Step 3: Understand how we’ll assess fitness

SQUARE defines six fitness aspects of a value delivery system, and based on your rating of each aspect, it calculates a raw fitness score and maps it to one of the five levels. It does not assume you use Scrum, Kanban, or another common approach (agile or otherwise). And, it does not require metrics. 

For you to rate these aspects accurately on the next page, it’s important that we agree on the exact meaning of each aspect. On first glance they might look familiar, but the specific wording matters.

Throughput: The amount of usable working product delivered by the system in short spans of time

Outcomes: The system’s achievement of valuable user and business outcomes (solving problems, addressing needs, achieving goals, seizing opportunities), both large and small

Timeliness: The system’s delivery of outcome-producing results when they’re still valuable enough

Adaptability: The adaptability of both the system and its product to important changes, whether due to internal choice or to external conditions, and whether adaptations are net positives or not

Consistency: The system’s continued achievement (under normal conditions) of its throughput, outcomes, timeliness, and adaptability

Cost-efficiency: The efficiency of achieving the system’s current throughput, outcomes, timeliness, adaptability, and consistency for the money spent