Retrospective cards keep team feedback brief, attributable, and connected to the part of the conversation where it belongs. Participants can capture observations together, refine their own contributions, and acknowledge useful points without losing the board when the session ends.
From Reflection to Action
Every card begins in one of the board's three fixed columns:
Choose Add Card in the column that matches the contribution. The new card appears in that column, its count increases, and its author remains visible. This authorship gives later readers useful context and makes responsibility for text changes clear.
Cards stay where they are created. They appear in creation order, and the board does not provide drag controls for rearranging cards or moving them between columns. If a thought develops into an action, create a separate card in Action Items so the original feedback remains part of the record.
Write and Refine Cards
Signed-in members who can open the retrospective's space area can add cards. Private-area access still applies, so being able to reach Retrospectives elsewhere does not grant access to a restricted board.
Participants enter feedback directly in the card. The active text stays local while someone types, which avoids interrupting the writer on every keystroke. A changed card is committed when editing finishes, focus moves away from it, or the participant leaves that card. Trailing spaces are removed when the saved text is committed.
Only the original card author can save later changes to its text. Other participants can respond with reactions or add a related card, but they cannot take over another person's contribution. Reopening the board restores each saved card with its author, wording, column, and position in the creation sequence.
See Committed Updates Together
New cards and committed edits appear automatically for other people who are currently viewing the same retrospective. An incoming change replaces the earlier version of that card rather than creating a duplicate, and updates from a different retrospective do not enter the open board.
This is shared collaboration without character-by-character co-editing. Other viewers see a change after it has been committed successfully, not while the author is still typing. The author's active input remains stable during the edit, so a board refresh does not continually fight with the text being written.
Column counts give the team a quick view of how much feedback has collected in each area. They describe the number of cards, not priority or agreement. Because ordering follows creation time, a newer card does not move above an older one when it is edited or receives reactions.
Use Reactions as Lightweight Acknowledgement
Reactions let participants reinforce, appreciate, or quickly respond to a card without adding another feedback item. Each emoji shows a compact count beneath the card, and the reactions view can show who responded. Your own reactions are tracked so you can add or remove them from the same card.
Only participants with permission to add reactions are offered Add Reaction. Viewing existing reaction details remains available from a card that has reaction data.
Reactions are not votes. They do not rank cards, change their order, move them into Action Items, or create a decision phase. The facilitator should still guide the conversation and turn agreed follow-ups into explicit action cards.
Understand the Participant Header
Opening a board registers the viewer as a participant, and the board creator begins as the first participant. The header shows participant avatars and a total, with additional people represented beyond the first few visible avatars. Creating or editing a card refreshes that participant's activity without adding a duplicate entry.
The participant list is durable context about who has joined the retrospective. It remains with the board after people leave and returns when the board is reopened. It is not a precise list of who is online right now. Automatic card updates concern people actively viewing the same board, while the header can also include participants from an earlier visit.
This distinction is helpful when revisiting an older retrospective: the header provides continuity, but it should not be used to confirm attendance at the present moment.
Desktop, Mobile, and Reopening
On desktop, all three columns appear side by side, making it easy to compare observations and action items. Their headers and counts remain easy to follow as the card stacks grow. On mobile, the same columns stack vertically in one scrollable board, with their prompts, counts, cards, authors, reactions, and Add Card actions intact.
Cards and participant context are not limited to one live session. Leaving and reopening a retrospective restores the saved board, including its cards, committed edits, authors, reactions, column placement, and participant history. Teams can therefore collect feedback before a discussion, work through it together, and return later to review the action items.
When a Board or Card Is Unavailable
The board shows loading feedback while its content is being requested. If the selected retrospective cannot be found or rendered, it shows an unavailable message instead of presenting three misleading empty columns.
If adding or saving a card fails, the board reports the problem and remains usable. A failed edit keeps the current text in the active card, but that visible text should not be treated as saved until a later commit succeeds. Reopen the board after retrying if you need to confirm the durable wording. A failed new-card request does not produce a confirmed shared card for other participants.
Common Questions
Can anyone who opens the board add a card?
Signed-in members who can access the board's space area can contribute. Access to a private area is required when the retrospective belongs there.
Can I edit somebody else's card?
No. Only the original author can save later text changes. Add a reaction or a new related card instead.
When do other participants see my edit?
They see it after the change is committed successfully, such as when editing completes or focus leaves the card. They do not receive each keystroke.
Does the participant header show who is currently online?
No. It preserves the people who have joined the board and may include earlier participants who are no longer viewing it.
Can reactions be used to rank cards?
Reaction counts show lightweight responses, but they do not change card order or provide a guided voting stage.
Can I reorder or move a card?
No. Cards remain in their original column and follow creation order. Create a new card in the appropriate column when the discussion produces a separate action or observation.