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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |  Business Strategy Strategy Execution Loop |  Operations After-Action Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | The Strategy Execution Loop helps avoid treating strategy as a one-off document. It makes visible how strategic decisions are turned into objectives, initiatives, operational work, measurement, and learning. | After missions or project phases with unclear outcomes, the method makes visible what actually happened and what can be learned from it. It separates course, effect, and causes so experience turns into solid improvement. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter | Initial 3-6 h, then monthly or quarterly reviews | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | Scrum Team | 5-12 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Improvement actions, Team agreements | Execution Loop, Review Cadence, Strategic Learning Log | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning | ExecutionCadenceLearningGovernance | LearningOperationsImprovement |