4Ls: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For

Comprehensive sprint analysis covering what worked, lessons, gaps, and aspirations

What is the 4Ls Retrospective?

The 4Ls format provides a thorough, balanced look at the sprint from four perspectives: appreciation, learning, gaps, and desires. It's more comprehensive than Start/Stop/Continue and surfaces deeper insights.

Plan for 60-75 minutes to do this format justice. Best used monthly or for major milestones.

Liked

What did you LIKE about this sprint?

Things that went well, positive experiences, successes worth celebrating.

Examples:

  • • Strong team collaboration on the new feature
  • • Clear sprint goals from the beginning
  • • Quick resolution of production issues

Learned

What did you LEARN this sprint?

New skills, insights, technical knowledge, or realizations about the process or product.

Examples:

  • • Discovered a better way to handle authentication
  • • Learned that earlier testing catches more bugs
  • • Realized we need more upfront design discussion

Lacked

What did you LACK this sprint?

Resources, information, tools, time, or support that the team needed but didn't have.

Examples:

  • • Lacked clear requirements from product team
  • • Lacked time to address technical debt
  • • Lacked access to staging environment for testing

Longed For

What did you LONG FOR this sprint?

Aspirations, wishes, or improvements the team desires for future sprints.

Examples:

  • • Wish we had automated deployment pipeline
  • • Want more time for experimentation and learning
  • • Hope for better cross-team communication

When to Use This Template

End of major milestones or releases

Monthly retrospectives for deeper analysis

When you have time for thorough reflection (60+ minutes)

Teams wanting comprehensive understanding of their performance

How 4Ls Differs from Other Formats

More Comprehensive

Covers appreciation, learning, gaps, AND aspirations—giving a fuller picture than simpler formats.

Learning-Focused

The "Learned" category explicitly surfaces knowledge gain, which other formats often miss.

Forward-Looking

"Longed For" encourages aspirational thinking beyond immediate problems.

Ready for comprehensive sprint analysis?

Try the 4Ls format for your next major milestone retrospective.