The Team Alignment Canvas (V1.1) is a tool to help individuals or teams get on the same page about the nature of the engagement at the outset of a project. I created this canvas based on lessons learned from 12 years of leading external agency teams through many collaborations on software products with internal teams at enterprise clients.

The Team Alignment Canvas has 4 sections:

1. Space
2. Time
3. People
4. Routine

1. Space

The Space section of the canvas clarifies at what Level of Zoom the work will take place. It specifically outlines which version and / or variant of the Product (or Service) the project will focus on.

2. Time

The Time section relates to the temporal aspects of the engagement. It determines at what stage in the Product Development Lifecycle the product is. It also defines the scope of the Epics and Sprints during the collaboration and declares the engagement’s Deadlines and expected Outcomes.

3. People

The People section tackles the various resource and decision-making aspects of the engagement. It delineates the collaborator’s Teams and Roles, outlines their individual Skills and clarifies the hierarchy of the RACI model (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed).

4. Routine

The final section is all about the Routine, which defines how the collaborators will engage. Methodology identifies the different approaches, processes and methods to be followed during the engagement. This section also defines the nature of the Collaboration and outlines the expected Deliverables (if any).

Aligning Teams with Choreography

Making time at the start of the collaboration to complete the canvas and involving all team players is a great way to:

• Encourage onboarding
• Clarify project parameters
• Align inter-team processes
• Define the collaboration
• Promote team integration

I hope you find the Team Alignment Canvas useful. Please give me a shout out if you are using it, or have any feedback or questions. Email: info AT seamusbyrne DOT net, twitter @seamusbyrne or linkedin.