Alignment Score
The Alignment Score is an invaluable tool for ensuring alignment among remote teams.
Introduction
The most important resource for a manager is the ICs. In order to use the resources efficiently, managers need to decide what ICs will be working on. The way to determine what ICs are going to work on is by creating a calendar. Managers create a calendar based on each task's priority and TMS.
Let's look at an example:
If an IC is working on a single type of activity, then that activity type would be top priority. The manager would consider the overhead time (e.g. CiC calls, usage of e-mail for following up notifications), and then create a priority calendar similar to the following:
Deliver 15 units/day. TMS: 30 mins per unit. 15 x 0.5 = 7.5 hours/day
Daily CiC: 15 mins
Crossover/Metrics: 10 mins
Email follow up: 5 mins
By tracking how the IC spends their time, WSPro determines how aligned an IC is with their manager's calendar. An alignment score is calculated by comparing the minutes spent on each activity, with the target schedule laid out by the manager.
This comparison will generate a score between 0 to 100%. The score is displayed on the Activity app, to the right of the Intensity and Focus Scores. The manager's plan is displayed in the top lane. In the second lane, you can see your performance, and how you are aligned to the plan.
Each application you use is assigned to a category, and your manager will allocates time to each category. You can compare the time you spent in each category, identify any misalignment, and then take corrective actions to improve your alignment. For instance, if the weekly time allocated to Crossover/metrics (app.crossover.com) is 50 mins, but you used that app for 2 hours, you should come up with this action: Calculation: 50 mins / 5 days = 10 mins / day Action: Timebox app.crossover.com to 10 mins/day, and then use it only at the end of a predefined slot. If you see an app that is categorized as Other, it means your manager didn't set a category for that app. You should either stop using that app (if it is a bad practice), or notify your manager so that they can assign a category to that app (if it is a good practice).
How is it calculated?
A manager's weekly plan is for 40 hours. The app will track and sum each minute you spend within a category, up to the level allocated on the calendar. Additional time is ignored, since it is misaligned. This numbers shows how many hours you were aligned to the calendar. Then, the app divides this total number by 40 hours to get your alignment score.
More examples:
Let's say manager's calendar consists of the following:
20 hours (50% development)
10 hours (25% support)
10 hours (25% documentation).
Example 1:
IC spends 45 hours (21 hours development, 5 hours support, 19 hours documentation):
For development, IC spent 21 hours but only 20 hours were aligned to the plan.
For support, IC spent 5 hours that were aligned to the plan.
For documentation, IC spent 19 hours, but only 10 hours were aligned to the plan.
Total: 20 + 5 + 10 = 35 aligned hours / 40 hours = 88%
ICs alignment score is 88%.
Example 2:
IC spends 40 hours (20 hours development, 8 hours support, 12 hours documentation):
For development, IC spent 20 hours - all were aligned to the plan.
For support, IC spent 8 hours that were aligned to the plan.
For documentation, IC spent 12 hours, but only 10 hours were aligned to the plan.
Total: 20 + 8 + 10 = 38 aligned hours / 40 hours = 95%
ICs alignment score is 95%.
Even though the IC in the second example 2 worked 5 hours less than first IC, in total, IC2 has a higher alignment score because that IC worked more on what the manager wanted them to work on.
Conclusion
To produce world-class results, teams must work in unison to accomplish their goals. Alignment among team members is as important as alignment manager and team. The Alignment Score is an invaluable tool for ensuring alignment among remote teams.
Quizzes
✏️ Focus, Intensity, Alignments Scores - Quiz (Make sure you read the Intensity & Focus Blocks topics before taking the quiz)
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