Every team has recurring aches, pains and misalignments. Left unchecked, they calcify into “the way we work.”

This tool is a log of recurring interpersonal, procedural, or structural pain points.

How to use it

• Collect issues that resurface (handoffs, comms gaps, leadership chaos). Use the New Friction template below.
• Tag them by type: interpersonal (trust, communication), procedural (handoffs, tools), or structural (priorities, leadership chaos).
• Share back patterns with the team. Sometimes just naming the dysfunction makes people laugh instead of despair, and that’s progress.
  • At the end of a sprint/retro, summarise themes: “I noticed three people flagged unclear ownership this week, feels like a pattern worth fixing.”
  • Use a simple table or even a word cloud of recurring terms (confusion, delays, handoffs).
  • Keep tone light, not accusatory: the point is to see the system, not blame individuals: “We’ve spent longer debating Jira workflows than using them”.

Untitled

Small annoyances solidify into culture if ignored. This recurring log shows which pains are background noise vs. systemic. Fuel for retros and fixes.