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| Criterion |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Agile Start Stop Continue |  Agile Mad Sad Glad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 15-45 min | 30-60 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 1-3 | 3-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Start Stop Continue Board, Improvement Actions | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items |
Tagsno overlap | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RetrospectiveImprovementTeamReflection | RetrospectiveTeamReflection |