The core of the Start-Stop-Continue method is the constant reflection of one's own actions. If repeated consistently, it should lead to continuous improvement and gradually eliminate mistakes.
In this article, we look at the application of this method, give tips and show how team members can adapt to it.
The Start-Stop-Continue method is also known as Start-Stop-Keep and is a tool for looking at and improving your actions in a targeted manner. The classic Start-Stop-Continue questions are:
On the surface, these questions appear to be a typical retrospective. However, by repeating them regularly, they have the effect of constantly improving and increasing performance.
As there is also a "why" behind all questions, they help to take a critical (not negative) look at processes and question them. In this way, process brakes are identified and gradually removed. Ideally, what remains is a clean process that the entire team gets along with very well.
| Start-Stop-Continue is suitable for teams as well as for personal action. The only difference is that teams need to find a way to share their insights with each other. |
The repeated review with the Start-Stop-Continue method should be written down and shared with the team. This way, everyone has access to the findings and can contribute to them without hindrance.
Since remote work means that not everyone is always sitting at the same table, it is a good idea to work on the project in a digital tool. An online whiteboard combines text elements and a graphical display to ensure a very good overview.
A tried-and-tested start-stop-continue template allows the team to get started immediately. All members can access the template at any time and make entries whenever a realization comes to them. This way, these important ideas don't get lost in the daily work routine.
In Collaboard, it is also possible to pin notes and annotations anywhere on the digital whiteboard - just like the physical version. This allows the team to place explanations and notes that provide more context without overloading the predefined scheme.
Reflection and discarding habits can sometimes be hurtful. However, the start-stop-continue method does not want to work this way. Instead, it is a thoroughly objective method.
The improvements made will ultimately benefit the entire team and should make work easier and more pleasant, as well as more efficient.
It is therefore important to create a positive atmosphere during the editing process and to ensure that the team is aware of its objective nature before using it. Experience shows that smooth collaboration brings a lot of fun to teams and builds bridges for joint work - even across remote workplaces.
Since a one-off or infrequent review is unlikely to be successful, established regularity is of great value. We have compiled this and other tips for implementing Start-Stop-Continue here:
A simple notebook can be a tool for using the Start-Stop-Continue method in the private sphere. It can be used to review days or weeks and constantly improve success in hobbies or sports, for example.
For collaboration in a professional environment, what works best is what is most easily accessible for everyone. In Collaboard, the entire team can work on joint projects at the same time and from any location.
The boards offer space for images, videos and many other documents so that all colleagues have the full wealth of information in front of them and can process it together.
Thanks to European data protection standards and full GDPR compliance, Collaboard also offers the security required for future-proof digital collaboration.
A marketing team is at the end of a large customer project and would like to transfer the joint performance to future projects. During the term of the project, the team members have made regular entries in the schema. This is what the results can look like:
The evaluation of the entries does not always have to take place at the end of a project, but can also take place on a weekly basis, for example. This timing can also be refined by using the start-stop-continue method.
The advantages of the method have been tried and tested many times and lead to a continuous improvement in internal processes. The scheme ensures that team members can easily enter their thoughts.
Getting started can be made much easier by using a template, and collaboration via a cloud-based solution such as Collaboard is also a good option. In particular, teams whose members work fully or partially remotely can still work together without any hurdles.
Although the method should be used regularly, individual processing times take up little time. The discussion of the points can also be actively moderated in order to limit the time required.
No separate meetings need to be held for regular use of the method. Instead, it can be integrated as a new part of existing meetings. Individual ideas can then be entered at any time and from within the team.
The method should be applied in a positive, at best objective environment from the outset. It is not about mistakes made by individuals, but about making work easier for the entire team - and this should also be communicated.
Placing the method at suitable process points helps here: At the end of project A and before the start of project B, it is jointly determined which actions may remain and which may not be carried over into the new project.
The Start-Stop-Continue method is not intended to be a dictate, but to encourage the team to improve cooperation. It is therefore important to jointly determine a suitable number of new starts that do not overload the team.