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Guided Workshops

Team Topologies Guided Workshops

Foundation Workshop - Techniques for finding boundaries for fast flow - P831

 

The Team Topologies book introduces ideas, patterns, and principles that provide a language for organization design and a compelling argument for adopting them, but what does that look like in practice? What techniques can we use to help us identify and validate team and service boundaries when we experience blockers to flow and triggers for evolution? This workshop provides the answers to these questions. 

Workshop Outcomes

This foundation workshop introduces participants to the visual collaboration techniques introduced by Team Topologies to help organizations find boundaries for a faster flow of change. The techniques include User Needs Mapping (UNM), Independent Service Heuristics (ISH), and Team Interaction Modeling (TIM). It covers the following areas:

  • Listening for triggers for evolution through in-flow checks and hand-offs

  • Identifying and validating effective team boundaries for fast flow

    • How to use User Needs Mapping (UNM) to identify potential team and service boundaries

    • How to use Independent Service Heuristics (ISH) to explore and validate team and service boundaries

  • Aligning team structures with organizational goals and value streams

    • How to use Team Interaction Modeling (TIM) to capture current and future organizational state

Workshop Format

The workshop is run across two separate 3-hour sessions:

  • Session 1 - Understanding triggers for evolution, finding boundaries with User Needs Mapping (UNM), finding and validating boundaries with Independent Service Heuristics (ISH), and capturing and describing organization evolution with Team Interaction Modeling (TIM)

  • Session 2 - Practical application of identifying triggers for evolution, UNM, ISH, and TIM to identify and validate team boundaries for fast flow in the context of your organization

We recommend that these sessions are run on either the same day (morning and afternoon) or on consecutive days. This helps to keep the material and ideas "front of mind" for attendees while allowing some space for reflection (and normal work activities).

The workshops are facilitated by authorized Team Topologies Valued Practitioners (TTVPs).

A holistic approach to organizational design

This workshop is designed to educate practitioners, leaders, managers, and other staff members about the visual collaboration techniques introduced by Team Topologies. Through hands-on exercises, participants will gain a broader understanding of how these techniques can be combined to improve organizational design, resulting in better team interactions, increased autonomy, and faster value delivery.

Screenshot of the P831 workshop Miro board

Who should attend the workshop?

This workshop is specifically designed for leaders, managers, change agents, and practitioners within your organization who need a good working understanding of how and when to respond to triggers for evolution and to be able to effectively explore, capture, and describe possible options for team evolution. The workshop is also suitable for anyone leading organizational change based on these principles and techniques.

How should you prepare for the workshop?

We recommend that attendees:

  • have a basic understanding of Team Topologies principles (we would recommend P818 or P822 but these are not essential)

  • bring real-world examples of their team structures and boundaries for practical exercises

  • bring enthusiasm and a willingness to contribute!