Start Stop Retrospective Template (Free)

Start

What should we start doing?

Daily 5-minute stand-ups to improve communication

Using a shared documentation system for better knowledge sharing

Implementing peer code reviews before merging

Stop

What should we stop doing?

Having meetings without clear agendas

Working on multiple tasks simultaneously

Skipping documentation updates

What is the Start Stop Retrospective?

The Start Stop Retrospective asks your team two questions: what should we start doing, and what should we stop doing? That's the whole board. With only two columns, the discussion goes straight to changes, and the meeting ends with a short list of things to try and things to drop. Start is for new practices, habits or processes the team wants to adopt. Stop is for the ones that waste time or cause frustration: meetings without an agenda, skipped documentation, workarounds that never get fixed. Every note is a behavior, so turning the top-voted items into actions with an owner is quick. It's a trimmed-down version of Start Stop Continue, without the Continue column. Use it when you need decisions more than reflection, such as after a project phase, during a process change, or when a short retro is all the time you have. If the team also needs to name what's working, run the three-column version instead.

Start Stop retrospective format

Start What should we start doing?: Ask for new practices, behaviors or processes the team could try. Push for specific suggestions over vague ones, and favor changes you could make within the next sprint.
Stop What should we stop doing?: Ask which practices or behaviors waste time or cause frustration. Keep the discussion on what people do, not who does it, and look for problems that keep coming back.

When to use this retrospective

When your team needs to make quick, clear changes to how it works
After a project phase, when you know some adjustments are needed
When you have little time and want the retro to end in decisions
During a period of change, to decide which practices to drop

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

Keep each note to something the team could act on in the next sprint or two
Go round the room so everyone adds at least one note to each column
Give Start and Stop roughly equal time so the session doesn't turn into a list of complaints
Turn the top items into actions, each with an owner and a deadline
Check on the last retro's actions before starting new ones

Frequently asked questions

What is a Start Stop retrospective?

It's a two-column retrospective. Your team lists what it should start doing and what it should stop doing, then turns the top items into actions.

How is Start Stop different from Start Stop Continue?

Start Stop drops the Continue column, so the team doesn't spend time on what's already working. That makes it faster, but you lose the reminder to protect good habits, so switch to Start Stop Continue now and then.

When should we use a Start Stop retrospective?

Use it when you need quick, clear changes: after a project phase, during a process change, or when the retro has to be short.

How long does a Start Stop retrospective take?

With only two columns, 30 to 45 minutes is usually enough for brainstorming, grouping, voting and agreeing on actions.

How do we make sure Start and Stop actions actually happen?

Give each action an owner and a deadline. Then review those actions at the start of your next retro, before you add new ones.

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