0 - No change is possible for the squad currently - the Squad needs time to gel
1 - The Squad can handle one new member or one member rotation.
2 - The Squad can handle one new pair or one member rotation.
3 - The Squad can handle both one new pair and one member rotation.
Where a Squad currently rates on the scale is to be estimated by the Squad Captain. This is an estimate of how much change the Squad can absorb over the course of a month.
In ideal conditions (squads performing full rotations, effectively co-learning), this is what we expect the elasticity of a squad to be given two months of no change:
| size in pairs | elasticity |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 |
If the squad had one rotation last month:
| size in pairs | elasticity |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 2 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 |
If the squad had growth of one pair last month:
| size in pairs | elasticity |
|---|---|
| 2 ----------- | ------------ |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 2 |
If the squad had growth of one pair and a rotation last month:
| size in pairs | elasticity |
|---|---|
| 2 ----------- | ------------ |
| 3 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 2 |
If the squad had growth of one pair two months ago, and one pair last month:
| size in pairs | elasticity |
|---|---|
| 2 ----------- | ------------ |
| 3 ----------- | ------------ |
| 4 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 |
| 6 | 1 |
| 7 | 1 |
Some squads haven't reached a state where they can be used as effectively as intended. This can happen for a few reasons, including:
- the squad has no captain
- the squad is segregated in some way, and thus members do not have strong relationships across those boundaries
- the squad has developed a hierarchy and / or knowledge silos
When these or similar things have occurred, normal projections of the squad's elasticity over time will be too optimistic. In these cases, reducing the elasticity value by one should produce a more realistic expectation. Of course, these projections should be affirmed by the Squad Captain where possible.
The Squad Captain and Strategist should focus on teams with known handicaps and work to eliminate these issues or disband the squad.