Operational Debt Scorecard
A self-assessment to surface where your team is losing time, clarity, and momentum.
Rate each statement from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Your total score updates automatically as you go.
Coordination Overload
Coordination Overload
0 / 25- We have too many recurring meetings that don't drive decisions
- Key information lives in Slack threads, not shared docs
- People attend meetings "just in case"
- Cross-functional handoffs regularly stall
- We rely on people, not systems, to keep things moving
Approval Bottlenecks
Approval Bottlenecks
0 / 25- Content can't go live without approval from 2+ people
- Campaign timelines slip due to review delays
- There's no self-serve QA or brand check process
- The same feedback is given on the same types of content
- I personally touch most final outputs before launch
Execution Debt
Execution Debt
0 / 25- We redo the same type of work frequently without templates
- Simple tasks take longer than they should
- New team members take weeks to become productive
- We haven't documented most of our recurring workflows
- Tools are underused because no one owns enablement
Tool Sprawl & Fragmentation
Tool Sprawl & Fragmentation
0 / 25- We use 3+ tools that overlap in function
- No one owns the martech stack end-to-end
- AI tools are adopted randomly, not strategically
- Data doesn't flow between tools without manual effort
- We've bought tools we barely use
Broken Feedback Loops
Broken Feedback Loops
0 / 25- We rarely review campaign results as a team
- We don't know which content types perform best
- Performance insights don't reach the people creating work
- There's no routine retrospective for marketing
- We optimize based on gut, not data
Scoring Guide
| Score Range | Level | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 0–40 | Low Debt | You're running tight. Focus on scale. |
| 41–65 | Moderate Debt | Some friction areas worth addressing. |
| 66–85 | High Debt | Multiple systems need redesign. Start with the top 2 categories. |
| 86–125 | Critical Debt | Likely losing days/week to operational drag. |
Your Score
Start rating the statements above to see your score summary here.