Team Health

Team Health Check

Assess team health across key dimensions for "$ARGUMENTS". Evaluate 8 dimensions of team effectiveness, identify strengths and concerns, and recommend targeted interventions for improvement.

Prerequisites

Check that .project/$ARGUMENTS/00-initiate.md exists. If it does not, tell the user to run an Initiate skill first (e.g., project-charter) and stop.

If the user passes --skip-checks, skip the prerequisite check and log the skip to .project/$ARGUMENTS/skip-log.md with a timestamp and reason.

Process

1. Read existing context:

   • Read .project/$ARGUMENTS/00-initiate.md for project context, team setup, and ways of working
   • Read .project/$ARGUMENTS/03-review.md if it exists (for sprint metrics, velocity trends, and delivery performance)
   • Read .project/$ARGUMENTS/04-improve.md if it exists (for retrospective themes, previous health checks, and process improvements)
   • Read .project/$ARGUMENTS/02-sprint.md if it exists (for standup history, blocker patterns, and daily team interactions)

2. Assess 8 dimensions:

   • For each dimension, gather input from the user (or team members) and rate on a 1-5 scale
   • Apply a traffic light indicator based on the rating: green (4-5), amber (3), red (1-2)
   • Support the rating with specific evidence from sprint data, retrospectives, and observations

   Dimension 1 — Mission clarity:

   • Does everyone on the team understand the project's purpose and goals?
   • Can each team member articulate why the current work matters?
   • Are sprint goals connected to a larger product vision?
   • Evidence to look for: clear project charter, consistent sprint goals, team members pulling in the same direction

   Dimension 2 — Pace sustainability:

   • Is the team working at a pace they can maintain long-term?
   • Are people regularly working overtime or feeling burned out?
   • Has velocity been stable, or are there signs of exhaustion (declining velocity, increasing sick days)?
   • Evidence to look for: consistent velocity, no weekend work, people taking breaks and holidays

   Dimension 3 — Collaboration quality:

   • Do team members help each other proactively?
   • Is knowledge shared or siloed in individuals?
   • Are code reviews constructive and timely?
   • Evidence to look for: pair programming, shared ownership of code areas, quick PR turnaround, cross-training

   Dimension 4 — Technical health:

   • Is the codebase manageable and well-maintained?
   • Is technical debt being addressed or accumulating?
   • Are deployments smooth and low-risk?
   • Evidence to look for: test coverage trends, deployment frequency, incident rate, tech debt backlog size

   Dimension 5 — Learning and growth:

   • Are team members developing new skills and knowledge?
   • Is there time for experimentation and learning?
   • Do people have clear growth paths?
   • Evidence to look for: conference attendance, learning sprints, new technologies adopted, mentoring happening

   Dimension 6 — Organizational support:

   • Does the broader organization help or hinder the team's work?
   • Are dependencies on other teams managed effectively?
   • Does leadership shield the team from unnecessary disruptions?
   • Evidence to look for: quick decision-making from stakeholders, minimal mid-sprint scope changes, adequate tooling and infrastructure

   Dimension 7 — Fun and engagement:

   • Do people enjoy their work and look forward to contributing?
   • Is there a positive team culture with trust and psychological safety?
   • Do people volunteer for tasks and bring energy to discussions?
   • Evidence to look for: participation in meetings, initiative taking, social interactions, low turnover intent

   Dimension 8 — Delivery confidence:

   • Does the team believe it can deliver what it commits to?
   • Are estimates accurate and commitments realistic?
   • Does the team feel in control of its delivery process?
   • Evidence to look for: commitment ratio trends, sprint goal achievement rate, team's own confidence assessment

3. Identify top strength and top concern:

   • Select the highest-rated dimension as the team's top strength
   • Explain why this is a strength and how the team can leverage and protect it
   • Select the lowest-rated dimension as the team's top concern
   • Explain the impact of this weakness on the team's overall effectiveness
   • If multiple dimensions tie, consider which has the most downstream impact on other dimensions

4. Compare to previous health checks:

   • If .project/$ARGUMENTS/04-improve.md contains previous team health check data, compare ratings
   • Note which dimensions improved, declined, or stayed the same
   • Correlate changes with events or interventions from the interim period
   • Flag any dimension that has been red for 2 or more consecutive health checks — this requires escalation

5. Recommend targeted interventions:

   • For the weakest dimension (or the two weakest if they are close), recommend 1-2 specific interventions
   • Each intervention must be:
     • Specific — not "improve communication" but "hold a 15-minute daily sync focused on cross-team dependencies"
     • Actionable — something the team can start in the next sprint
     • Measurable — with a clear indicator of whether it is working
     • Time-boxed — try it for 2-4 sprints before evaluating
   • Consider both quick fixes (address symptoms now) and root cause fixes (address underlying issues)
   • Note any interventions that require support from outside the team

6. Write the artifact — append to .project/$ARGUMENTS/04-improve.md under a ## Team Health Check section:

   • Assessment Date — when this health check was conducted
   • Dimension Ratings — table with all 8 dimensions, their 1-5 rating, traffic light, and key evidence
   • Top Strength — highest-rated dimension with explanation
   • Top Concern — lowest-rated dimension with impact analysis
   • Trend Comparison — changes from previous health check (if available)
   • Recommended Interventions — 1-2 specific actions for the weakest dimension(s) with success criteria
   • Next Health Check — recommended date for the follow-up assessment

Output

Team health check appended to .project/$ARGUMENTS/04-improve.md. Present a summary highlighting:

• All 8 dimensions with ratings and traffic lights in a table
• Top strength and top concern
• Trend direction from previous health check (if available)
• Recommended interventions with expected outcomes