Complete firstShared work context
The group reviews the same sprint, period, or process.
Mixed time horizons produce unrelated feedback.
Method guideAgile
Start Stop Continue
A practical method guide: clarify prerequisites and materials, understand the complete process, and look up outputs, pitfalls, and stop criteria.
ComplexityLow
Time30-60 min
Participants3-12
FormatWorkshop
MaturityCanonical
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
Complete firstAbility to change
The team can change at least some practices or involve the responsible owners.
Repeated feedback without action authority erodes trust.
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
Three clearly labeled columns, cards or a digital board, quiet writing time, a timer, and an action note with owner and date.
People / roles
Facilitation protects participation and focus on work. Team members write and clarify contributions. A recorder tracks selected actions and follow-up.
Pre-read
Set the period and work context. Bring open actions from the last review and observations from the work being discussed.
Time needed
30–60 minutes for a facilitated review; implementation and later effectiveness checks happen afterward.
Setup
Ask three questions: What should we start? What should we stop? What should we continue? Let contributions begin independently and quietly. Clarify whether notes describe observable practices. Group themes and discuss patterns. Turn selected points into a few actions with owners, dates, and a next check. Do not skip Continue; do not phrase Stop as a personal attack.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
What should the team start, stop, or deliberately continue doing?
04
Flow
Phases with goal, actions, output and pitfall
Start, Stop, and Continue organise observations about new behaviour, practices to end or change, and helpful work the team wants to protect. The frame structures a review, while patterns and a few reviewable actions guide the next check.
Start Stop Continue board
Fictional teaching example
Fictional observations from a four-week team pilot, separate from the blank worksheet.
| Area of work | Start | Stop | Continue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team practiceWhich concrete practice from the period should begin, stop, or deliberately continue? | Attach a short test note to each handoff. | Send review requests without context across several chat channels. | Involve Support with Engineering before substantial changes. |
1. Start
- Team practice
- Attach a short test note to each handoff.
2. Stop
- Team practice
- Send review requests without context across several chat channels.
3. Continue
- Team practice
- Involve Support with Engineering before substantial changes.
Fictional contributions refer to four weeks. Selected points become small actions with an owner, date, and check at the next review.
- 1
Frame
Set the period and safety
Goal
Everyone reviews the same work context in a constructive setting.
Inputs for this step
- Period, team goal, prior actions
Actions
- Explain the purpose
- focus on work and conditions, not people
- review open actions.
Output
Shared retrospective frame
Without a period, feedback becomes vague or mixed.
Quality check
Criticism is attributed to individuals.
Pitfall
The period or safe conversation frame is unclear. Phrase contributions as observable work and effects.
Timing: 5–7 minutes
- 2
Collect
Write contributions independently
Goal
Different perspectives become visible before discussion starts.
Inputs for this step
- Three-column board, cards
Actions
- Use one idea per card
- name a situation or behavior
- write silently first.
Output
Unfiltered contributions
An early comment can anchor later contributions.
Quality check
The first opinion sets the group's tone.
Pitfall
Early comments anchor later contributions. Collect quietly first and read together afterward.
Timing: 5–8 minutes
- 3
Clarify
Understand notes and patterns
Goal
The group understands patterns rather than isolated cards.
Inputs for this step
- Collected contributions
Actions
- Ask for examples and effects
- group similar notes
- mark differences and missing perspectives.
Output
Clarified themes
Three columns alone do not explain why a pattern occurs.
Quality check
Notes are sorted without discussion.
Pitfall
Notes are sorted before their meaning is clarified. For important Stop items, ask about the situation and reason.
Timing: 8–15 minutes
- 4
Choose
Agree on a few changes
Goal
The group focuses on feasible improvement.
Inputs for this step
- Clarified themes and authority
Actions
- State criteria briefly
- vote privately if needed
- consider practices to Continue
- choose only a few actions.
Output
Prioritized improvements
A popular issue may be outside the team's authority.
Quality check
Every note becomes a commitment.
Pitfall
The selection exceeds the team's authority. Check capacity and decision authority together.
Timing: 5–10 minutes
- 5
Commit
Record owners and a later check
Goal
Improvements are visible in the next work cycle.
Inputs for this step
- Prioritized themes, team capacity
Actions
- Describe each action
- agree owner, due date, and success signal
- sustain useful practices.
Output
Action list and review date
Without checking effects, the retrospective ends without follow-through.
Quality check
Actions have no owner or are forgotten.
Pitfall
Actions lack an owner, date, or later check. Review status and effects first in the next session.
Timing: 5–10 minutes
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Sketch: what the artifact looks like
Form
Retrospective record with period, three prompt areas, clarified patterns, a few actions, owners, due dates, and review status.
Versioning / ownership
Version the period, team context, participants where needed, and actions. Check prior actions in the next session and share the result with the team.
