What is a team health check?
Teams rarely say out loud how they're doing. This team health check gives your agile team a shared way to talk about it across nine areas: ownership, value, goal alignment, communication, team roles, velocity, support and resources, process, and fun. Each person rates every area on a three-point scale. The results show where people agree and, more usefully, where they don't. A low or split score turns a vague feeling that something's off into a specific conversation, and that conversation leads to an action. Run it every few sprints or once a month and you'll see trends build up. A score that drops after a reorganization, or climbs after the team fixed its handoffs, tells you whether the changes you made are working.
Dimensions
Team Health Dimensions
Core dimensions that shape how a team performs, collaborates, and stays motivated, from clear ownership and shared goals through to process, support, and the enjoyment of working together.
Ownership
The team has clear ownership or a dedicated product owner who is accountable for the team's results and champions the mission inside and outside of the team.
- No clear ownership
- Some ownership
- Clear, strong ownership
Value
We can define and measure the value we provide to the business and the user.
- Value is unclear
- Value is partly defined
- Value is clear and measured
Goal Alignment
Everyone understands why they are here, supports the idea, and believes they have what it takes to create solutions that add value.
- Goals are misaligned
- Partial alignment
- Fully aligned and committed
Communication
We have clear and consistent communication that ensures that issues are shared, conflict is reduced, and everyone can work with greater efficiency.
- Communication is poor
- Communication is inconsistent
- Clear and consistent
Team Roles
The current team skill set is right for the current stage and there are clear roles and responsibilities for each person in the team.
- Roles are unclear
- Roles are partly defined
- Roles are clear and fit
Velocity
We learn and implement lessons leading to incremental progress in iterations and production as we go.
- Little progress
- Some progress
- Steady, learning progress
Support and Resources
We are equipped with the right tools and resources and can easily access support from within and outside the team.
- Lacking support
- Some support
- Well-resourced and supported
Process
Our processes are aligned, effective, and free of unnecessary delays and blocks. We have metrics in place to measure our goals.
- Processes are blocked
- Processes are workable
- Aligned and effective
Fun
We enjoy our work and working as a team. We are being challenged and can develop our skill set or acquire new ones.
- Not enjoyable
- Sometimes enjoyable
- Enjoyable and challenging
When to use this health check
- In a regular retrospective, to take the team's pulse and start an honest discussion.
- When a new team forms and you want a baseline across the nine areas.
- After a change such as a reorganization, new members or new goals, to see how the team is coping.
- Monthly or every sprint, to track how team health moves over time.
- When performance or morale feels off and you need to find where the problem is.
Tips & tricks
- Keep responses anonymous so people can be candid about how the team is really doing.
- Run the check on a steady cadence so you can compare results and spot trends.
- Spend the discussion on the lowest-scoring and most divided areas. That's where the useful conversations are.
- Pick one or two actions with owners instead of trying to fix everything at once.
- Start each session by checking on the actions from last time, so people see that follow-through matters.