methodatlas
Method guideAgile

Mad Sad Glad

A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.

ComplexityLow
Time30-60 min
Participants3-10
FormatWorkshop
MaturityEstablished
Plan
01

Prerequisite

What needs to be finished first

Complete firstSafe discussion space

Team and facilitator agree respectful listening and voluntary participation.

If safety is lacking, choose a more confidential feedback route.
02

Preparation

What needs to be ready before start

Materials

Three fields labelled Mad, Sad and Glad, cards, timer, period observations and an experiment field.

People / roles

The affected team and a facilitator; preferably independent facilitation for conflict.

Pre-read

Define period and team boundary, agree confidentiality and keep personal contributions voluntary.

Time needed

45–75 minutes retrospective; later review

Setup

Provide three equal fields; allow individual writing before revealing contributions.

03

Core question

The one question this method answers

Which experiences made us mad, sad or glad, and which working condition do we want to change?

04

Flow

Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall

Mad Sad Glad collects experiences from an agreed period under anger, sadness and happiness. Participants choose the emotional category themselves; different reactions to the same event can coexist.

Mad Sad Glad· worksheet

Fictional example

Mad Sad Glad collects experiences from an agreed period under anger, sadness and happiness. Participants choose the emotional category themselves; different reactions to the same event can coexist.

Mad

Which specific experience made me angry, and why?

Fictional: three last-minute Friday changes made my tested work uncertain again.

Sad

Which experience disappointed or saddened me?

Our shared learning session was cancelled for the second time; I miss the exchange.

Glad

What made me glad and what should we preserve about it?

A colleague immediately helped isolate a difficult bug; pairing reduced the burden.

Selected theme

Which connection is understood and within the team’s influence?

Changes become visible too late. The team can introduce a brief daily scope check.

Experiment and review

What changes, who supports it and how will effects be reviewed later?

For two weeks, scope check at 11:00, owner Lea. At the next retro we review the number and effects of unannounced changes.

All example details are fictional and illustrate the application.

Retrium: Mad, Sad, Glad

  1. 1

    Period and safety

    Period and safety

    Goal

    Shared retrospective frame

    Inputs for this step

    • Period
    • Previous actions

    Actions

    • Bound the shared period and explain that emotional categorisation is voluntary and personal.
    • Briefly review previous actions and agree confidentiality of notes.

    Output

    Shared retrospective frame

    Can participants pass without explaining themselves?

    Quality check

    Can participants pass without explaining themselves?

    Pitfall

    Everyone must disclose their feelings to the group. Allow passing and confidential feedback.

    Timing: 5–10 minutes

  2. 2

    Collect Mad, Sad and Glad

    Collect Mad, Sad and Glad

    Goal

    Personal experience cards

    Inputs for this step

    • Retrospective frame
    • Own observations

    Actions

    • Silently write concrete experiences on cards and personally assign Mad, Sad or Glad.
    • Record one event and its effect per card; nobody must fill every field.

    Output

    Personal experience cards

    Are concrete experiences recorded rather than judgements about people?

    Quality check

    Are concrete experiences recorded rather than judgements about people?

    Pitfall

    The loudest person determines emotional categories. Collect independently first and preserve authors’ categories.

    Timing: 8–12 minutes

  3. 3

    Understand experiences

    Understand experiences

    Goal

    Clarified change themes

    Inputs for this step

    • Experience cards
    • Team questions

    Actions

    • Clarify cards and group related themes with consent; retain differing feelings.
    • For important themes, explore working conditions and influenceable causes.

    Output

    Clarified change themes

    Are different perspectives on one event preserved?

    Quality check

    Are different perspectives on one event preserved?

    Pitfall

    Glad is used to minimise difficult experiences. Take each experience seriously and ask about its trigger separately.

    Timing: 15–25 minutes

  4. 4

    Trial an improvement

    Trial an improvement

    Goal

    Team experiment with review

    Inputs for this step

    • Clarified themes
    • Agency

    Actions

    • Choose one influenceable theme and agree a small change with expected effect.
    • Record owner, duration and later review signal; deliberately preserve useful Glad practices.

    Output

    Team experiment with review

    Does the change have an observable effect and review date?

    Quality check

    Does the change have an observable effect and review date?

    Pitfall

    The retrospective ends with a promise to communicate better. Specify one behavioural change for a limited period.

    Timing: 10–20 minutes

05

Artifact

What comes out at the end

Sketch: what the artifact looks like

Mad · Sad · GladEmotionale Signale in Ärger, Enttäuschung und positive Energie sortieren, Muster erkennen und nächste Aktionen ableiten
Mad Sad GladDas Visual zeigt ein Retro-Board mit Mad-, Sad- und Glad-Spalten, emotionalen Signalen, Musterdeutung und Action-Ableitung.Emotionale Signale als Lernhinweise sichtbar machenMad Sad Glad trennt Erleben von Interpretation und macht Teamgesundheit besprechbar.MadÄrger und ReibungUnterbrechungenunklare ZusagenSadVerlust und EnttäuschungFeedback zu spätwenig LernzeitGladEnergie und StolzDemo lief gutTeam half schnellEmotionen zuerst sammelninterpretierenhandelnMuster deutenWelche Signale sagen etwasüber Teamgesundheit?Actionkleine Änderung mit Ownervereinbaren
Form

Three collections of personal experiences, clarified themes and a verifiable team experiment with owner and review date.

