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Start Stop Continue Retrospective

The go-to agile format for balanced, actionable sprint retros.

Start Stop Continue is the most widely used sprint retrospective format in agile and Scrum teams. Its simplicity makes it accessible to new teams while its structure keeps experienced teams honest about habits, process debt, and wins worth protecting.

Board columns

Start
What should the team introduce? New practices, tools, ceremonies, or behaviours that teammates believe would improve the next sprint.
Stop
What is costing the team energy or slowing delivery? Habits, processes, or meetings that no longer serve the team and should be dropped.
Continue
What is working well and should be explicitly protected? Wins and strengths the team risks losing if left unacknowledged.

When to use this template

Use this template every sprint as a reliable default. It works equally well for co-located and remote teams, and scales from two-person pairs to large cross-functional squads. Especially effective when you want a balanced look at what to change versus what to protect.

How to run it

1
Set a timer and give everyone 8–10 minutes to write cards privately in each column.
2
Reveal cards together and read each one.
3
Drag related cards into themes—patterns emerge quickly.
4
Vote: each person has a limited vote budget.
5
Discuss top-voted themes and ask what it would take to improve them.
6
Assign one owner and a next-sprint deadline per action item before closing.

Facilitation tips

Keep the private writing phase before revealing cards to prevent anchoring bias.
Limit actions to two or three per retro—too many dilutes ownership.
Return to the previous sprint's Continue column at the start of each retro to check that wins held.

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