About the mad sad glad template
What exactly is Mad Sad Glad?
A Mad Sad Glad retrospective usually starts with the question, 'How are you feeling?'' This is a popular approach in teams and organizations to evaluate and examine every member's emotional status and encourage them to reflect on their current feelings. Below are the following sections that comprise this retrospective:
- Mad. This section involves a discussion on parts that prompted your anger. Team members can also voice out the hurdles and the aspects that they consider huge hassles throughout the project duration. Overall, the Mad section is the element that members do not like, even if those aspects seemed effective.
- Sad. In this section lies the experiences that brought disappointments to team members. They do not have to be wrong; however, they are not even productive either. Teams can also discuss the aspects that need improvement.
- Glad. In this section, there is a positive aspect that team members felt throughout the project. It includes the things they enjoyed and the wins that created smiles on their faces.
Why Use a Mad Sad Glad Template?
Mad Sad Glad templates give utmost importance to every member's emotional journey. It allows every individual in the team to reflect and discuss their emotions and feelings about their completed project. The benefits of following this template are not only about the team; more importantly, it builds trust and increases engagement among members.
Tips for making a Mad Sad Glad template
There are four essential tips a team needs to consider to have an effective Mad Sad Glad template. Check out the list below:
- As with any retrospectives, giving team members space and time to reflect on their feelings towards a project is essential. They can note their feelings and ensure the room is conducive for reflection.
- Team members must avoid distractions while reflecting. Distractions can come from outside noise or gadgets such as mobile phones.
- In this exercise, the team leader must promote inclusivity, and no team member's feelings are being left out.
- Some members might feel uneasy voicing their feelings to others, so it is essential to encourage them to express their feelings freely.
Mad Sad Glad Examples
The way teams and organizations present this template can vary. Some use online tools; others meet personally to fill out the template. Here are examples of a Mad Sad Glad template:
From the inputs shown for every section above, you can see that the team is launching new software. The template uses stickers and colors to emphasize each mood. There can still be more on each section depending on the number of members in the team and the inputs that they can give.
The second example shows the members' feedback on the organization's workflow. Remember that the Mad Sad Glad approach is not only evaluating the team's feelings after a sprint or a project. Organizations can also use this to assess how members feel about the current work processes.
