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Criterion
Paper illustration of a Polarity Map with two poles and four quadrants
Systems Thinking
Polarity Mapping
Paper illustration of a team retrospective with three separate Start, Stop, and Continue areas and a shared action list.
Agile
Start Stop Continue
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 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 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
MediumLowLowLow
Timedifferent
1-2 h30-60 min45–75 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
3-123-12Team members involved4-12
Formatsame
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance ActionsStart Stop Continue Board, Improvement Actions4Ls Board, Learning Themes, Improvement ActionsStarfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership
RetrospectiveImprovementTeamReflection
RetrospectiveLearningReflectionTeam
RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam
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