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| Criterion |  Operations After-Action Review |  Agile Start Stop Continue |  Agile Mad Sad Glad |  Agile Sprint 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. | When a team wants to deliberately adjust its working behavior, it makes habits visible and assessable. It focuses on concrete changes instead of diffuse mood. | When a team's or workshop's mood needs to become readable, it structures emotional signals with little setup. It makes strain, relief, and sources of energy tangible. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 30-60 min | 30-60 min | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 3-12 | 3-10 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Start Stop Continue Board, Improvement Actions | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tagsno overlap | LearningOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementTeamReflection | RetrospectiveTeamReflection | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |