View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective | ![]() Operations After-Action Review | ![]() Agile Sprint Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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 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 |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 20-45 min | Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorter |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 3-12 | Scrum Team |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | Lessons learned, Action items, Event summary | Improvement actions, Team agreements |
Tags1 shared | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | LearningOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementLearning |
Often compared together
Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.






