Sit Dolor Amet

TEAM DIAGNOSIS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
Jessica Stelter
 TEAM DIAGNOSIS

Average Dimension METHODS

• Team diagnostic survey
3.35 Team Coordination
• 3 to 5 questions for each of the 8 dimensions
3.47 Meeting Effectiveness • 4 general open response questions

• 1 on 1 Interviews
3.64 Understanding Objectives & Roles
• Analysis of burndown charts from last 4
4.00 Individual Ownership & Autonomy sprints

4.02 Articulating Vision and Compelling Purpose • Analysis of Trello boards from last 4
sprints
4.15 Morale • Workload analysis
4.30 Feedback & Recognition

4.62 Team Member Development

5 = Strongly Agree, 4 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 2 = Disagree, 1 = Strongly Disagree
3.47 3.35 3.64
 Sprint 1
TEAM COORDINATION
• Sprint Planning
ACTION PLAN • Trello and Slack housekeeping
• Communication

Sprint 2
UNDERSTANDING OBJECTIVES & ROLES

Assess & Diagnose Goal, mission, project setting • Goal setting & Mission setting
• What does success look like for our team?
• Project clarification
Sprint 0 (Ends 10/01) Sprint 1 (Ends 10/15) Sprint 2 (Ends 10/29) Sprint 3 (Ends 11/12)

Sprint 3
Team Coordination Meeting Effectiveness
MEETING EFFECTIVENESS
• Increase efficiency of recurring team meetings
• Review retrospective meeting notes and implement
suggestions
TEAM COORDINATION

Sprint 1
 Team Coordination

TEAM DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY AVERAGES

Avg
Question Dimension
Rating

(Q11) There is good coordination between team members. 3.6 Team Coordination

(Q22) Our team communicates effectively. 3.6 Team Coordination

(Q27) Overlapping or shared tasks and responsibilities do not create

problems for team members. 3.2 Team Coordination

(Q29) Team members avoid duplication of effort/work. 3 Team Coordination

(Q11) There is good coordination between team members. 3.6 Team Coordination
 TRELLO
• Put in consumed points after every task you
complete (or at least at the end of the day for
what you did that day)
• Don’t forget to put consumed points in when
moving cards to “Done” lane
• Keeping cards up to date for better team
coordination and communication
T E AM COOR DI NATI ON
• Link to current version in description of card
R E COMME NDATI ONS
• Utilize “Activity” for updates
• Check inside card first before working on it
Housekeeping Habits

SLACK
• @ people unless it’s a direct message
• Do away with virtual_solutions or remove
members from cc_dev_team channel?
• Create slack channel per project with client?

Reflect Slack checklist in Trello board

 BOX
• Working version
• Name_DRAFT
• “Competency Master List_DRAFT”

• Final version
T E AM COOR DI NATI ON • Name _Version_Date
R E COMME NDATI ONS • “Competency Master List_V2_10.03

• No need to save new edited versions. Box

Housekeeping Habits saves automatically in “Activity”
• File structure reorganization
 Backlog
• Shift mindset
• Backlog points count
• Consider these points in sprint planning
T E AM COOR DI NATI ON
R E COMME NDATI ONS Buffer
• Make buffer bigger (15?)
Backlog & Buffer
• Take (estimated) points from buffer card
• Add them to the new card with
(estimated) and [consumed] points
• Write what points were deducted for in
“Activity” of buffer
 BEFORE A SPRINT STARTS
• Fully stocked Sprint backlog
TEAM COORDINATION
RECOMMENDATIONS • All story points estimated
• Cards built out enough to estimate points
Proactive Sprints • Sprint retrospective and planning for Sprint
B on Thursday at the end of Sprint A
• Sprint A fresh in mind for retrospective
• Gives ScrumMaster enough time to prioritize
cards for Sprint B
• Proactive and clear start for next Sprint

TASK OR PROJECT LEAD

• Point of contact for card
• Avoids duplication of work

• Ensures points are counted for

• Speeds up completion of cards
• Individual ownership & recognition
 43.5 OUT OF 75.5 POINTS
CONSUMED LAST SPRINT WORKLOAD
ANALYSIS
Consumed Points

141 PLANNED TIME

25 8

30 UNPLANNED TIME
Used over 10 points from buffer
1.5
CORPORATE OVERHEAD
WIP TBR Stalled Consumed
Done 117 • Approx. 45 hrs/Sprint for 3 interns
• 2.5 hrs each day x 3 people x 6 days
• Approx. 72 hrs/Sprint for Jim & Craig
• 4 hrs each day x 2 people x 9 days

THIS SPRINT GOAL = 53.5 Total team hours per Sprint: 288 hours
• 144 hrs from Jim & Craig
• 144 hrs from 3 interns
GOAL SETTING

