Sensing High-Performing Software Teams: Proposal of an Instrument for Self-monitoring

Agile/Lean software development teams are by definition striving for high performance. However, it is not straightforward to recognize and cultivate those high-performing teams. Sometimes the team members perceive their internal performance differently than their externally observed outcomes really are. This paper addresses those issues by proposing an instrument for self-monitoring and analyzing software development team performance. The key goal is that practicing teams can use it even on a daily basis to indicate and steer their own performance excellence. This is supported by certain principal performance analysis guidelines. A prototype implementation of the instrument is demonstrated with some empirical cases. The cases indicate that the instrument can indicate noticeable differences in the perceived performance of individual team members and the team external outcomes. It helps detecting potential performance problems and impediments as well as improving even high-performers, and explaining team performance differences.