Who has worked with whom
Who has worked with whom
The only measure on this site that does not depend on anybody's opinion of the team, and the procedure for taking it.
The people this page is about, and which of them have ever worked together
- 01The team's managerThree of this person's five working pairs
- 02The senior engineer
- 03The second engineer
- 04The designerShared with two other teams
- 05The QA engineer
five people · 10 possible pairs · 4 of them have worked on something together · 2 have only been in the same meeting · 4 have never done either
Five of the eight, and only the pairs that run between those five.
How to count the pairs on your team
Twenty minutes, a list of names and one decision about what counts. The whole procedure, including the judgement calls and the two ways it goes wrong.
What counts as having worked together
The bar has to be set once and applied to every pair. This is the bar used on this site, the cases that sit on the line, and why each one falls where it does.
The manager in the middle of everything
A count where most pairs include the same person is a measurement of the manager's calendar as much as of the team. What to read from it and what not to.
Reading a sparse matrix without panic
Most first counts come out low and the first reaction is alarm. A guide to what the number actually indicates, what a normal range looks like, and when to worry.
The pair that only exists in a meeting
Two people who have attended two hundred of the same meetings may have no working relationship at all. The middle category on the grid, and why it is kept.
Why the measure survives disagreement
Most team measures record opinion and move with the mood. A count of pairs records events, so two people who disagree still agree about the number.
Counting pairs without watching anybody
The same count can be made by asking eight people a question or by reading their messages. One of those is worth doing. The difference, and where the line sits.
What the count looks like after a year
Four counts a year produce a shape rather than a number. What moves on its own, what only moves when somebody causes it, and how to read a count that went down.
The first number to write down
If you do one thing from this site, do this. Four people, six pairs, ten minutes, and a date written next to the answer so the second count means something.