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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Operations Process Mapping |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |  Agile 4Ls 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. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 45–75 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 3-10 | 4-12 | Team members involved |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ProcessOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam |