A WebMD for Agile Conditions

Since 1996, WebMD has consistently grown to become the leading online destination for health information. The website continues to get millions of visits per month and it is not showing signs of slowing.

WebMD contains an ocean of relevant health information that is backed by medical professionals. However, most of us know WebMD by its symptom checker: a unique tool that allows users to input their health symptoms to see what condition they might have. It has been a hypochondriac's delight because inputting "dizziness" could get you responses from all over the spectrum like mild dehydration to a chronic disease.

In talking with Agilists in my network, I often hear folks compare coaches to doctors. It's an easy analogy to follow because coaches (like doctors) prescribe remedies for people's ailments. After all, a stand-up a day keeps the doctor away.

My natural curiosity and the calmness of social distancing had me experimenting with this concept: what if we could develop an application that allows Agilists to describe their symptoms and quickly get a customized diagnosis and prescription (Rx) to treat their condition?

First, my mind instantly thought of the pain scale you'd see in your doctors office. It has the various facial expressions and 0-10 scale. What if we asked people to rank how bad their team was hurting? Then, build from that by collecting more symptoms (e.g. psychological safety, value delivery, story churn, etc.)

More and more brainstorming and coding occurred and, now, I humbly present to you the first release of Agile Tonic —Your Agile Health Resource. (Yes, like a tonic you would drink to make you feel better.)

It takes about 2 minutes to complete the examination and the output is a customized email of actionable prescriptions for getting your team's Agile health back on track. I really tried to emphasize tangible, specific coaching so you are compelled to try the prescription with your team right away.

The app is meant to be used over and over as your symptoms change with time and environment. You may also consider taking the examination with your team to have a dialogue around the team's responses to the various questions.

At any rate, I hope you find this tool valuable and at the very least clever. Please know that your feedback is not only welcome, but highly valued!

Yours in hypochondria,

Jess