Collaboration2.0 | Beyond Frameworks

What’s Dysfunction Mapping? And How To Prove Your Value With It

Unlocking the Power of Dysfunction Mapping: A Journey in Agile Improvement

In today’s fast-paced Agile world, frameworks like Scrum or SAFe dominate the conversation. However, many of us are growing weary of rigid, prescriptive systems. Instead, we crave simple, flexible tools that can be tailored to our challenges and seamlessly integrated into our existing workflows.

Michael Lloyd brings a fresh perspective on how to solve problems and create incremental improvements through a technique called Dysfunction Mapping.

Having been a Scrum Master and Agile Coach for nearly a decade, Mike has seen first-hand how the industry often focuses too heavily on brief training sessions rather than equipping practitioners with the tools to tackle real-world issues. Dysfunction Mapping is his answer to that gap.

The Birth of Dysfunction Mapping

Mike didn’t set out to create a new framework. Instead, it emerged from his experience of trial and error while working with teams. His early efforts involved jotting down observations on an iPad and making sense of patterns.

Over time, he refined this process into a structured approach to not only identify problems but also propose experiments and measure their success. Inspired partly by Impact Mapping and other systems-thinking tools like causal loop diagrams, Dysfunction Mapping evolved into a tool that helps practitioners think holistically about their teams and the broader organizational environment.

At its core, Dysfunction Mapping helps Agile practitioners identify dysfunctions — patterns or anti-patterns hindering the team’s performance — and proposes actionable experiments to drive improvement. It’s about mapping out problems visually, then testing solutions and measuring their effectiveness.

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