We are nearly at the conclusion of Team Topologies: Organizing Business And Technology Teams For Fast Flow . Over the next few days, we will post a poll to get the selection process moving for our next re-read book.
Chapter 8 is titled “Evolve Team Structures With Organization Sensing.” I was struck by two important (and related) concepts during this read. They both are encompassed in the quote “the most important thing is not the shape of the organization itself but the rules and heuristics used to adapt and change the organizations as new challenges arise.”
All organizations face change. While change in some industries moves at the pace of a lazy river, in others, change is more akin to category 4 rapids. Even if the waters seem placid now, disruption can lurk just around the next bend. Having a well-understood (and appreciated) approach to realign the flow of work is a strategic necessity. This is no different than having a well-practiced disaster recovery plan. While teams and value chains might understand the need to use different topologies and interaction modes based on context, people get comfortable and defend that comfort long after it makes sense. The need for adjusting how teams work might be in reaction to tactical as well as strategic needs. Stream-aligned teams that collaborate interactively while building or implementing major features might work more effectively as X-as-a-Service teams after the implementation. Having an approach to resetting expectations makes life easier.
As important as the plan, knowing when to trigger realignment and at what level is almost as important. The authors use the term organizational sensing to describe the mechanics of listening to information flows. Jeremy Willets and I are currently completing a book on work intake/entry. Direction on what work needs to be done, the priority of that work, and the order that technically makes sense is influenced by the flow of information and feedback loops. These rivers of information occur formally and informally. Team topologies and interaction modes guide how the information moves. When friction happens teams are in the right place to provide feedback (flow metrics are one tool to accomplish that task) but only if the organization is listening AND they have a way to use the data without hysterics.
Next week we will re-read the Conclusion of Team Topologies and complete the re-read with a few closing thoughts.
Buy a copy of Team Topologies: Organizing Business And Technology Teams For Fast Flow and read along!
Previous Installments:
Week 1: Front Matter and Logistics – http://bit.ly/3nHGkW4
Week 2: The Problem With Org Charts – https://bit.ly/3zGGyQf
Week 3: Conway’s Law and Why It Matters – https://bit.ly/3muTVQE
Week 4: Team First Thinking – https://bit.ly/3H9xRSC
Week 5: Static Team Topologies – https://bit.ly/40Q6eF2
Week 6: The Four Fundamental Team Topologies (Part 1) – https://bit.ly/3VUI7EB
Week 7: The Four Fundamental Team Topologies (Part 2) – https://bit.ly/3I70dxa
Week 8: Choose Team-First Boundaries – https://bit.ly/43i8W8A
Week 9: Team Interaction Modes – https://bit.ly/3WR49Is
