View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
Selected:Start Stop ContinueATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Starfish RetrospectiveMad Sad Glad
| Criterion | ![]() Agile Start Stop Continue | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective | ![]() Agile Mad Sad Glad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | 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 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 4-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Start Stop Continue Board, Improvement Actions | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items |
Tagsno overlap | RetrospectiveImprovementTeamReflection | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam | RetrospectiveTeamReflection |



