Plus Delta Template
The Plus Delta model is a simple but effective tool that helps you engage in meaningful reflection on a journey toward continuous improvement.
About the Plus Delta Template
The Plus Delta Template is a retrospective framework for evaluating the success of a project, experience, or event. It allows you to gather feedback, determine success, and identify areas of improvement for the future.
What is the Plus Delta model?
The Plus Delta model is a simple but effective tool that focuses on how to improve a past event.
Events could be projects, meetings, planning sessions, performance reviews, or any other activity that requires reflection.
The model is split into two columns — Plus and Delta. On the appropriate side of the model, you’ll outline what went well and what you could change. From here, you can pinpoint key areas of improvement and figure out how to make the process better in the future.
The two factors of the Plus Delta Template
The template is split into two core areas — Plus and Delta. Analyzing these two areas makes it easier for teams to see what went well and what could be improved.
Here’s a breakdown of each column:
Plus
Under the “plus” heading, write down everything that’s going well. What tactics are proving to be successful? What strategies are working? What processes run smoothly? Reflect on recent wins, so you know what to repeat in future meetings and projects. You can also focus on how you overcame challenges throughout the event. For example, was there a hurdle you faced in the past that you conquered in this event? If so, make a note of it.
Delta
Under the “delta” heading, write down anything you want to change. What are some opportunities for improvement? How might the individual or the team be more effective? Is there a way to make a process more efficient? Note down ways to overcome these deltas that are actionable, specific, and measurable — like SMART goals.
Why should you use a Plus Delta Template?
It’s important to do regular project retrospectives for yourself and for your team, but it can be difficult to distill a year or a quarter’s worth of information into a single document. What did you do? What were your wins? What would you like to change? Trying to come up with a list on the fly can be overwhelming.
That’s why the Plus Delta Template is so powerful. It’s a simple way to reflect on what went well and how the process, project, or event can be changed for the better.
Let’s look at this (and a few other benefits) in more detail:
Showcase project success. The Plus Delta Template is a great way to showcase wins and learnings to your team, stakeholders, employees, and bosses. It’s easy to use and visually appealing, and you can customize it to suit your audience.
Simplify project analysis. Use the Plus Delta model to bring clarity to your reflection process. The simple template structure allows you to easily spot what went well and how to improve.
Encourage critical thinking. Encourage yourself and your team members to think critically about the successes and failures of your events with the Plus Delta Template.
Improve project work going forward. Use the template to visualize how you can improve your events going forward.
How to create a Plus Delta Template with Miro
Using Miro’s digital workspace, you can create the perfect Plus Delta Template for you and your team. It’s customizable and easy to use, and you can share it with your team.
Follow these steps to create the perfect Plus Delta framework for your business:
Step 1: Select this Plus Delta Template. Start by selecting this free Plus Delta Template. It’s intuitive and easy to use, so you’ll be able to start immediately.
Step 2: Review your project or event. Now, it’s time to start the reflection. Review your project or event in its entirety. You need this to be fresh in your mind so you can identify the wins and areas of improvement in the next step.
Step 3: Make a list of wins. In the Plus column, add the areas of your project that were successful. Think about strategies, tactics, behaviors, processes, and anything else that went well.
Step 4: Make a list of things you’d like to change. Under the Delta column, outline anything you think could be improved. It could be an improvement to an existing process or an entirely new process that’d make the entire project run more efficiently.
Step 5: Share the template with your team. When you’ve added all the relevant information, it’s time to share your work. Collaborate with your team to make sure you’ve covered everything. If they have any suggestions or feedback, they can add visual notes directly to your template.
Step 6: Create a plan of action. In the final phase, you’ll review all the information you’ve collected in the template. From here, you’ll create a plan of action for how to improve your work going forward.
Get started with this template right now.
Agile Board Template
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Meetings, Agile Workflows
Part of the popular Agile framework, an Agile Board is a visual display that allows you to sync on tasks throughout a production cycle. The Agile Board is typically used in the context of Agile development methods like Kanban and Scrum, but anyone can adopt the tool. Used by software developers and project managers, the Agile Board helps manage workload in a flexible, transparent and iterative way. The Agile template provides an easy way to get started with a premade layout of sticky notes customizable for your tasks and team.
User Persona Template
Works best for:
Marketing, Desk Research, User Experience
A user persona is a tool for representing and summarizing a target audience for your product or service that you have researched or observed. Whether you’re in content marketing, product marketing, design, or sales, you operate with a target in mind. Maybe it’s your customer or prospect. Maybe it’s someone who will benefit from your product or service. Usually, it’s a whole collection of personalities and needs that intersect in interesting ways. By distilling your knowledge about a user, you create a model for the person you hope to target: this is a persona.
Prune the Product Tree Template
Works best for:
Design, Desk Research, Product Management
Prune the Product Tree (also known as the product tree game or the product tree prioritization framework) is a visual tool that helps product managers organize and prioritize product feature requests. The tree represents a product roadmap and helps your team think about how to grow and shape your product or service by gamifying feedback-gathering from customers and stakeholders. A typical product tree has four symbolic features: the trunk, which represents the existing product features your team is building; the branches, each of which represents a product or system function; roots, which are technical requirements or infrastructure; and leaves, which are new ideas for product features.
Project Scope Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Decision Making, Project Planning
A project scope helps you plan and confirm your project’s goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, costs, and deadlines. A project manager and team should develop a project scope as early as possible, as it will directly influence both the schedule and cost of a project as it progresses. Though project scopes will vary depending on your team and objectives, they generally include goals, requirements, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints. Aim to include the whole team when you create a project scope to ensure everyone is aligned on responsibilities and deadlines.
What? So What? Now What? Template
Works best for:
Agile Workflows, Retrospectives, Brainstorming
The What? So What? Now What? Framework empowers you to uncover gaps in your understanding and learn from others’ perspectives. You can use the What? So What? Now What? Template to guide yourself or a group through a reflection exercise. Begin by thinking of a specific event or situation. During each phase, ask guiding questions to help participants reflect on their thoughts and experience. Working with your team, you can then utilize the template to record your ideas and to guide the experience.
Burndown Chart Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Agile Workflows, Mapping
Whoa whoa whoa, pace yourself! That means knowing how much work is left—and, based on the delivery date, how much time you’ll have for each task. Perfect for project managers, Burndown Charts create a clear visualization of a team’s remaining work to help get it done on time and on budget. These charts have other big benefits, too. They encourage transparency and help individual team members be aware of their work pace so they can adjust or maintain it.