The four states of a team
Identified by Will Larson in An Elegant Puzzle, a team can be viewed as residing within one of four states.
- Falling behind
- Threading water
- Paying down technical debt
- Innovating
Successful teams should transition from each state to the next. To do so, there are a number of solutions that the system can provide.
A very, very brief overview follows. Read the book for more details, these are just personal notes.
| State | Characteristics | System Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Falling behind | Increasing backlog, low morale and dissatisfied users. | Add people, and set user expectations. Inject optimism. |
| Threading Water | Critical work is getting completed, but no room to paydown tech debt. | Reduce WIP and provide space to improve team productivity. |
| Paying down technical debt | Reaping the benefits of repayments and thinking towards innovation. | Add time to continue repayments whilst still supporting users. |
| Innovating | Low technical debt, high morale and satisfied users. | Add slack to the schedule to maintain state. |
Climbing from one stage to another takes time, but it’s important to take a look at your team, to identify your current state, and to define an appropriate roadmap that helps you move towards the next state.