Complete firstChangeable practices
The team can name concrete practices and change at least one itself.
Attach a clarification task to matters outside its influence.
Method guideAgile
Starfish Retrospective
A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.
ComplexityLow
Time45-90 min
Participants4-12
FormatWorkshop
MaturityEstablished
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
Five fields labelled Keep Doing, Less Of, More Of, Stop Doing, Start Doing; cards and experiment log.
People / roles
Team members with different perspectives and a facilitator.
Pre-read
Define period, team boundary and previous experiments; explain the five categories and request concrete practices.
Time needed
45–75 minutes; later experiment review
Setup
Lay out five equal practice fields; provide a separate area for the change selected later.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
Which practices should we preserve, increase, reduce, stop or start trying?
04
Flow
Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall
The Starfish Retrospective distinguishes five changes to practices: Keep Doing, Less Of, More Of, Stop Doing and Start Doing. Preserving, adjusting intensity, ending and trying something new remain distinct decisions.
Starfish Retrospective· worksheet
Fictional example
The Starfish Retrospective distinguishes five changes to practices: Keep Doing, Less Of, More Of, Stop Doing and Start Doing. Preserving, adjusting intensity, ending and trying something new remain distinct decisions.
Keep Doing
Which practice should remain as it is, and why?
Fictional: keep the Friday demo with real usage cases; it clarifies misunderstandings.
Less Of
Which existing practice should become less frequent or smaller?
Limit status meetings to 15 rather than 30 minutes.
More Of
Which helpful existing practice should become more frequent or intensive?
Increase pairing on unfamiliar modules from once to twice weekly.
Stop Doing
Which practice should stop and which necessary function must still be covered?
Stop the duplicate email status report; the current board remains the information source.
Start Doing
Which currently absent practice do we want to try?
Start a weekly 20-minute review of support patterns.
Selected experiment
Which single change is tested for how long, by whom and using which effect?
Two weeks of shorter status meetings, owner Lea; observe duration and subsequent clarifications. Then decide whether to continue.
All example details are fictional and illustrate the application.
- 1
Five directions
Five directions of change
Goal
Shared category logic
Inputs for this step
- Retrospective period
- Practices
Actions
- Set the period and explain Keep, Less, More, Stop and Start using a practice.
- Clarify that contributions are proposals, not yet team decisions.
Output
Shared category logic
Are keeping and increasing clearly distinguished?
Quality check
Are keeping and increasing clearly distinguished?
Pitfall
Keep becomes a container for everything positive. Ask about the desired future intensity.
Timing: 5–10 minutes
- 2
Practice list
Collect practices silently
Goal
Five practice lists
Inputs for this step
- Category logic
- Own experiences
Actions
- Independently record concrete practices and place them in the desired change category.
- Add observed effects; fields may remain empty.
Output
Five practice lists
Does each card name a practice and desired change?
Quality check
Does each card name a practice and desired change?
Pitfall
Abstract wishes such as more quality dominate. Ask which behaviour should change in frequency or extent.
Timing: 10–15 minutes
- 3
Disagreements
Understand disagreements
Goal
Reasoned practice changes
Inputs for this step
- Practice lists
- Concrete examples
Actions
- Clarify related cards and explicitly discuss conflicting change requests.
- Distinguish whether context, quality or frequency changes a practice’s effect.
Output
Reasoned practice changes
Is context understood for conflicting cards?
Quality check
Is context understood for conflicting cards?
Pitfall
Stop and More for the same practice are voted away. Compare examples and seek a nuanced adjustment.
Timing: 15–25 minutes
- 4
Adjustment
Test a defined adjustment
Goal
Practice experiment with review
Inputs for this step
- Practice changes
- Capacity
Actions
- Select a feasible practice change with specific extent and expected effect.
- Record owner, duration and later review signal; explicitly protect Keep practices.
Output
Practice experiment with review
Are baseline and new intensity described measurably?
Quality check
Are baseline and new intensity described measurably?
Pitfall
The team promises everything from all five fields at once. Prioritise one trial and visibly defer other proposals.
Timing: 10–20 minutes
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Sketch: what the artifact looks like
Form
Five differentiated practice lists and an agreed experiment with baseline, intended intensity, owner and review.
