Agile Team Assessments

So what is an assessment, particularly in terms of an Agile assessment? It depends on what the individual, team, or organization wants to understand about itself. There are various types of assessment tools and techniques available, which can be either external assessments or self-assessments. The key difference is that an assessment is conducted by an unbiased external entity, while a self-assessment is conducted internally by the team or organization itself, such as through a team retrospective or a Scrum Maturity Assessment.

In the context of an Agile assessment, the goal is to understand the "what" and "why" rather than focusing on the "how" (the specific technique used). For example, with a Scrum team, an assessment might explore how well the team is adhering to Scrum practices. Questions might include: How consistent are the daily standups? How effective are the planning sessions? What is the quality of the user stories? How well are retrospectives conducted? How empowered does the team feel? This type of assessment is often a self-assessment since the team is best positioned to evaluate its own dynamics and operations.

The same principle applies to organizational transformation assessments. For instance, if an organization is undergoing an Agile transformation, it might use an Agile Maturity Matrix to measure its progress. The assessment could evaluate how Agile the organization is and how its current state aligns with its transformation roadmap and goals. This might include evaluating activities against Agile values and principles, with team-level assessments contributing to the overall organizational assessment.

Assessments provide a way to compare the current state of an entity (whether an individual, team, or organization) with its desired future state. Measuring the delta between these states helps to understand growth or transition patterns. These deltas can indicate the health of the transformation and provide feedback on the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of the process. This is a critical aspect of self-awareness, reflection, and continuous improvement, which are core attributes of Agile values and principles. Without knowing your current position relative to your desired future state, making necessary adjustments or even recognizing when a goal has been achieved becomes challenging.