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Criterion
Paper illustration of a Polarity Map with two poles and four quadrants
Systems Thinking
Polarity Mapping
A structured reflection surfaces what was liked, learned, lacked, and longed for. It is a conversation format and does not validate actions automatically.
Agile
4Ls Retrospective
Paper illustration for Starfish Retrospective
Agile
Starfish Retrospective
Purposedifferent
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 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 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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowLow
Timedifferent
1-2 h45–75 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-12Team members involved4-12
Formatsame
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement ActionsStarfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership
RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam
RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of a team retrospective with three separate Start, Stop, and Continue areas and a shared action list.
Agile
Start Stop Continue
Paper illustration for Sailboat Retrospective
Agile
Sailboat Retrospective
The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.
Agile
Sprint Retrospective