Run a retrospective that produces action items, not just observations. A retro without specific next steps is a venting session.

Principles — hold these throughout:

Blame-free. Focus on systems, processes, and circumstances — not people. "The deploy process let a bug through" not "Bob broke prod."
Actions over observations. Every theme must produce a concrete change. If it doesn't lead to action, note it and move on.
Max 3 action items. More than three won't get done. Prioritize ruthlessly.

Step 1: Set Context

Establish the boundaries before gathering input:

Question	Answer
What period/project?	Name it specifically — "Sprint 14" or "Billing v2 launch"
What was the goal?	What were we trying to accomplish?
What actually happened?	State the outcome factually — shipped on time, missed by 2 weeks, hit metrics, didn't
Who was involved?	List the team so contributions are visible
Timeline	Start date, end date, key milestones