Keep doing
Practices and behaviors that are working well and should continue exactly as they are. These are the non-negotiables — the team's best practices that should be protected from scope creep and process changes.
Free template
Free starfish retro template — five zones of behavioral change.
The starfish retro has five zones: keep doing, do more of, start doing, do less of, and stop doing. It's the most granular behavioral retro format — nuanced enough to distinguish 'less of' from 'stop' and 'more of' from 'start.'
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When to run this
Use the starfish retro when a three-column format (start/stop/continue) feels too blunt — when the team has practices that are good but overused, or bad but not so bad they should stop entirely. The five-zone format captures those nuances.
The starfish is particularly useful for mature teams that have been running retros for a long time and need a more sophisticated framework to surface new insights.
The structure
More of
Things the team is doing that are good but not enough. Distinct from 'keep doing' — these aren't complete, they need more: more frequency, more coverage, more investment. 'More of: pair programming on complex features' says 'we pair program sometimes and it works, we should do it more often.'
Start doing
Things the team doesn't do at all that they should begin. New practices, new tools, new processes. This zone is identical to the 'Start' column in start/stop/continue. Each start should be specific and actionable.
Less of
Things the team does that are creating some value but too much friction. Reduce, but don't eliminate. 'Less of: documentation for internal tools' says 'we're over-documenting this category — reduce the standard.' This zone is the most useful differentiator in the starfish format.
Stop doing
Practices and behaviors that create more harm than good and should be eliminated. The hardest zone to fill honestly — stopping something the team has been doing requires acknowledging the sunk cost. Write these stickies anyway. Each Stop is a potential sprint of recovered capacity.
How to run it
- Draw the starfish (3 min)
Draw a large star shape with five sections. Label each arm: Keep, More Of, Start, Less Of, Stop. The visual layout reinforces the five-zone structure and helps participants think in gradations rather than binaries.
- Introduce the nuances (2 min)
Explain the difference between Keep/More Of and Stop/Less Of before writing starts. Teams new to the starfish format will default to three-column thinking — the facilitation setup prevents that.
- Silent write (12 min)
Everyone writes stickies for all five zones. Give extra time relative to a standard retro — the five zones require more reflection. Encourage at least two stickies in the Less Of zone, which is often under-populated.
- Post, cluster, and discuss (15 min)
Post stickies zone by zone. Cluster within each zone. Pay attention to the More Of / Keep and Less Of / Stop distinctions — items that land in the wrong zone are useful discussion starters.
- Prioritize and define actions
Dot-vote across all five zones. Top items in Start and More Of become new commitments; top items in Stop and Less Of become new boundaries.
- Snap and track
Snap the board with BoardSnap. The AI reads all five zones and outputs a comprehensive behavioral change plan — organized by zone, with commitments and boundaries clearly distinguished.
Why starfish retros on a whiteboard + BoardSnap is better than digital
The starfish's five-zone structure is spatial — the star shape with five arms spread across a whiteboard makes the category distinctions physically clear. Digital starfish templates compress the zones into similar-looking text boxes. A physical star drawn large on a whiteboard makes More Of and Less Of genuinely feel different from their more extreme counterparts.
BoardSnap reads the five-zone layout and outputs a structured summary that preserves the distinctions. The Less Of items don't get collapsed into Stop; the More Of items don't get collapsed into Start. The nuance is preserved.
Frequently asked
Who invented the starfish retrospective?
The starfish retro is attributed to Pat Kua, who introduced it around 2006. It was designed to address the perceived bluntness of the start/stop/continue format by adding the More Of and Less Of zones, which capture gradations that a binary start/stop misses.
When is the starfish too much for a retro?
When the team is newer to retrospectives, when time is very limited (under 45 minutes), or when the session needs to be highly focused on one or two specific problems. The five-zone format requires more cognitive engagement than a two- or three-column format. For teams that are just starting retros, build to the starfish after they're comfortable with simpler formats.
What's the practical difference between 'Less Of' and 'Stop'?
'Less Of' means: this practice has value, but we're investing too much in it. Reduce the frequency, scope, or intensity. 'Stop' means: this practice is net negative and should be eliminated. The distinction forces precision. A meeting that's too long should be 'less of' (shorter). A meeting with no clear purpose should be 'stop' (eliminated).
Should 'Keep Doing' be a discussion zone?
Less than the others. Keep Doing acknowledges and protects existing practices — it shouldn't generate debate (if it does, the practice should move to the More Of or Less Of zone). The facilitation goal for Keep Doing is naming and celebrating, not analyzing and critiquing.
Run your next starfish retro and BoardSnap will summarize it.
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