Here is a one-minute explanation of a useful, long-standing model of project team evolution – the Tuckman Ladder. This model is useful largely as a way to inform team members about “where they are” in a project, from an internal/team perspective, that is, a way that does not rely on scope, schedule, or budget frameworks.

The model becomes less useful when team members are basically independent of each other in terms of their contributions to project work products. However, this is far from the usual situation, even in these days of highly dispersed teams. Which is to say that although the Tuckman Ladder is a “long-standing” model in project management, it continues to be “useful”.