Sprint 2
 Goal Setting

TEAM DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY AVERAGES

Avg
Question Dimension
Rating
(Q4) Team leaders help me understand the reasoning behind 4.3 Understanding
big decisions that are made. Objectives & Roles
(Q9) It is clear what my individual role is in relation to the 3.8 Understanding
team. Objectives & Roles
(Q13) It is clear what success looks like for our team. 3.2 Understanding
Objectives & Roles
(Q16) There is a shared understanding of objectives for our 3 Understanding
team. Objectives & Roles
(Q25) 24. The team leader spends enough time clarifying 4 Understanding
what specifically is needed from the team. Objectives & Roles
 Goal Setting

OPEN RESPONSE FEEDBACK

Team Diagnostic Survey, Onboarding Survey, and 1:1 Interviews with Tenured and New Interns
• “I sometimes don’t know what end goal and desired state is”
• “Unclear what project this card is related to, who the client is, bigger picture idea, what is the scope of the whole
project and how does our part of play into that”
• “I’m unsure of what our team’s mission is, and I feel our team takes in work not related to our team goal or even
C&C work”
• “For the most part, I understand the role our team plays into the larger organization but not so much about how
our work plays into a project”
• “Consistently and explicitly describing the relevance of topics discussed and important context (e.g., ‘This is the
culture of accountability. We are talking about the culture of accountability because...; ‘Here is a mock presentation
of the Atlas system. We are presenting Atlas to another group today because...’; "This is the use case template,
which we will complete because....’; ‘We are doing this because a few months ago X,Y, and Z happened...’)”
• “Where are we on the Enterprise-wide competency model? It seems every function is doing something different”
 • Develop Team Mission / Purpose
• Goal Setting
• What does success look like for our team?
• Quantifiable measurable goals?

GOAL SETTING • What is our goal for this sprint?

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Projects Clarification
Goal setting meeting • Purpose of work / why are we doing this
• Why did they ask our team?
Project realignment meeting
• Clients
• SOW
• End state
• Updates along the way
 MISSION & GOAL SETTING

• CCT Mission: To offer our I/O Psych expertise to supporting other teams and directly
help client groups co-create career framework and related solutions for job disciplines
that are applicable across of all LM and support getting them into Atlas so they are easily
accessible and integrated with Learning, etc.

• New Sprint Goal example:

• (1) onboarding new interns and integrating in to Wanda’s team and continue designing
• (2) document our standard methodology (playbooks, tech report, use case, etc.)
 Goal Setting

PROJECT REALIGNMENT MEETING

Project:
• Purpose
• Scope of work:
• Clients and collaborators:
• Why are they asking our team:
• Desired End state:
• Most recent status:
 Info to reference in Details of the
project’s Slack channel
Goal Clarification for Projects

COMMUNIC ATING PROJECT

GOALS AND UPDATES
TOPIC:
One liner what the project is about
and why
Current state: Most recent update

Slack channel for each

project, with clients.

DESCRIPTION:
Scope of Work
MEETING EFFECTIVENESS

Sprint 3
 Meeting Effectiveness

TEAM DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY AVERAGES

Avg
Question Dimension
Rating

(Q17) Team meetings are productive. 3.8 Meeting Effectiveness

(Q18) Team meetings are efficient. 2.8 Meeting Effectiveness

(Q26) Solutions discussed during team meetings are quickly
implemented. 3.8 Meeting Effectiveness
 Meeting Effectiveness

OPEN RESPONSE FEEDBACK

• “At times we tend to go around in circles over certain things and take time up from the call. We do a good
job of being quick and efficient with our time but sometimes it seems like we slip and get side tracked the
whole call.”
• “Set priorities for the team regarding projects and tasks so we know which ones are most important for
the overall team during Sprint planning meetings.”
• “Often in retrospective meetings we express our concerns or come up with suggestions to help alleviate
those concerns/issues, then we don't come back to them again. Need some process to revisit and
implement the ideas/suggestions expressed in team meetings.”
• “More preparation before team meetings might make them more efficient/go faster”
• “…there is still significant room for improvement on meeting efficiency. We should be consistently using the
timer during standups to ensure we manage our meeting time well. I also think our Sprint Retrospective,
Sprint Planning, etc. meetings could be more efficient if we update the Trello Cards on the Sprint Board daily
(status updates, check list items, points consumed, etc.) and if more time is devoted to grooming the Project
Backlog Items on the project backlog board before the Sprint Planning meeting.”
 MEETING AGENDA

Team Stand-up | Every morning (15 min) Sprint Review & Retrospective | 2nd Thurs of Sprint (1 hr)

• Card-by-card status update (do points need to be added?) Sprint Review (30 min)
• Demonstrate value to stakeholders in form of Done work
• What needs to be done today? Who is going to work on what?
• Get feedback from stakeholders
Sprint Retrospective (30 min)
Sprint Check-in & Planning | 1st Thurs of Sprint (1 hr)
• 5 min – recap of achievements that are done & to be delivered
• Are we on track to achieve Sprint goal?
• 5 min – Review pulse survey results
• How is interrupt buffer looking?
• 20 min – Reflect on team collaboration, performance, processes
• How is burndown chart looking? • Review notes from last retrospective. Did we implement recommendations?
• Are we prioritizing the right Trello cards? • What worked well this Sprint?