Tool alternatives
- Three-column board or paper cards
- Timer and silent brainstorming
- Action list with owner, date, and later status
start-stop-continue-working-template.md
Plan a bounded team review with silent contributions, three prompts, and a few tracked actions.
Start Stop Continue: Worksheet
Question
To be confirmed
Desired outcome
To be confirmed
Scope
Reflect on and adapt team practices Time: 30–60 minutes; actions are implemented and checked afterward
Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.
Preparation for this scope
Method setup
- Materials: Three clearly labeled columns, cards or a digital board, quiet writing time, a timer, and an action note with owner and date.
- Roles: Facilitation protects participation and focus on work. Team members write and clarify contributions. A recorder tracks selected actions and follow-up.
- Advance information: Set the period and work context. Bring open actions from the last review and observations from the work being discussed.
- Overall time needed: 30–60 minutes for a facilitated review; implementation and later effectiveness checks happen afterward.
- Setup: Ask three questions: What should we start? What should we stop? What should we continue? Let contributions begin independently and quietly. Clarify whether notes describe observable practices. Group themes and discuss patterns. Turn selected points into a few actions with owners, dates, and a next check. Do not skip Continue; do not phrase Stop as a personal attack.
Prepare for the work steps
Frame: Set the period and safety
- Period, team goal, prior actions
Collect: Write contributions independently
- Three-column board, cards
Clarify: Understand notes and patterns
- Collected contributions
Choose: Agree on a few changes
- Clarified themes and authority
Commit: Record owners and a later check
- Prioritized themes, team capacity
Start Stop Continue board
| Area of work | Start: What should we begin? | Stop: What should we end or change? | Continue: What should we keep doing? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team practice |
- Team practice: Which concrete practice from the period should begin, stop, or deliberately continue?
Blank worksheet: record period and work area, then add observable behavior or work conditions in each column. Do not carry over example text or actions.
Atlassian: Start, Stop, Continue retrospective
Frame: Set the period and safety
Expected artifact: Shared retrospective frame
Without a period, feedback becomes vague or mixed.
Entry:
...
- Criticism is attributed to individuals.
Collect: Write contributions independently
Expected artifact: Unfiltered contributions
An early comment can anchor later contributions.
Entry:
...
- The first opinion sets the group's tone.
Clarify: Understand notes and patterns
Expected artifact: Clarified themes
Three columns alone do not explain why a pattern occurs.
Entry:
...
- Notes are sorted without discussion.
Choose: Agree on a few changes
Expected artifact: Prioritized improvements
A popular issue may be outside the team's authority.
Entry:
...
- Every note becomes a commitment.
Commit: Record owners and a later check
Expected artifact: Action list and review date
Without checking effects, the retrospective ends without follow-through.
Entry:
...
- Actions have no owner or are forgotten.
Open questions and next steps
...
Method guide: https://methodatlas.meierhoff-systems.de/en/methods/start-stop-continue/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.
start-stop-continue-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Fictional teaching example: a small product team's review
All contributions are invented and refer to the last four-week pilot period.
| Start | Stop | Continue |
|---|---|---|
| Attach a short test note to each handoff. | Send review requests without context across several chat channels. | Involve Support with Engineering before a substantial change. |
The team selects one Start action: Kim adds a three-line test note to the next handoff. At the next sprint review, check whether the recipient could begin without asking for clarification. The Stop observation is handled as a process pattern, not assigned to an individual. Continue keeps a useful practice visible. This fictional list says nothing about frequency beyond the example.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Quick overview, the full text is in the matching phase in the flow
- Set the period and safetyThe period or safe conversation frame is unclear.View in phase
- Write contributions independentlyEarly comments anchor later contributions.View in phase
- Understand notes and patternsNotes are sorted before their meaning is clarified.View in phase
- Agree on a few changesThe selection exceeds the team's authority.View in phase
- Record owners and a later checkActions lack an owner, date, or later check.View in phase
Trap
Set the period and safety
Symptom
The period or safe conversation frame is unclear.
What to do
Phrase contributions as observable work and effects.
Trap
Write contributions independently
Symptom
Early comments anchor later contributions.
What to do
Collect quietly first and read together afterward.
Trap
Understand notes and patterns
Symptom
Notes are sorted before their meaning is clarified.
What to do
For important Stop items, ask about the situation and reason.
Trap
Agree on a few changes
Symptom
The selection exceeds the team's authority.
What to do
Check capacity and decision authority together.
Trap
Record owners and a later check
Symptom
Actions lack an owner, date, or later check.
What to do
Review status and effects first in the next session.
08
Stop criteria
When to pause, resolve prerequisites, or choose another approach
The team is in conflict or lacks safe discussion conditions: arrange appropriate facilitation and safeguards first.
Contributions remain broad judgments such as improve communication: ask for a concrete action and situation.
Stop notes name individuals: describe work and conditions instead.
Too many actions compete for capacity: prioritize a small set within the team's authority.
The same themes recur without progress: use root-cause analysis or a different retrospective format.
Finished the method guide?
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.