Versioning / ownership
Record date and scope; retain the previous version and reason when changing it.
Tool alternatives
- Five paper fields
- Retrospective board
- Shared document with five sections
starfish-retrospective-working-template.md
Define period, team boundary and previous experiments; explain the five categories and request concrete practices.
Starfish Retrospective: Worksheet
Question
To be confirmed
Desired outcome
To be confirmed
Scope
Complete retrospective Time: 45–75 minutes; later experiment review
Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.
Preparation for this scope
Method setup
- Materials: Five fields labelled Keep Doing, Less Of, More Of, Stop Doing, Start Doing; cards and experiment log.
- Roles: Team members with different perspectives and a facilitator.
- Advance information: Define period, team boundary and previous experiments; explain the five categories and request concrete practices.
- Overall time needed: 45–75 minutes; later experiment review
- Setup: Lay out five equal practice fields; provide a separate area for the change selected later.
Prepare for the work steps
Five directions: Five directions of change
- Retrospective period
- Practices
Practice list: Collect practices silently
- Category logic
- Own experiences
Disagreements: Understand disagreements
- Practice lists
- Concrete examples
Adjustment: Test a defined adjustment
- Practice changes
- Capacity
Starfish Retrospective· worksheet
Keep Doing
Which practice should remain as it is, and why?
...
Less Of
Which existing practice should become less frequent or smaller?
...
More Of
Which helpful existing practice should become more frequent or intensive?
...
Stop Doing
Which practice should stop and which necessary function must still be covered?
...
Start Doing
Which currently absent practice do we want to try?
...
Selected experiment
Which single change is tested for how long, by whom and using which effect?
...
Answer the prompts with your own information. Explicitly mark unknowns and assumptions.
Patrick Kua: The Retrospective Starfish
Five directions: Five directions of change
Expected artifact: Shared category logic
Are keeping and increasing clearly distinguished?
Entry:
...
- Are keeping and increasing clearly distinguished?
Practice list: Collect practices silently
Expected artifact: Five practice lists
Does each card name a practice and desired change?
Entry:
...
- Does each card name a practice and desired change?
Disagreements: Understand disagreements
Expected artifact: Reasoned practice changes
Is context understood for conflicting cards?
Entry:
...
- Is context understood for conflicting cards?
Adjustment: Test a defined adjustment
Expected artifact: Practice experiment with review
Are baseline and new intensity described measurably?
Entry:
...
- Are baseline and new intensity described measurably?
Open questions and next steps
...
Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/starfish-retrospective/run-sheet
06
Example output
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Fictional example for orientation. Counts and timings describe this case and are not universal requirements.
starfish-retrospective-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Fictional example
Keep Doing: Fictional: keep the Friday demo with real usage cases; it clarifies misunderstandings.
Less Of: Limit status meetings to 15 rather than 30 minutes.
More Of: Increase pairing on unfamiliar modules from once to twice weekly.
Stop Doing: Stop the duplicate email status report; the current board remains the information source.
Start Doing: Start a weekly 20-minute review of support patterns.
Selected experiment: Two weeks of shorter status meetings, owner Lea; observe duration and subsequent clarifications. Then decide whether to continue.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow
- Five directions of changeKeep becomes a container for everything positive.View in phase
- Collect practices silentlyAbstract wishes such as more quality dominate.View in phase
- Understand disagreementsStop and More for the same practice are voted away.View in phase
- Test a defined adjustmentThe team promises everything from all five fields at once.View in phase
Trap
Five directions of change
Symptom
Keep becomes a container for everything positive.
What to do
Ask about the desired future intensity.
Trap
Collect practices silently
Symptom
Abstract wishes such as more quality dominate.
What to do
Ask which behaviour should change in frequency or extent.
Trap
Understand disagreements
Symptom
Stop and More for the same practice are voted away.
What to do
Compare examples and seek a nuanced adjustment.
Trap
Test a defined adjustment
Symptom
The team promises everything from all five fields at once.
What to do
Prioritise one trial and visibly defer other proposals.
08
Stop criteria
When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach
If More and Less remain vague, agree a specific frequency or extent. Understand conflicting views before the team decides.
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