• Is WIP lane piling up with little in the Done column? • What recommendations for improvement?

• Is Scope Creep happening on projects?

Decided-on Changes
Sprint Planning | 2nd Thurs of Sprint (2 hrs 1.5 hrs?) 1) Follow thee agendas
• Any cards we need to breakdown more?
• Take screenshots of board and burndown chart 2) Incorporate Sprint
• What can we do to get cards in “Stalled” lane unstuck? Review
• Clear “Done” lane 3) Reduce Sprint Planning
• Review notes from last retrospective. Anything we need to work on or ideas to
implement from last retrospective? • Pull in cards from backlog board for next sprint 4) Add Backlog
Refinement meeting
• Build out cards with checklists and definition of “done”

Backlog Refinement | 1st Thurs of Sprint (1 hr)
• Organize and prioritize cards in all backlog lanes
• Expand upon cards in the Ready Product Backlog lane
• Put cards in order of priority
• Ensure story points are realistic to complete in 2 weeks
• Ensure a good ratio of independent dev team work & work that relies on others
Scrum, Inc., Startup for Teams Study Guide
 Meeting Efficiency
Before Meetings
• Backlog Refinement
• Ensure points are accounted for before Sprint
planning meetings
• Answer retrospective meeting questions in survey
ahead of time
MEETING EFFECTIVENESS During Meetings
RECOMMENDATIONS • Shorten meetings and stick to allotted time
• Cover the most critical things first
• Forces us to stay on track and concise
• Code word “Squirrel” if getting off track

Meeting Productivity
• Reference meeting agenda/checklist
• Review notes from the last retrospective at
• Check-in meeting midway
• Sprint review/retrospective meeting
 REVIEW OF RETROSPECTIVE NOTES
UNADDRESSED CONCERNS
• Cards get stuck in TBR & Stalled lanes
• Often is unclear after Stand Up meetings what
we’re doing that day
• Need better anticipation of work
• Things come up unexpectedly, having to use
interrupt buffer.
• Some weeks are very light, and some we’re
slammed.
• Maybe need more project status checks with
POCs/clients
UNIMPLEMENTED IDEAS
• Tips for less cards in “Stalled“ lane
• Set reminder / flag on cards in “Stalled” lane
• Write activity needed to get it out of Stalled
• Plan sprints with good ratio of independent work &
work that relies on others
• Slack channel for each project with client/POC
• Big Picture = Project Slack channel
• Project description/status in slack description or
a Trello card
• Task level = Trello
• Work coordination = Dev Team Slack channel
• Keep titles of cards short
• Make notes for retrospective ahead of time to save time
 LEADERSHIP

DOES WELL RECOMMENDATIONS

• Constructive feedback • Reward/recognize individual excellence

• Development & leadership opportunities • Incorporate NextGen Recognition

• Representing how team fits into org • Positive praise in 1:1s in addition to
strategy and vision constructive feedback

• Autonomy • Goal setting discussion

• Team: What does success look like for our
• Balancing individual work and teamwork team?
• Expresses team pride • Projects: Purpose of work, client, SOW, end
• Optimism state, updates along the way
 RESULTS

Analysis of Scrum board, backlog, burndown charts, and

Team Diagnostic Survey
Start of Sprint 0

Not enough
Too many
points for estimated
interrupt buffer
(10) points
(Workload
too large)
Starting off Sprint with Consumed
Points in cards

Starting off Sprint with cards in WIP, To Be

Reviewed, Stalled, and Done lanes
Start of Sprint 1

Fewer
All Estimated Points in Backlog Estimated
15 points for interrupt buffer instead of 10 Points
(based on
Starting off Sprint with WIP, To Be Reviewed, workload
Stalled, and Done lanes cleared analysis)

Starting off Sprint with all Consumed Points

cleared
Task Lead assigned to each card
Backlog Before Refinement

• Little
organization
• Duplicate or no
longer relevant
cards
• Cards in Action
lane not
fleshed out,
estimated, or
ready for action
Backlog After Refinement

• Color coded
labels
• Added
“Waiting On
Others”
section
• Action lane
only has
cards that
are ready to
be pulled
into Sprint
• Duplicate or
irrelevant
cards
removed, and
cards
prioritized
Burndown Progression Across Sprints
Before Interventions After Interventions

Onboarding

• Hours/points going up because adding cards and points • Increased story points by 19%
during a Sprint instead of at beginning
• Increased tasks completed by 34%
• likely bottlenecking (cards being stuck in Stalled or To Be
Reviewed column)
• Very few cards fully completed (1/21) because of
multitasking or bottlenecking
TEAM DIAGNOSTIC POST-SURVEY
R E S U LT S A F T E R I N T E RV E N T I O N S
 SOURCES

• https://www.cu.edu/sites/default/files/Team_effectiveness_questionnaire.pdf
• https://hr.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/gmc_sample.pdf
• https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_84.htm
• https://6teamconditions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TDS-sample-report.pdf
• https://www.scrum.org
• https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
• https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/
• https://www.atlassian.com/agile