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Start-Stop-Continue

Increase team efficiency with a simple retrospective format

Pratique

Aim

The Start-Stop-Continue technique is used to take stock of creative thinking, rethink a project or the functioning of a team. Action-oriented, it invites participants to dynamically and intuitively share concrete ideas for rapid improvement.

Instructions

Time needed: 10 to 60 minutes

Key Steps

1. After recalling the framework of the exercise, ask participants to consider the following three questions:

• What should we start doing?
• What should we stop doing?
• What should we continue doing?

2. Give them time for individual reflection to answer questions and write down their ideas (one idea per Post-it).
3. Then invite them to position their Post-its on the Start-Stop-Continue matrix.
4. The group notes all the proposals and observes areas of convergence and divergence.
   You can then help the group identify a shared harvest by gathering similar ideas and pointing out possible “off-topics” or differences.
5. Finally, make sure that all identified topics either leave with “carriers” for reflection or action, or are clearly left out for now or permanently. It is important that the group prioritises and aligns itself with these choices.

Tips and Advice

• You can use three different coloured Post-its, one per category, to group them more easily on a wall of the room for example and create a highly visual result.
• Instead of writing ideas down, you can suggest that participants express their ideas orally after the individual reflection time. As the facilitator, you then write the ideas on the matrix or take notes as a harvest.