methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

Criterion
A structured reflection surfaces what was liked, learned, lacked, and longed for. It is a conversation format and does not validate actions automatically.
Agile
4Ls Retrospective
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.
Agile
Sprint Retrospective
Paper illustration for Starfish Retrospective
Agile
Starfish Retrospective
Purposedifferent
When a sprint should not only be assessed but also learned from, it captures experience in clear learning categories. It records what worked, what's missing, and what should run differently next time.An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.When a sprint is over and friction shouldn't simply be carried forward, it opens the view onto collaboration and patterns. It creates space to see causes and changes together.When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued.
Complexitysame
LowLowLowLow
Timedifferent
45–75 min15-45 minUp to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
Team members involved1-3Scrum Team4-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopAsyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement ActionsADR File, Decision Log, RationaleImprovement actions, Team agreementsStarfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments
Tagsno overlap
RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
RetrospectiveImprovementLearning
RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam
Add more methods