Build the team
Squad health check
Also called Team health check
A team rates itself green, amber or red on ten areas such as fun, speed and tech quality, and talks about the reds.
- Time40 to 60 minutes
- People3 to 10 people
- Steps4
What it's for
A health check asks the team, not its managers, how things are going. Ten areas cover the usual trouble spots, and the traffic-light ratings make patterns visible at a glance, especially when you run it every few months and compare.
It starts conversations; it isn't a score to compare teams on.
How to run it
Rate each area12 min
Each person adds a green, yellow or pink note to every area, with a word or two on why.
Spot the patterns8 min
Which areas are mostly pink? Where do people disagree?
Choose what to improve5 min2 votes each
Vote on the one or two areas to work on first.
Agree a first step10 min
One action for each chosen area, with an owner.
Tips
- Use note colours for the ratings: green for good, yellow for so-so, pink for bad.
- Keep the boards. The trend over a year says more than any single check.
Where it comes from
Based on the Squad Health Check model Henrik Kniberg published at Spotify in 2014.
Pairs well with
Sailboat
Picture the team as a boat: wind pushes it on, anchors hold it back, rocks lie ahead, and the island is the goal.
Starfish retrospective
A five-part retrospective: keep doing, do more of, do less of, stop doing, and start doing.
Working agreements
A team agrees, in its own words, how it will communicate, meet, decide and handle problems, and writes it down.