The S3 Team Canvas

Overview

The S3 Team Canvas is a tool for a team (or circle) to clarify and explore where they stand and how to move forward. This canvas focuses on the “inside” perspective of a team, and can be combined with the S3 Delegation Canvas, which helps define the domain of the team’s work.

For new teams, the team canvas would typically be created in the team kick-off workshop, while existing teams might either have a dedicated workshop for filling in the entire canvas, or get together and tackle one or two sections in small sessions, until the canvas is complete.

Team Canvas Guide

Here’s how you create a team canvas for your team:

1. People Matrix

List all team members, each with key skills and their weekly capacity available for this team.

2. Required Skills

Compile a list of all required skills for the team’s work, assess each team member’s skill levels from 0=untrained, to 4=can teach others) and interest in applying or acquiring that skill (0-3).

3. Roles and Responsibilities

List all roles in your team, and who currently holds them, as well as any other expected contributions for each member of the team.

4. Key Agreements

Important agreements/norms/rules that are essential for the daily work of the team, e.g. about distribution of work, decision making, work process or conflict resolution.

5. Key Values / Code of Conduct

Describe the culture of your collaboration, and how you will interact with the rest of the world. List at least three guidelines for behaviors or ethical constraints you consider essential to the success of your team.

6. Team Development and Goals

Describe where the team wants to be in 90 days, the strategy to achieve these goals, and, if possible, how to measure success.

7. Personal Goals and Growing Edges

Describe individual member’s personal goals and growing edges related to the team.

8. People’s Needs and Expectations

List any needs and expectations of individual team members relevant to the team.

9. Events

A schedule of regular team events (e.g. Daily Standup, Retrospectives, Governance Meetings).

Downloads

printable canvas (A3 or larger, includes facilitation guide)	download pdf
canvas for visual planning tools (png, 140dpi)	plain canvas or canvas with guide or facilitation guide or canvas slide
print on A4	view online or download pdf
online version	view on Google Drive or make a copy

License

The S3 Team Canvas by Bernhard Bockelbrink is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License..

More information on the S3 canvas series, and versions for printing the canvas in various formats can be found at http://s3canvas.sociocracy30.org.

S3 Team Canvas rev. 2017-05-15