The What, So What, Now What format includes three main parts:

• What – What happened? This section covers a specific event, whether that’s a successful product launch or a workplace mishap.
• So what – What matters about what happened? This section covers the consequences of the event. Consequences can be positive, negative, or anywhere in between.
• Now what – This section takes the information from the previous two sections and considers practical applications of the lessons learned. This is the future planning and strategy portion of the meeting.

Here are a few example questions for each of the three sections.

What – What is one positive occurrence you witnessed? What is one negative occurrence you witnessed? Can you summarize the event in one sentence?

So what – How did you feel before and after the event? Can you describe the emotional reactions of your teammates? What mood word would you use to describe the event?

Now what – What parts of the event are worth repeating? What parts of the event should we avoid in the future? Should we try something different next time?

While the questions you raise in your What, So What, Now What strategy meetings will likely depend on projects and scenarios unique to your team, sometimes it can be helpful to glance at a list of sample questions to get the ball rolling on everyone’s reaction.

Here are a handful of questions that commonly pop up in these retrospective meetings:

• What did you observe?
• What surprised you?
• What will you take away from this experience?
• What will your customers or teammates take away from this experience?

For more inspiration, check out FigJam’s free What, So What, Now What examples.