The true power of Team Topologies emerges not in academic discussion but in its practical application across diverse organizational contexts. In this newsletter series, we bring together the voices of several practitioners from the CNCF Platforms Working Group who have implemented Team Topologies principles in their organizations. Through their experiences—ranging from Bryan Ross' restaurant analogy for platform teams to Matt Menzenski's connection with Deep Work philosophy—a comprehensive picture emerges of how Team Topologies transforms organizational effectiveness by focusing on team cognitive load, clear interaction patterns, and service-oriented platforms. These complementary perspectives demonstrate that whether you're restructuring platform teams, mapping team interactions, or connecting individual and organizational productivity, Team Topologies provides a cohesive framework for driving meaningful improvement in how technology organizations deliver value.

As organizations, we want to minimize inter-team dependencies. However, there are specific moments where strategic temporary interactions are essential to help teams learn faster and more effectively from each other to address capability gaps and other blockers to flow.. In this issue, we will explore the facilitating interaction mode, which can support such situations.

The X-as-a-Service (XaaS) interaction mode from Team Topologies offers a fundamental pattern to help organizations avoid the trap of creating unnecessary “blocking dependencies” between their teams. This is essential to support organizations to scale while achieving a fast flow of value.

Discover how modeling team interactions correctly can transform your organization. By optimizing collaboration, teams can adapt faster, tackle challenges more effectively, and drive greater success. Learn how structured collaboration helps unlock agility, improve flow, and ensure your teams work at their best—fueling growth and innovation. This is part of our ongoing series to help you build high-performing teams and achieve organizational excellence.

This edition was curated by Eduardo da Silva

Many companies are looking at Team Topologies when trying to improve organizational efficiency and delivery speed. However, the three fundamental interaction modes - Collaboration, X-as-a-Service, and Facilitating - are often overlooked, misunderstood and misapplied, leading to decreased effectiveness and increased organizational friction rather than the intended benefits.

This edition was curated by Eduardo da Silva

Debunking common myths about organizational design! Discover how effective team structures drive sustainable success & innovation. Read the newsletter, subscribe to get more and let us know if we have missed anything.

Kudos to Brian Graham for this edition.

What challenges have you faced with team dynamics or flow in your organization? Kudos to Brian Graham for this edition.
Ever felt like team names, smart hires, or platform setups weren’t solving the real problems? There’s more to unlocking fast flow and innovation than meets the eye. Let’s dive into the hidden opportunities together!

Curious about transitioning from project-based work to a Product Operating Model? Our latest newsletter dives into how Team Topologies can help leaders navigate the unique challenges of this shift, especially in complex enterprise environments. We explore why internal platforms need to be treated as products and discuss the complexities of defining product boundaries in ways that empower teams. Discover insights on structuring value streams for multi-team products and building effective 'team-of-teams' architectures.

What is Team Topologies? Is it a framework? Is it a set of principles? How can you start using it without having a big-bang, top-down approach? And is that ever the right approach?

Curious about transitioning from project-based work to a Product Operating Model? Our latest newsletter dives into how Team Topologies can help leaders navigate the unique challenges of this shift, especially in complex enterprise environments. We explore why internal platforms need to be treated as products and discuss the complexities of defining product boundaries in ways that empower teams. Discover insights on structuring value streams for multi-team products and building effective 'team-of-teams' architectures.

In a recorded interview from the Acceler8IT Conference in Krakow, Matthew Skelton, co-author of Team Topologies, sat down with Sabine Wojcieszak from getNextIT to discuss the practical and human-centered value of Team Topologies in modern workplaces. Their conversation delves into the potential of this flexible framework, which promotes adaptive team structures, reducing cognitive load, and nurturing a sense of security and fulfillment at work.

In our recent Project to Product Open Forum, we gathered leaders, practitioners, and transformation experts to explore the challenges and opportunities of moving from a project-centric to a product-centric way of working. The conversation couldn’t have been more timely; with only 2% of organizations fully mature in these transformation attempts and with a failure rate of 70% for business transformations, the shift is proving to be more difficult than anticipated for many organizations.