Skelton Matthew. Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow

2019 by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, IT Revolution Press - 240 p.
ISBN: 978-1942788-812.Effective software teams are essential for any organization to deliver value continuously and sustainably. But how do you build the best team organization for your specific goals, culture, and needs? Team Topologies is a practical, step-by-step, adaptive model for organizational design and team interaction based on four fundamental team types and three team interaction patterns. It is a model that treats teams as the fundamental means of delivery, where team structures and communication pathways are able to evolve with technological and organizational maturity. In Team Topologies, IT consultants Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais share secrets of successful team patterns and interactions to help readers choose and evolve the right team patterns for their organization, making sure to keep the software healthy and optimize value streams. Team Topologies is a major step forward in organizational design for software, presenting a well-defined way for teams to interact and interrelate that helps make the resulting software architecture clearer and more sustainable, turning inter-team problems into valuable signals for the self-steering organization.The Four Fundamental Team Topologies.
Most organizations use a variety of team types in their organization. And, many teams even take on multiple roles. But this sprawl makes it difficult for everyone to visualize the organization landscape, and clogs the pipes of effective work flow.When used with care, there are only four team topologies (or types) needed to build and run effective modern software systems. When combined with effective software boundaries and the three team interaction modes, these four team types act as a powerful template for effective organizational design. This is the Team Topologies approach to organizational design.Matthew Skelton, Author photo, IT Consultant.
About Author Matthew Skelton.
Matthew Skelton has been building, deploying, and operating commercial software systems since 1998, and has worked for organizations including London Stock Exchange, GlaxoSmithKline, FT.com, LexisNexis, and the UK government. Head of Consulting at Conflux, Matthew is the co-author of the books Continuous Delivery with Windows and .NET (2016) and Team Guide to Software Operability (2016). Matthew holds a BSc in computer science and cybernetics from the University of Reading, an MSc in neuroscience from the University of Oxford, and an MA in music from the Open University. He is a chartered engineer (CEng) in the UK.Manuel Pais, Author Photo, IT Consultant.
About Author Manuel Pais.
Manuel Pais is an independent DevOps and Continuous Delivery Consultant focused on team design, practices, and flow. He helps organizations define and adopt DevOps and Continuous Delivery (both from technical and human perspectives) via strategic assessments, practical workshops, and coaching. Manuel is also the co-author of Team Guide to Software Releasability (2018).IT Revolution, Books, Publisher.
IT Revolution: Leading the Charge to the Next Revolution in IT.
IT Revolution publishes books that exemplify the most current best practices for IT orga­nizations in the enterprise. Our goal is to elevate the state of technology work, quantify the economic and human costs associated with sub-optimal IT performance, and improve the lives of IT professionals around the world. Our authors include top industry thought-leaders who, through elevated discourse, inspire positive change for IT practitioners. Founded in 2013 by Gene Kim, IT Revolution serves the DevOps community by publishing numerous books and other publications, producing the DevOps Enterprise Summits in London and San Francisco, and supporting qualitative and quantitative research projects with various partners.Figures & Tables.
Case Studies & Industry Examples.
Foreword by Ruth Malan.PART I TEAMS AS THE MEANS OF DELIVERY.Chapter 1: The Problem with Org Charts.
Communication Structures of an Organization.
Team Topologies: A New Way of Thinking about Teams.
The Revival of Conway’s Law.
Cognitive Load and Bottlenecks.
Summary: Rethink Team Structures, Purpose, and Interactions.Chapter 2: Conway’s Law and Why It Matters.
Understanding and Using Conway’s Law.
The Reverse Conway Maneuver.
Software Architectures that Encourage Team-Scoped Flow.
Organization Design Requires Technical Expertise.
Restrict Unnecessary Communication.
Beware: Naive Uses of Conway’s Law.
Summary: Conway’s Law Is Critical for Efficient Team Design in Tech.Chapter 3: Team-First Thinking.
Use Small, Long-Lived Teams as the Standard.
Good Boundaries Minimize Cognitive Load.
Design “Team APIs” and Facilitate Team Interactions.
Warning: Engineering Practices Are Foundational.
Summary: Limit Teams’ Cognitive Load and Facilitate Team Interactions to Go Faster.PART II TEAM TOPOLOGIES THAT WORK FOR FLOW.Chapter 4: Static Team Topologies.
Team Anti-Patterns.
Design for Flow of Change.
DevOps and the DevOps Topologies.
Successful Team Patterns.
Considerations When Choosing a Topology.
Use DevOps Topologies to Evolve the Organization.
Summary: Adopt and Evolve Team Topologies that Match Your Current Context.Chapter 5: The Four Fundamental Team Topologies.
Stream-Aligned Teams.
Enabling Teams.
Complicated-Subsystem Teams.
Platform Teams.
Avoid Team Silos in the Flow of Change.
A Good Platform Is “Just Big Enough”.
Convert Common Team Types to the Fundamental Team Topologies.
Summary: Use Loosely Coupled, Modular Groups of Four Specific Team Types.Chapter 6: Choose Team-First Boundaries.
A Team-First Approach to Software Responsibilities and Boundaries.
Hidden Monoliths and Coupling.
Software Boundaries or “Fracture Planes”.
Real-World Example: Manufacturing.
Summary: Choose Software Boundaries to Match Team Cognitive Load.PART III EVOLVING TEAM INTERACTIONS FOR INNOVATION AND RAPID DELIVERY.
Chapter 7: Team Interaction Modes.
Well-Defined Interactions Are Key to Effective Teams.
The Three Essential Team Interaction Modes.
Team Behaviors for Each Interaction Mode.
Choosing Suitable Team Interaction Modes.
Choosing Basic Team Organization.
Choose Team Interaction Modes to Reduce Uncertainty and Enhance Flow.
Summary: Three Well-Defined Team Interaction Modes.Chapter 8: Evolve Team Structures with Organizational Sensing.
How Much Collaboration Is Right for Each Team Interaction?
Accelerate Learning and Adoption of New Practices.
Constant Evolution of Team Topologies.
Combining Teams Topologies for Greater Effectiveness.
Triggers for Evolution of Team Topologies.
Self Steer Design and Development.
Summary: Evolving Team Topologies.Conclusion: The Next-Generation Digital Operating Model.
Four Team Types and Three Interaction Modes.
Team-First Thinking: Cognitive Load, Team API, Team-Sized Architecture.
Strategic Application of Conway’s Law.
Evolve Organization Design for Adaptability and Sensing.
Team Topologies Alone Are Not Sufficient for IT Effectiveness.Next Steps: How to Get Started with Team Topologies.Recommended Reading.