TeamForm can be used to implement a range of operating models and organisational frameworks as outlined here https://www.teamform.co/solutions-for-teams .
TeamForm has a feature called principles, which can be used as guardrails when transitioning to, or as part of, cross-functional, agile or lean ways of working methods.
Teamform has some predefined principles grouped into principle sets that can be configured to meet a particular use case.
Principle sets can be created to accommodate different team archetypes (e.g. cross-functional, flow-to-work, service, platform, etc).
Examples of principles and principle sets
Individual/Role/General Principle Set
X layers from the CEO
Role diversity (individual) and total role diversity (organisation)
Team/Squad Principle Set
Between X & Y members (e.g. 5-9), full or part-time
Location e.g. same city, same building, same floor, timezone, if distributed - no more than X locations
Specific and/or dedicated roles included e.g. Scrum Master or Product Owner, etc
Number of line managers
Group/Tribe/'Team of Teams' Principle Set
Maximum number of individuals e.g. 150
Maximum number of teams/squads
Specific and/or dedicated roles e.g. Tribe Lead, Group Performance Lead, etc
Domain/Business Unit Principle Set
Maximum number of individuals e.g. 500
Maximum number of groups/tribes/'teeam of teams' e.g. 7
Configuring Principles
Principles are enabled in a workspace by default, but can also be toggled off via settings / workspace feature toggles
Principles sets are defined via Settings / Principle sets using a JSON file.
The key fields referenced in a principle set are as follows:
“id” - a unique id string.
”name” - a name for this principle set (string)
“suitableGroupTypes”: a single team type (e.g. “squad” or a list of team types e.g. “squad”, “tribe”, “COE”
Default principle sets can be defined per team type via Settings / Org Structure type config. Select a team type, then choose a preferred principle set for that team type.
JSON parameters for Principles:
Member Count
parameter maxMembers(optional), minMembers(optional)
title Should consist of no more than ${maxMembers} direct members.
Should consist of at least ${minMembers} direct members.
Should consist of between ${minMembers} and ${maxMembers} direct members.
{
"type": "MEMBER_COUNT",
"args": {
"maxMembers": 10,
"minMembers": 5
}
}
Total Member Count
parameter maxMembers
title Should consist of no more than ${maxMembers} direct and indirect members.
{
"type": "TOTAL_MEMBER_COUNT",
"args": {
"maxMembers": 150
}
}
Spread
parameter maxTeamsPerMember, teamType
title Each member should be in no more than {maxTeamsPerMember} teams.
{
"type": "SPREAD",
"args": {
"maxTeamsPerMember": 1,
"teamType": "design"
}
}
Role Spread
parameter role, roleDisplayName, limit, teamType, teamDisplayname
title ${roleDisplayName} should work in no more than ${limit} {teamTypeDisplayName}
{
"type": "ROLE_SPREAD",
"args": {
"role": "(.*product.*owner)",
"roleDisplayName": "Product Owner",
"limit": 1,
"teamTypeDisplayName": "Agile Team",
"teamType": "(group|team)"
}
}
Ownership
parameter maxTeamsPerMember, teamType
title Should have 1 ${ownershipRoleDisplayName}.
consist of between 1 and ${limit} ${ownershipRoleDisplayName}.
Note: Ownership Role references Job Title (jobTitle) and the SPECIALIST Tag type (tagType) for a person. If either match, it will be seen as meeting the principle. (uses Regex - more examples below)
{
"type": "OWNERSHIP",
"args": {
"ownershipRoleDisplayName": "Product Owner",
"limit": 1,
"ownershipRole": "(.*product.*owner)"
}
}
Locality
parameter maxLocations
title Where teams are distributed it will be across no more than ${maxLocations} premises
{
"type": "LOCALITY",
"args": {
"maxLocations": 1
}
}
Line Manager Count
parameter maxManagers
title Team should have no more than ${maxManagers} line managers.
{
"type": "LINE_MANAGER_COUNT",
"args": {
"maxManagers": 5
}
}
Role Diversity
parameter requiredRoles,
title Each team should have ${minCount}{Role}
Note- requiredRoles here references both the Job Title attribute and the SPECIALIST Tag value for a person- if either match, it will be seen as meeting the principle
{
"type": "ROLE_DIVERSITY",
"args": {
"requiredRoles": [
{
"role": "Product Owner",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "Devops Engineer",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "UX/Designer",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "Senior Software Engineer",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "Software Engineer",
"minCount": 3
}
]
}
}
Total Role Diversity
parameter requiredRoles
title Team should be cross-functional and include the following capabilities:${requiredRoles}
{
"type": "TOTAL_ROLE_DIVERSITY",
"args": {
"requiredRoles": [
{
"role": "Data Technician",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "Field Technician",
"minCount": 1
},
{
"role": "Field Engineer",
"minCount": 3
},
{
"role": "Electrical Engineer",
"minCount": 3
}
]
}
}
Same City Co-located
parameter null
title All members in the same city should work at the same address.
INCOMPLETE: this needs updating…
{
"type": "SAME_CITY_COLOCATED",
"args": {
TBD...
}
}
Child Team Count
parameter maxTeams, minTeams, subGroupName
title Should consist of no more than ${maxTeams} direct ${subGroupName}.
Should consist of at least ${minTeams} direct ${subGroupName}.
Should consist of between ${minTeams} and ${maxTeams} direct ${subGroupName}.
{
"type": "CHILD_TEAM_COUNT",
"args": {
"maxTeams": 15,
"minTeams": 1
}
}
Direct Workforce Count
parameter minCount, companyNames
title Should consist of at least ${minCount} direct workforce members
INCOMPLETE: this needs updating…
{
"type": "DIRECT_WORKFORCE_COUNT",
"args": {
"minCount": 4,
"companyNames": "CompanyName"
}
}
Timezone Overlap
parameter goodOverlap
title Members geographically distributed should have at least <${goodOverlap} overlapped working hours.
{
"type": "SAME_CITY_COLOCATED",
"args": {
TBD...
}
}
Parameter syntax
Many arguments use Regex. For example "role": "(.*product.*(owner|manager))" will match either product manager or product owner (or variations containing these words e.g. senior product manager, App product owner…etc). "role": "(.*agil.*coach)" will match agility coach, agile methodology coach..etc.
Bulk assigning principles to teams
You can use the Teams CSV import (Settings → Data Integrations → Create New - > Teams csv file upload
Use a csv file format as follows:
Team ID | Principle ID |
|---|---|
TEAM1234 | 111111112 |
and a field map as follows:
Troubleshooting:
Can’t find a team a principle set in the drop down for a team?
It is likely you need to ensure a principle set is configured to have a suitableGroupType matching the team type for that team (as defined in Settings → Org Structure → Team Types)
E.g.
{
suitableGroupTypes:”squad”
}
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