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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Agile 4Ls Retrospective | ![]() Agile Sailboat Retrospective | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 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. | When a team wants to read momentum, brakes, and risks together, it offers an easily understandable picture of the situation. It makes drive, obstacles, and headwind visible in the same picture. | 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 | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 45–75 min | 45-90 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | Team members involved | 4-12 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions | Sailboat Board, Risks, Improvement Actions | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam | RetrospectiveTeamImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam |



