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| Criterion |  Operations After-Action Review |  Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping |  Agile Sprint Retrospective |  Agile Sailboat Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | Polarity Mapping makes tensions between two opposing poles tangible, such as standardization and adaptation or control and autonomy. The method guards against making apparent either-or decisions prematurely. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 1-2 h | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-12 | Scrum Team | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Improvement actions, Team agreements | Sailboat Board, Risks, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | LearningOperationsImprovement | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning | RetrospectiveTeamImprovement |