Start Stop Continue Retrospective

• Regular sprint retrospectives when you want clear, actionable output.
• Teams new to retrospectives: the three questions need no explanation.
• After a change in process, to decide which new habits to keep.

Purpose: Identify practical changes the team can implement immediately.

• 🚀 Start

  What should we begin doing?

• ✋ Stop

  What isn't helping us?

• 🔁 Continue

  What's working and should continue?

1. 1

   Set the stage · 2 min

   Remind the team of the period you're looking back on and the goal: one or two changes you'll actually make.

2. 2

   Silent brainstorming · 5 min

   Keep the room quiet so everyone thinks on their own first. Remind people one idea per card.

3. 3

   Share, clarify & group · 7 min

   Ask each person to briefly read their cards. Clarify, don't debate. Move duplicates next to each other or into the right column.

4. 4

   Vote · 4 min

   Everyone spends their votes on what matters most. Totals stay hidden until you move on.

5. 5

   Discuss top themes · 7 min

   Start with the most-voted card. Ask: what would it take to change this? Capture ideas as comments.

6. 6

   Agree on actions & owners · 5 min

   Pick one or two improvements. Give each an owner and a clear expected result.

Notes a software team might write:

Expected outcome: One or two prioritised improvement actions.

• Keep Stop cards about practices, not people.
• If Continue is empty, ask what nobody would want to lose.

Each prompt is a column on a shared board. Everyone writes silently, then the team groups notes, votes with hidden totals, discusses the top cards and turns them into actions with owners.

Each stage comes with instructions for the facilitator and the participants and a suggested timer you can adjust. Teammates join with a link and their name; no account needed.