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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping | ![]() Operations Accountability Ladder | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective | ![]() Agile 4Ls 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. | With defensive reactions to problems, the method shifts the view from justification to ownership. It makes visible which reaction stage a person or team is currently stuck on. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 20-45 min | 45-90 min | 45–75 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 1-8 | 4-12 | Team members involved |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Ownership Reflection, Action Commitment, Coaching Notes | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | 4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | ResponsibilityLeadershipTeam | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam |



