Frequently Asked Questions

Registered Member Setup

1. Who should we invite to be registered members (i.e., users) of the platform? How do most of your customers approach this?

The big difference between registered and non-registered members is that registered members can access and navigate the result dashboards. Note that all members can complete assessments via a unique assessment link.
Given this capability, most organizations invite only the organization members (i.e., coaches, team leads) who will be facilitators of an assessment into the platform as registered members. This eliminates the need to invite all assessment participants to the platform, which requires team assignment and maintenance.
Facilitators often share the assessment results with participants (i.e., teams) by sharing their screen and utilizing the dashboard PDF export function.

2. What permission role should I provide to those that will facilitate assessments?

Most organizations will assign a permission role of ‘facilitator” for facilitators. Imagine that ☺
Facilitators can launch and conduct assessments, and view results for assigned teams. The difference between “facilitator” and “super user” is that “super users” can setup the organization for their assigned entities.

Participant Roles

1. What are roles in LAI?

Roles represent the functions participants hold within a team or organization (e.g., Developer, Product Manager, Team Lead). Roles help segment results and ensure capabilities are answered by the most relevant participants.

2. Does LAI provide default roles?

Yes. LAI includes an out-of-the-box set of roles—such as Developer, Team Lead, and Product Manager—that can be used as a starting point.

3. Can roles be customized?

Yes. Organizations can add, edit, or delete roles to reflect their structure and terminology.

4. Why are roles important in assessments?

Roles support capability question routing, ensuring that only the most relevant participants are prompted to answer certain capabilities. This improves response accuracy and data quality.

5. Do all participants answer every capability by default?

Yes. By default, all participants respond to every capability. Role-based routing can be enabled to restrict capabilities to specific roles as appropriate.

6. Can roles be used in reporting?

Yes. Roles can be used to filter and analyze results across participant groups, helping leaders understand how perspectives vary by function.

7. Who manages roles?

Admins can define and manage roles during setup.

Member Attributes

1. What are member attributes in LAI?

Member attributes are custom fields used to describe participants (e.g., department, location, function, tenure). They help organize participants and provide more flexibility in reporting and analysis.

2. What is the default member attribute in LAI?

The only default member attribute is Role. Additional attributes can be created to reflect how your organization wants to segment participants and analyze results.

3. How are member attributes used?

Member attributes enable filtering and comparison of results across participant segments. They also support capability question routing so only relevant participants are prompted to answer certain capabilities.

4. Can we create our own member attributes?

Yes. Organizations can define custom attributes that align with their structure and reporting needs.

5. Do member attributes affect scoring?

No. Member attributes do not change scoring directly. They are used for routing, filtering, and reporting to provide more meaningful insight into results.

6. Who can manage member attributes?

Admins can create, update, and manage member attributes as part of the assessment setup process.

Entities & Groups

1. What is an Entity?

An Entity is a construct defined in the platform that enables Individuals, Teams, and At Scale Programs to conduct assessments and analyze results. They align directly with the “assessment types” in Lean Agile Intelligence.

2. How do we go about setting up Groups for Team assessments? How do most of your customers approach this?

Grouping is the primary vehicle used to display aggregate results of all child entities (i.e., teams), so this should be your first consideration.
Most organizations will set up Groups to mimic organizational structure. There is no limit to the number of subgroups you want to define. Examples of Groups include organization units/departments, product families, and agile release trains.

3. What if we purchased At Scale and Individual Entities along with Team Entities? How do most of your customers incorporate them into the grouping hierarchy?

Most organizations create subgroups for the At Scale and Individual Entities under each Primary Group (i.e., units/departments, product families, ARTs) so they can see aggregate results across all assessment levels for that Primary Group.
Dashboard template filtering can be leveraged to see aggregate results for one specific template across the organization.

Out-of-the-Box Metrics

1. What are out-of-the-box metrics in LAI?

Out-of-the-box metrics are preconfigured performance metrics such as deployment frequency, cycle time, and work in progress that can be imported or manually entered into LAI and displayed in dashboards.

2. How are these metrics used in the platform?

Metrics are visualized in dashboards, trended over time, and can be linked to metric-based capabilities within quantitative templates. These metrics can be used to automatically calculate capability scores and provide objective performance insight.

3. Do we have to use the out-of-the-box metrics?

No. Organizations can choose which metrics to use and can also define and import custom metrics that better reflect their environment.

4. How are metrics imported into LAI?

Metrics can be imported (CSV upload) from work management systems (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps).

5. Can metrics be mapped to capabilities?

Yes. Metrics are mapped to metric-based capabilities so performance data can automatically inform maturity scoring and improvement tracking.

6. Can multiple metrics be used for one capability?

Yes, so long as each entity uses only one metric. A single capability can be informed by one metric for one entity and another metric for another entity depending on how your organization defines performance for that area.

7. Who can see the metrics?

Metrics are visible in dashboards based on user permissions. They can be viewed at the team, group, or organizational level depending on configuration.

8. What is the benefit of using metrics with qualitative assessments?

Combining quantitative metrics with qualitative capability assessments provides a more complete view of team health - linking behaviors and practices with measurable performance outcomes.

9. Are metrics aggregated across teams to the group level?

No. Raw metrics are not automatically aggregated across teams at the group level, as doing so can distort the underlying data and reduce accuracy. Instead, we encourage mapping metrics to metric-based capabilities and using them to automatically score those capabilities. Capability scores can then be rolled up and analyzed at the group or organizational level.

10. Can you customize metrics or create new ones?

Yes. In addition to the out-of-the-box metrics provided in LAI, organizations can define and import their own custom metrics. Custom metrics can be displayed in dashboards, trended over time, and mapped to metric-based capabilities to enable automatic scoring and performance tracking.

Dimensions & Outcomes

1. Should we create custom Dimensions? How do most of your customers approach this?

Most organizations stick with out-of-the-box Dimensions. The decision by organizations who do choose to create new Dimensions is typically driven by the need to accommodate an existing reporting requirement. For example, some organizations adopting LAI may have already established Dimensions (i.e., focus areas) for transformation progress reporting. Instead of mapping the out-of-the-box Dimensions to their existing ones, the platform provides the flexibility to re-create them and associate capabilities.

2. Should we create custom Outcomes? How do most of your customers approach this?

Most organizations stick with the out-of-the-box Outcomes because their transformation objectives/outcomes fit within one of the out-of-the-box Outcomes. However, like Dimensions, creating custom Outcomes is typically driven by the need to accommodate an existing reporting requirement for progress on transformation objectives/outcomes.

Stage Names

1. What are stage names in LAI?

Stage names represent the progression levels used to assess how a capability improves over time. Each capability includes a defined set of stages that describe increasing levels of effectiveness and maturity.

2. Does LAI provide default stage names?

Yes. LAI provides out-of-the-box stage names such as Starting, Developing, Emerging, Adapting, and Optimizing, which are applied consistently across all LAI capabilities.

3. Can stage names be customized?

Yes. Organizations can customize stage names to better align with their terminology, transformation language, or operating model. This allows the maturity model to resonate more clearly with participants.

4. When should we customize stage names?

Organizations often customize stage names when they have an established maturity model, internal terminology, or transformation framework they want reflected in the assessment experience.

5. Do stage names need to be consistent across all capabilities?

Yes. Stage names are used consistently across LAI capabilities to maintain clarity and comparability. This ensures that participants understand the progression model and enables consistent roll-up and analysis of results.

6. If we change stage names, does it affect scoring or reporting?

No. Customizing stage names updates the labels participants see but does not change the underlying scoring structure or how progress is tracked. Results can still be trended and compared over time.

Custom Time Periods

1. What are time periods in LAI?

Time periods define the intervals used to run assessments, collect metrics, and track results. They provide the structure for trending data and comparing progress across cycles. Different time periods can be used for qualitative assessments, quantitative assessments, and metrics, so organizations can analyze performance and improvement at cadences that best align with how their teams operate.

2. What is the default time period?

The default time period in LAI is quarterly.

3. Can time periods be customized?

Yes. Organizations can define custom time periods, such as sprints, monthly cycles, or pulse checks, to better align with how their teams operate and review progress.

4. Why customize time periods?

Custom time periods allow assessments and reporting to match your organization’s planning and review cadence, making trends more meaningful and easier to interpret.

5. Do time periods affect scoring?

No. Time periods do not change how capabilities are scored. They simply define when assessments occur and how results are grouped for trend analysis.

6. Can we change time periods later?

Yes. Time periods can be adjusted as your organization evolves or if you want to align assessments to a different operating cadence.

7. Who manages time periods?

Admins can define and manage time periods.

Measurement Strategy

1. What are you referring to when you say, “Measurement Strategy”?

A Measurement Strategy includes the Capability Templates selected (the what), who will participate in the assessment (the who), and the cadence of the assessments (the when).

2. What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative capability templates? Which one should I use?

Qualitative capability templates evaluate the behaviors and practices of an entity (i.e., team). They are typically conducted using a Self-Assessment format where the participants of the entity (i.e., team) self-assess themselves quarterly and identify improvements.
Quantitative assessment templates evaluate the performance of an entity (i.e., team) in multiple metrics. They are usually conducted with a single participant (i.e., team lead, tech lead) because the answers are data derived from an external data source (i.e., Jira).
We recommend that customers use both qualitative and quantitative capability templates for entities. Our dashboards will provide cumulative results of the completed assessments, which will assist in identifying cause and effect between the qualitative and quantitative capabilities and data-driven coaching.

3. Is there a limit on how many assessments can be run for an Entity?

No, assessments are unlimited for purchased Entities.

Facilitation Training

1. What is Facilitation Training?

Facilitation Training is an optional session designed to prepare facilitators to run assessments effectively and guide teams through reviewing results and identifying improvement actions.

2. What does the training cover?

The training includes an overview of platform capabilities, how to run assessments in different modes, facilitation best practices, and guidance on interpreting results and leading productive follow-up discussions.

3. Who should attend?

Facilitators, coaches, team leads, or anyone responsible for running assessments and guiding teams through the results should attend.

4. Is training required to run assessments?

No. Training is not required, though it is recommended for facilitators who are new to the platform or who want to optimize the value of the assessment experience.

5. Is the training live or self-paced?

Training is typically delivered live and includes examples and walkthroughs. The Facilitator Guide serves as the core reference during the session and can be used afterward to support facilitators as they run assessments and guide teams through results and improvement discussions.

6. How long is the training?

The session is typically 90 minutes and includes both a platform walkthrough and facilitation practice.

Out-of-the-Box Templates

1. What domains does LAI cover to measure and improve maturity?

LAI provides capability templates across multiple domains to help organizations measure and improve maturity in the areas that most impact performance and outcomes. Core domains include Team and Multi-Team Ways of Working, Product, Engineering, and AI Enablement.

These domains can be assessed individually or combined to provide a more holistic view of how teams and groups operate. Using multiple domains together allows organizations to connect behaviors and practices with performance metrics, helping leaders identify improvement opportunities and track progress toward business outcomes over time.

2. How do you determine whether a capability is in the basic or advanced version?

Capability placement in the basic or advanced templates is informed by our implementation experience and feedback from consulting partners. The structure reflects a practical team coaching philosophy: teams typically need to become stable and predictable before they can consistently perform at a high level.

Basic templates focus on foundational practices and behaviors that help teams stabilize, such as improving engagement, strengthening collaboration, and balancing supply and demand to make work more predictable and responsive. Capabilities in the basic qualitative templates emphasize outcomes such as employee experience, responsiveness, and predictability, and the basic quantitative templates include metrics to measure these outcomes.

As teams become more stable, they are better positioned to become high-performing. Advanced templates focus on capabilities that enable teams to deliver high-quality solutions quickly and reliably while meeting customer needs. These capabilities emphasize outcomes such as time-to-market, customer satisfaction, and reliability, with advanced quantitative templates that provide the performance metrics to measure progress in these areas.

3. What is the difference between the Team & Multi-Team Agility Capability Templates and those listed in specific categories?

The Team and Multi-Team Agility capability templates are comprehensive assessments of overall performance at the team or program level. They include a balanced set of capabilities across multiple dimensions, providing a holistic view of how teams operate and improve over time.

Templates listed within specific categories (e.g., Product, Engineering, AI, or Flow) are more focused and assess capabilities within a particular domain or functional area. These category-based templates can be used on their own to target a specific improvement area or combined with the broader Team or Multi-Team templates to provide deeper insight into a particular discipline.

In practice, organizations often use the Team or Multi-Team Agility templates as a foundation and then layer in category-specific templates to gain more targeted insight where needed.

4. Should I customize a Capability Template or use one of your out-of-the-box templates? How do most customers approach this?

The right approach typically depends on the organization's size and the level of internal support available. Smaller to mid-size organizations with limited capacity often start by using LAI’s out-of-the-box capability templates as provided. These templates offer a structured, proven starting point across domains such as agility, product, and AI.

Larger organizations with more internal expertise and a deeper understanding of their operating context are more likely to customize templates to reflect their specific practices, terminology, and priorities. In most cases, customers begin with an out-of-the-box template and then refine it over time—adjusting capabilities, language, or structure to better align with their goals and context.

Out-of-the-Box Capabilities

1. How are the contents of the out-of-the-box Capabilities derived? When are the contents changed?

The Capability Outcomes and Growth Stage Criteria were derived from the influence of many sources authored by experts in the field (these sources are listed on our Source Citations page) and feedback from our consulting partners.
The Capabilities are reviewed twice a year. Minor revisions (i.e., language) informed by customer/partner feedback are occasionally made and included in release notes. If a Capability requires a significant revision, a replacement Capability is created, and the original is preserved. Customers can then opt to adopt the new Capability if they choose.