Versioning / ownership

Record date and scope; retain the previous version and reason when changing it.

Tool alternatives
  • Paper cards and three fields
  • Retrospective tool with hidden collection
  • Digital whiteboard

mad-sad-glad-working-template.md

Define period and team boundary, agree confidentiality and keep personal contributions voluntary.

Mad Sad Glad: Worksheet

Question

To be confirmed

Desired outcome

To be confirmed

Scope

Complete retrospective Time: 45–75 minutes retrospective; later review

Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.

Preparation for this scope

Method setup

  • Materials: Three fields labelled Mad, Sad and Glad, cards, timer, period observations and an experiment field.
  • Roles: The affected team and a facilitator; preferably independent facilitation for conflict.
  • Advance information: Define period and team boundary, agree confidentiality and keep personal contributions voluntary.
  • Overall time needed: 45–75 minutes retrospective; later review
  • Setup: Provide three equal fields; allow individual writing before revealing contributions.

Prepare for the work steps

Period and safety: Period and safety

  • Period
  • Previous actions

Collect Mad, Sad and Glad: Collect Mad, Sad and Glad

  • Retrospective frame
  • Own observations

Understand experiences: Understand experiences

  • Experience cards
  • Team questions

Trial an improvement: Trial an improvement

  • Clarified themes
  • Agency

Mad Sad Glad· worksheet

Mad

Which specific experience made me angry, and why?

...

Sad

Which experience disappointed or saddened me?

...

Glad

What made me glad and what should we preserve about it?

...

Selected theme

Which connection is understood and within the team’s influence?

...

Experiment and review

What changes, who supports it and how will effects be reviewed later?

...

Answer the prompts with your own information. Explicitly mark unknowns and assumptions.

Retrium: Mad, Sad, Glad

Period and safety: Period and safety

Expected artifact: Shared retrospective frame

Can participants pass without explaining themselves?

Entry:

...

  • Can participants pass without explaining themselves?

Collect Mad, Sad and Glad: Collect Mad, Sad and Glad

Expected artifact: Personal experience cards

Are concrete experiences recorded rather than judgements about people?

Entry:

...

  • Are concrete experiences recorded rather than judgements about people?

Understand experiences: Understand experiences

Expected artifact: Clarified change themes

Are different perspectives on one event preserved?

Entry:

...

  • Are different perspectives on one event preserved?

Trial an improvement: Trial an improvement

Expected artifact: Team experiment with review

Does the change have an observable effect and review date?

Entry:

...

  • Does the change have an observable effect and review date?

Open questions and next steps

...

Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/mad-sad-glad/run-sheet

06

Example output

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Fictional example for orientation. Counts and timings describe this case and are not universal requirements.

mad-sad-glad-beispiel.md

Concrete filled scenario, fictional example

Fictional example

Mad: Fictional: three last-minute Friday changes made my tested work uncertain again.

Sad: Our shared learning session was cancelled for the second time; I miss the exchange.

Glad: A colleague immediately helped isolate a difficult bug; pairing reduced the burden.

Selected theme: Changes become visible too late. The team can introduce a brief daily scope check.

Experiment and review: For two weeks, scope check at 11:00, owner Lea. At the next retro we review the number and effects of unannounced changes.

07

Pitfalls

Recognize symptoms and steer against them

Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow

  1. Period and safetyEveryone must disclose their feelings to the group.View in phase
  2. Collect Mad, Sad and GladThe loudest person determines emotional categories.View in phase
  3. Understand experiencesGlad is used to minimise difficult experiences.View in phase
  4. Trial an improvementThe retrospective ends with a promise to communicate better.View in phase
08

Stop criteria

When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach

If feelings are disputed or people blamed, pause, separate observation from personal experience and continue privately if needed.

Method after Praxisgemeinschaft. The method emerged as a widespread practice and is not clearly attributed to a single originator or organization. Curated with 1 sources.

Sources: Retrium: Mad, Sad, Glad

Flow, timeboxes, and pitfalls are editorially curated practice recommendations based on the listed sources.

Where to go next?

A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys

Investigates a recurring sad topic with a chain of causes.

Paper illustration for Working Agreements.
Agile
Working Agreements

Anchors the agreed improvement as a new working condition for the team.

View in playbookTurn Retrospective into ImprovementMove from team feeling to prioritized learning points, experiments, and verifiable change.

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