Team Health Monitor — Atlassian's 8 Attributes of High-Performing Teams

Atlassian's Team Playbook check on the eight attributes healthy project teams share — from a full-time owner to managed dependencies. Vote each red / amber / green and talk about the reds.

Run in TeamRetro

Eight things healthy teams share. How many are green for you?

The Team Health Monitor comes from Atlassian's Team Playbook: eight attributes that healthy, high-performing project teams tend to share. Instead of a score out of five, the team votes each attribute red, amber or green together — the conversation is the point. This check reproduces the eight attributes (in TeamRetro's own words) so your team can run it in minutes.

Dimensions

Eight attributes

The eight attributes that healthy, high-performing project teams tend to share, drawn from Atlassian's Team Playbook. Vote each one red, amber or green and talk through the reds together.

  • Full-time owner

    We have one clearly accountable lead, dedicated enough to champion this work.

    • No clear owner
    • Owner but stretched thin
    • Dedicated, accountable lead

  • Balanced team

    We have the right skills and clearly defined roles to deliver what we own.

    • Skills or roles missing
    • Gaps or fuzzy roles
    • Right skills, clear roles

  • Shared understanding

    We share a common understanding of our mission and the milestones to get there.

    • No shared picture
    • Partial alignment
    • Aligned on mission

  • Value and metrics

    We know the value we deliver and how we'll measure success.

    • Value unclear
    • Value clear, metrics fuzzy
    • Value and metrics defined

  • Proof of concept

    We've validated this is worth doing and have a clear path forward.

    • Unvalidated
    • Some evidence
    • Validated, clear path

  • One-pager

    Our purpose and goals are captured somewhere anyone can quickly grasp.

    • Nothing written down
    • Exists but scattered
    • Clear, accessible one-pager

  • Managed dependencies

    We have a clear view of who we depend on and who depends on us, and we manage the risk.

    • Dependencies unknown
    • Known but not managed
    • Visible and managed

  • Velocity

    We're making steady, visible progress and shipping to stakeholders.

    • Stalled progress
    • Uneven progress
    • Steady, visible shipping

When to use this health check

  • At a project kickoff to set the bar for how the team wants to work.
  • Quarterly, to track how the eight attributes are trending over time.
  • When a project feels stuck and you can't quite name why.

Tips & tricks

  • One full-time owner is non-negotiable for project teams — a red here usually explains the other reds.
  • The conversation is the point: don't fixate on the vote, dig into why any attribute is amber or red.
  • Focus your session on the reds first — those are where the biggest gains are.
  • Re-run after a few weeks of action to see whether ambers and reds are shifting toward green.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Atlassian Team Health Monitor?
It's a check from Atlassian's Team Playbook that helps a team self-assess against the eight attributes healthy, high-performing project teams tend to share. Rather than scoring, the team votes each attribute red, amber or green and discusses the results together — the conversation is where the value lies.
What are the eight attributes?
For project teams they are: full-time owner, balanced team, shared understanding, value and metrics, proof of concept, one-pager, managed dependencies, and velocity. Each captures a habit or condition that high-performing teams tend to have in place.
Can we use it commercially?
The framework itself can be used with attribution — Atlassian releases the Team Playbook under a CC BY-NC-SA licence. That non-commercial, share-alike licence is why this check reproduces the eight attributes in TeamRetro's own wording rather than copying Atlassian's text verbatim.