2. Can you explain how you determine which Growth Criteria are in what Stage?

Again, the Growth Criteria is mostly derived from influential sources and customer/partner feedback; however, there is another variable.
Our maturity model for each Capability is progressive. Each subsequent Stage builds off the last one. That is not to say the improvement cycle for every team will be linear to our Stage Growth Criteria. We all know that is not the case in a complex adaptive system. However, the Growth Criteria in later stages will be easier and more effectively achieved if the Growth Criteria in previous Stages have been met.

Capability and Template Customization

1. Should I customize a Capability Template or use one of your out-of-the-box Templates? How do most customers approach this?

The right approach typically depends on the organization's size and the level of internal support available. Smaller to mid-size organizations with limited capacity often start by using LAI’s out-of-the-box capability templates as provided. These templates offer a structured, proven starting point across domains such as agility, product, and AI.

Larger organizations with more internal expertise and a deeper understanding of their operating context are more likely to customize templates to reflect their specific practices, terminology, and priorities. In most cases, customers begin with an out-of-the-box template and then refine it over time—adjusting capabilities, language, or structure to better align with their goals and context.

2. Should I customize an out-of-the-box Capability? How do most of your customers approach this?

The reason for customizing capabilities is typically driven by the Capability’s language not reflecting the organization’s language, or a Growth Criteria might not be relevant to the customer’s context.

Capability Helpful Resource Customization

1. What are helpful resources in LAI capabilities?

Helpful resources are links, guidance, or supporting materials attached to a capability to help teams understand how to improve after reviewing their results.

2. Can helpful resources be customized?

Yes. Organizations can customize helpful resources to include internal playbooks, training materials, tools, or recommended practices that align with how improvement is supported within the organization.

3. Why customize helpful resources?

Customizing resources ensures teams receive guidance that reflects your organization’s tools, terminology, and ways of working, making improvement actions more relevant and easier to adopt.

4. When do participants see helpful resources?

Helpful resources are typically viewed when reviewing assessment results. They provide guidance to help teams interpret their scores and identify next steps for improvement.

5. Can different capabilities have different resources?

Yes. Helpful resources can be tailored to the capability level, ensuring guidance is specific to the practice or behavior being assessed.

6. Who can manage or update helpful resources?

Admins can add, edit, or delete helpful resources as practices evolve or new internal materials become available.

Capability Prompt Customization

1. What are capability prompts?

Capability prompts are additional questions shown to participants when they respond to a capability. These prompts allow participants to provide context, examples, or explanations alongside their rating.

2. Where are prompt responses stored?

Responses to prompts are stored in the comments section of the capability and are retained with the assessment results.

3. Can prompts be customized?

Yes. Prompts can be edited or added to reflect the type of context or insight your organization wants to collect from participants.

4. Who can update prompts?

Admins can customize prompts within a template or capability configuration.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

1. What is SSO in LAI?

Single Sign-On (SSO) allows users to access LAI with their organization’s existing authentication system, eliminating the need to manage separate login credentials.

2. What SSO protocol does LAI support?

LAI supports SAML 2.0–based SSO, which integrates with most enterprise identity providers.

3. What is required to set up SSO?

Your organization must provide an identity provider (IdP) that supports SAML 2.0. The LAI team will work with your admins to configure, test, and validate the connection.

4. Is SSO required to use LAI?

No. SSO is optional. Users can also access LAI using standard email/password login if SSO is not enabled.

5. Who is involved in the SSO setup?

Your IT or identity management team will typically provide configuration details. The LAI team supports setup, testing, and validation to ensure a smooth rollout.

6. How long does SSO setup take?

Setup time varies depending on coordination with your identity provider team, though most configurations can be completed quickly once the required information is available.

7. Does SSO impact permissions or roles?

SSO manages authentication only (how users sign in). Roles and permissions within LAI are still managed inside the platform.

8. Can SSO be enabled later?

Yes. SSO can be configured at any time during or after implementation.

API Export Configuration

1.What is the API Export in LAI?

The API Export enables external systems to access assessment results, metrics, and related data programmatically. This enables organizations to integrate LAI data into their analytics and reporting environments.

2. What can be exported through the API?

Assessment scores, capability results, metrics, and trend data can be exported for use in external dashboards and reporting tools.

3. Why would we use the API Export?

Organizations use the API Export to integrate LAI data with business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or internal data platforms, enabling broader analysis and combined reporting with other enterprise data sources.

4. How is the API Export configured?

The LAI team works with your technical or analytics team to configure and test the API connection so data can be securely accessed and scheduled for export.

5. Who should be involved in setup?

Typically, a data, analytics, or IT representative from your organization works with the LAI team to configure and validate the integration.

6. Is the API Export secure?

Yes. Access is authenticated and controlled to ensure only authorized systems can retrieve data.