Start-Stop-Continue
One of the simplest and most effective retrospective formats. Team members identify what they should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing. Its clarity makes it a go-to for teams new to retrospectives.
Sections
Welcome the team. Review the purpose of the retro and establish safety agreements.
Brainstorm new practices, tools, or behaviors the team should adopt.
Identify things that are not working, causing friction, or wasting time.
Highlight what is working well and should be maintained.
Dot-vote on the most impactful items and discuss the top-voted ones.
Assign owners and deadlines for the top 2-3 action items.
Materials Needed
- •Whiteboard or digital board (Miro, FigJam)
- •Sticky notes in 3 colors
- •Dot stickers for voting
- •Timer
Facilitator Script
“Welcome everyone. Today we're running a Start-Stop-Continue retro. Think about the last sprint: what should we start doing that we're not doing yet? What should we stop because it's not helping us? And what should we keep doing because it's working well? Take 5 minutes to write your thoughts on sticky notes, then we'll share and discuss.”
Pro Tip
Encourage the team to write "Continue" items first. Starting with positives sets a constructive tone for the rest of the session.
Press Space to shuffle
Press Space for the next one