The Big Idea

Team organizational structure, or topology, refers to the configuration and interrelationships between different teams within an organization. This structure defines how teams are composed, their roles, how they collaborate with one another, and how they align with the organization's overarching goals and strategies. Key concepts in team topology include the division of responsibilities, communication patterns, autonomy levels, and collaboration mechanisms. These concepts provide a blueprint for how teams operate and interact, enabling them to function efficiently and effectively.

Proactively constructing how your teams work is essential because it sets the stage for success across many of the other Blocks in the CTO Levels framework. By designing the team topology intentionally, an organization can foster collaboration and innovation, minimize conflicts and dependencies, and align teams more closely with business and technical objectives. A well-structured team topology supports agility, allowing teams to respond more rapidly to changes in the market or within the organization itself. It also promotes a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities, facilitating coordination and reducing ambiguities.

Without a thoughtful approach to team topology, organizations may encounter challenges such as misaligned goals, communication breakdowns, duplication of effort, or delays due to unresolved dependencies. Such issues can hinder productivity and undermine the delivery of value to customers. Therefore, investing in the design of team topology is not just about creating a functional layout; it's about crafting the organizational dynamics that empower teams to achieve their full potential, adapt to change, and contribute to the overarching success of the organization.

Common Topology Approaches

The organizational structure of engineering teams can vary widely depending on factors such as company size, industry, goals, and culture. Here are some of the most common engineering organizational structure frameworks:

  1. Functional Organization: Teams are organized by specific functions or specialties, such as development, testing, operations, or quality assurance. This structure fosters deep expertise in specific areas but may create silos and hinder cross-functional collaboration. We do not recommend this approach.
  2. Matrix Organization: This structure combines elements of functional and project-based organization. Engineers report to both a functional manager and a project manager. It can enhance resource allocation and collaboration but may lead to conflicting priorities. We recommend this approach be utilized only when necessary (this is more common at consultancies).
  3. Project-Based Organization: Teams are assembled based on specific projects or products. This promotes collaboration across different specialties but can lead to a lack of continuity once a project is completed. This approach is common at consultancies.
  4. Spotify Model: Inspired by the music streaming company, the Spotify model organizes teams into squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds. This approach aims to provide autonomy and alignment with a focus on continuous improvement and agility. Many teams at adopted this approach. It should be noted that the squad model was designed by Spotify for Spotify to address very specific challenges they were facing and the company has since evolved beyond this.
  5. Team Topologies Framework: Defined by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais in the Team Topologies book, this model categorizes teams into four fundamental topologies: Enabling Teams, Complicated Subsystem Teams, Stream-aligned Teams, and Platform Teams. The framework aims to align team arrangements with software development flow, reduce cognitive load, and facilitate adaptability, focusing on the interaction patterns between teams to enable efficient software delivery. Many teams find this approach highly beneficial to their needs.
  6. SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): SAFe provides a guide for scaling Agile practices across large organizations. It incorporates elements like release trains and value streams to coordinate multiple Agile teams working towards common goals. SAFe is commonly used in very large enterprises comprised of multiple product lines and 100s of teams.
  7. LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum): LeSS is another framework for scaling Agile practices, focusing on minimizing organizational hierarchy and maximizing communication and collaboration.
  8. Cross-Functional Teams: This structure groups people with different functional expertise to work on a common project or product, promoting collaboration and innovation. This approach is commonly integrated into the other frameworks on this list.
  9. Service-Oriented Teams: Teams are organized around specific services or components of a product, aiming for ownership and mastery over that particular domain.
  10. Hybrid Models: Many organizations blend aspects of different frameworks to create a structure that aligns with their unique needs, culture, and objectives.

Choosing the right framework involves understanding the specific requirements, culture, and challenges of an organization. The selected structure should promote alignment with business goals, foster collaboration and innovation, and enable the organization to adapt to changes in the market and technology landscape. Regularly evaluating and evolving the structure is also vital to ensuring that it continues to support the organization's objectives as they evolve.

Factors to Consider

Here are some of the most important constructs to consider: