The Start, Stop, Continue Retrospective (Template + How-To)

Start, Stop, Continue is the fastest way to run a useful retrospective. It asks the team three questions — what should we start doing, what should we stop doing, and what's working that we should continue? — and turns the answers into clear next steps. It's the format most teams should reach for first, because it maps directly onto action.

The three columns

Start

New behaviors, tools, or practices the team should adopt. This is where ideas for improvement live: "start writing acceptance criteria before we estimate," "start pairing on tricky tickets."

Stop

Things that are wasting time, causing friction, or no longer serving the team: "stop scheduling meetings during focus hours," "stop merging without a review."

Continue

Habits that are working and deserve protection. Naming them matters — teams often drop good practices simply because no one acknowledged they were helping: "continue the Friday demo," "continue rotating the on-call role."

How to run it, step by step

1. Set the stage (2 min). Remind everyone the goal is improvement, not blame.
2. Brainstorm silently (8–10 min). Everyone adds items to all three columns on their own. Silent, independent writing prevents the loudest voice from anchoring the room.
3. Group and discuss (15 min). Cluster similar items and talk through the themes.
4. Vote (5 min). Dot-vote on the most important items so you focus on what matters.
5. Commit (10 min). Turn the top one or two items into owned action items with a clear expected outcome.

When to use Start, Stop, Continue

• Your team is new to retrospectives and needs a simple, low-overhead format
• You want the retro to produce clear, actionable next steps
• You have limited time and need something that works in 30–45 minutes

If your team needs to talk about how the sprint felt rather than just what to do, a Mad, Sad, Glad retro may fit better. For deeper learning-focused reflection, try the 4Ls.

Facilitation tips

• Cap your commitments. One or two "starts" and one "stop" per sprint is plenty. More than that and nothing sticks.
• Make items specific. "Improve communication" is a wish. "Post a written standup update by 10am" is a commitment.
• Protect the Continue column. It's easy to skip, but reinforcing what works keeps morale up and prevents good habits from quietly disappearing.

Start small, stop something real, and continue what's already working.

Follow through

The format is only half the job. The reason Start, Stop, Continue fails for many teams is the same reason most retros fail — no one tracks whether the "starts" actually started. Read why retros don't lead to change for the fix, and grab a ready-to-run version from our templates page.