to talk about.
Rose, Bud, Thorn · Sprint #14
Example notes
Rose: what went well
- The new onboarding guide had our new hire shipping on day two.2 votes
- Support says CSV import tickets halved after our fix.4 votes
Bud: what could grow
- Preview environments are in pilot. Could end the staging queue.5 votes
- Three screens use the shared components now. The rest could too.3 votes
Thorn: what hurt
- Lost two days to flaky staging deploys.3 votes
- Two stories came back because the acceptance criteria were vague.2 votes
- Rose: what went well
- Bud: what could grow
- Thorn: what hurt
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When to use it (and when not to)
Use it when:
- the team had a hard sprint and needs to talk without a big problem-solving session
- the team is new or has new members. It takes one sentence to explain and everyone gets a turn.
- you want a quick check-in halfway through a long project, or with stakeholders who don't usually do retros
Pick something else when:
- an incident needs analysis. This format won't get to a root cause. Use an incident review or 5 Whys.
- you need decisions about process. Rose, Bud, Thorn surfaces ideas and feelings, not changes. DAKI or Start Stop Continue gets to decisions faster.
- you've run it several sprints in a row and the notes are getting thin. Try Sailboat for a view of goals and risks.
How to run it live (30 minutes)
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 0–3 min | Review last retro's action items |
| 3–9 min | Silent writing: at least one note per column |
| 9–12 min | Group duplicates |
| 12–15 min | Dot vote on buds and thorns |
| 15–20 min | A quick round of roses |
| 20–27 min | Discuss the top thorns and buds together |
| 27–30 min | Turn one or two buds into action items |
- Check last retro's actions. Open the Action Items panel and look at the Previous Retro and Old / Unresolved Items tabs. If last time's action came from a bud, did it grow? That's often today's rose.
- Write silently. Set the timer for six minutes. Everyone writes at least one note per column, even after a sprint that felt like all thorns.
- Group duplicates. Thorns repeat. Drag notes about the same problem onto each other.
- Vote. Use dot voting and ask people to spend their votes on buds and thorns. Roses get their airtime in the next step without needing votes.
- Read the roses. Each person reads one rose aloud. Five minutes, no discussion. It sets the tone for the harder part.
- Pair thorns with buds. For each top thorn, look for a bud that answers it. "Two days lost to staging" and "the preview environments the platform team is piloting" belong in the same conversation.
- Grow one or two buds. Make each one a small experiment with an owner.
How to run it async over a sprint
Each note is small and personal, which makes this format easy to fill in as the sprint goes.
- Day 1: after the last retro, click Start New Retro so the board is open all sprint.
- During the sprint: add a note when something stands out, like the colleague who unblocked you or the bug that ate an afternoon. Turn off Show Name in your profile if you'd rather post a thorn without your name shown.
- Mid-sprint: count the roses. They're the easiest to forget in the middle of a busy sprint. If there are none, ask everyone for one.
- Two days before the end: everyone votes on buds and thorns.
- The day before: the facilitator reads the CarrotIQ Sprint Summary and lines up the top thorns with buds that could answer them.
- Retro day: a 15-minute call on the thorn and bud pairs. Or skip the call: post the pairs in writing and ask who wants to own each bud.
See how to run an async retrospective for the full playbook.
9 example prompts
Rose
- What made you proud this sprint?
- Who helped you, and how?
- What went better than you expected?
Bud 4. What did someone try this sprint that the rest of us should try? 5. What idea came up that we haven't had time for? 6. What small thing would be worth a one-sprint experiment?
Thorn 7. What cost you the most time or energy? 8. Where were you stuck, and for how long? 9. Which thorn has been on the board for more than one sprint?
Facilitator tip and a common pitfall
Tip: answer every thorn with a bud. When a thorn gets votes, ask the room whether a bud on the board answers it. Often one does, written by someone else. Pairing them turns a complaint into a small experiment.
Pitfall: all roses, nothing said. Because the format is gentle, a team can use it to avoid hard topics. Watch for vague thorns like "communication could be better" and ask for a moment: when, this sprint, did it hurt? If thorns stay vague for several sprints, run a psychological safety check before your next retro.
How AI helps with this format
On Pro AI (and during the free trial), CarrotIQ takes care of the admin:
- Group names. Drag "staging broke again" onto "deploys to staging keep failing" and CarrotIQ names the group, for example "Staging Reliability".
- Summaries. The Sprint Summary covers each column plus the whole retro. The rose summary makes a quick update for stakeholders on what went well.
- Suggested action items. CarrotIQ Suggest drafts an action from the notes, weighting the most-voted ones and skipping actions you already have. Run it after voting on buds, and edit the draft into an experiment with an owner.
Example action items
Most actions here come from buds. Keep them small enough to try in one sprint.
| Note | Action item |
|---|---|
| Bud: "Preview environments in pilot" | "Ines asks the platform team to add our repo to the pilot this week. At the next retro, she reports how many staging deploys we skipped." |
| Bud: "Shared components on three screens" | "Ayo moves the settings page to the shared components as a one-sprint trial and reports how long it took." |
| Thorn: "Two days lost to flaky staging" | "Ben writes a one-page checklist for staging failures by Wednesday, and the next person who hits one tests it." |
| Thorn: "Vague acceptance criteria" | "Nora adds a five-minute acceptance criteria check to refinement. Check at the next retro: did any story come back for clarification?" |
Next retro, the Previous Retro tab shows these first. See retrospective action items that actually get done.
Use this template in Retro Rabbit
- Start a 14-day free trial. No card is needed.
- Pick Rose, Bud, Thorn from the format library: choose "Browse all formats" when you create your Team Room, or later in the Team Room's Settings.
- Ask everyone for at least one note in each column before the retro, so quiet people's thorns show up too.
See pricing for plans.
Related formats
- Mad Sad Glad: when feelings need more room than one thorn
- What Went Well: adds learnings and puzzles to the picture
- Happy, Meh, Sad: an even shorter check-in, in 15 minutes
- Plus, Minus, Interesting: a similar three-way split, with "interesting" in place of bud
- More formats in Quick retrospectives
- All retrospective templates
Frequently asked questions
What is a Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective?
A three-column retrospective where each person shares a rose (something that went well), a bud (something that could grow) and a thorn (something that hurt). It's a short, balanced check-in that gives everyone a turn.
What is a bud in Rose, Bud, Thorn?
Something with potential that hasn't grown yet: an idea, a small experiment, a habit one person has started. Buds are where most of this format's action items come from.
Is it Rose, Thorn, Bud or Rose, Bud, Thorn?
Both names are used for the same exercise. LUMA Institute calls its version Rose, Thorn, Bud. The order doesn't change how it works.
Where does Rose, Bud, Thorn come from?
No single person is credited with it. LUMA Institute, which teaches it as a design method, describes it as adapted from a Boy Scouts of America routine of naming one positive, one negative and one new goal.
How long does a Rose, Bud, Thorn retrospective take?
About 30 minutes for a team of five to eight. With notes added during the sprint, 20 minutes can be enough.
Can you use Rose, Bud, Thorn outside a sprint retro?
Yes. It works for a project check-in, a workshop wrap-up or a one-on-one. Keep the same rule: at least one rose, one bud and one thorn from each person.
Run this retro in Retro Rabbit
Your team adds notes during the sprint, CarrotIQ groups and summarizes them and suggests action items, and unfinished items carry into the next retro.
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