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Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Team Charter

Overview

A team charter is a document that is developed in a group setting that can help clarify how the team is going to work together and establish clear boundaries so that way of working of the team is clear and effective. It is usually developed early in the formation of the team. The team charter should be developed in a group session to encourage understanding and buy-in from all the team members. Investing time and energy to develop a team charter helps reduce confusion on the team's way of working and reduces rework and disagreements within the team.

Inputs

To add this tool your workbook, click on Lean and then select Team Charter. Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
Input Dialog
1
Analysis Type: Specify the tool format for this analysis. This selection is not enabled since there is only one format available.
2
Threshold Value: The input dialog box can be used to specify the threshold for the team survey results. Any survey results greater than this threshold is shown in green and less than this threshold is shown in red.
3
View Example: Click on this button to add an example worksheet. You can use the example to understand how others have filled out the tool or use the example as a starting point and modify it to better meet your needs.
4
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file for this topic.
5
Cancel Button: Click on this button to cancel all changes to the settings and exit this dialog box.
6
OK Button: Click on this button to save all changes and compute the outputs for this analysis.
The worksheet consists of a set of agreements that you make with the team in each of the following areas:
  • How does the team resolve conflicts that may arise within the team?
  • How are decisions made within the team?
  • What are some ground rules regarding team meetings?
  • Where are the meetings going to be conducted, and what is the agreed meeting frequency?
  • What are the various roles and responsibilities of individual team members?
  • Based on team gap assessment, what are the identified gaps for this team?
  • If there are gaps, what actions are you planning to take to close the gaps?
At the bottom of the worksheet, there are some generic questions to assess teams concerning four areas:
  • What are the goals of this team? Do we understand the expectations of all of our stakeholders? Have we captured the team goals measurably? Do we have specific goals?
  • What are the team roles and responsibilities? Do we have an agreement within the team on these roles and responsibilities?
  • Are we focusing on the right processes, and do we have good communication within the team?
  • Do we have shared expectations on how to deal with interpersonal issues? Is there a relationship and trust between the team members?
These survey questions are to be answered by each member of the team, and the overall average response of the team can be entered in this worksheet. If any of the survey elements are less than the threshold selected in the input dialog box, those elements are shown in red. These need to be captured in the top portion of the worksheet and actions defined to close any gaps.

Checklist

If you click on the Checklist button, you will see the following dialog box. Checklist The checklist contains a few pointers on things you need to pay particular attention to while performing this analysis. The checklist has been derived from experience working on past projects. Not all the checklist items need to apply to you. However, you should carefully review the checklist and apply any recommendations that make sense for your project. Make sure to read each checklist item and mark it as completed after you have read and taken actions as appropriate for your project.

Charts

If you click on the Charts button, you will see the following dialog box. Charts
1
Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own title you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
2
Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own subtitle you can specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3
X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the x-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
4
Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the y-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5
X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
6
Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum y-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
7
Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15 then two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15 respectively. Note that this input is optional.
8
Vertical Lines: If you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5 then two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5 respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Once you have answered all the data on the worksheet and click on Compute Outputs to the analysis results. A sample screenshot of the team charter outputs is shown below. Outputs There are no specific outputs to interpret for this analysis. You can review the current selections and work on the selected action items to close the gaps and make your team working more effectively.

Notes

Here are a few pointers regarding this analysis:
  • To add new bullets on the next line, copy and paste an existing bullet, and to move it to the next line, use Alt-Enter to create a new line within the cell.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder.
  1. Create a team charter for a new team that you have been assigned to lead (Team Charter 1.xlsm).

References

For more information on this topic, please refer to the following articles. Do note that if any external links are mentioned below, they are for reference purposes only.