Four fundamental topologies
Stream-aligned team: aligned to a flow of work from (usually) a segment of the business domain
Enabling team: helps a Stream-aligned team to overcome obstacles. Also detects missing capabilities.
Complicated Subsystem team: where significant mathematics/calculation/technical expertise is needed.
Platform team: a grouping of other team types that provide a compelling internal product to accelerate delivery by Stream-aligned teams
Guided enablement workshops
For those seeking swift adoption of cutting-edge strategies, these enablement workshops offer an unparalleled opportunity to catalyze change and drive success. Team Topologies Guided Workshops present an expedited route for organizations eager to integrate Team Topologies methodologies swiftly. Crafted and endorsed by the visionaries behind Team Topologies, Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, these workshops distill years of consultancy into dynamic 3-hour sessions, delivering immediate, tangible results. By prioritizing interactive group dynamics, attendees are empowered to grasp concepts firsthand, accelerating organizational understanding and implementation.
Four fundamental topologies - with the flow of change
The flow of change is shown left-to-right. Stream-aligned teams own an entire slice of the business domain (or other flow) end-to-end. The Stream-aligned teams are “You Built It, You Run It” teams. There are no hand-offs to other teams for any purpose.
This diagram is a snapshot in time. The team relationships WILL change as new goals are set and the teams discover new things.
Team Topologies Academy
To learn more about key ideas from Team Topologies like the four types of teams, the three core interaction modes, the platform as a product approach, or how to align teams with true value streams, have a look at the self-paced Team Topologies Distilled course on the Team Topologies Academy.
Three team interaction modes
There are only three ways in which team should interact:
Collaboration: working together for a defined period of time to discover new things (APIs, practices, technologies, etc.)
X-as-a-Service: one team provides and one team consumes something “as a Service”
Facilitation: one team helps and mentors another team