The Four Team Types
The Four Fundamental Team Types
Team Topologies identifies four primary team types, each designed to fulfill specific roles within an organization. These team types enable fast delivery of value, reduce dependencies, and optimize team cognitive load. When combined with User Needs Mapping, these team types provide a framework for assigning ownership of capabilities and aligning teams with user needs.
1. Stream-Aligned Teams
Definition: Stream-aligned teams are dedicated to a single value stream, such as a specific user need, product, or feature set. Their primary focus is delivering value directly to end users or customers.
Characteristics:
- Aligned with specific user needs or capabilities (e.g., ticket purchasing, journey planning).
- Minimized dependencies to allow for fast, autonomous delivery.
- Cross-functional, encompassing all skills required to deliver their stream of work.
Examples in User Needs Mapping:
- A “Ticketing Team” managing the ticket purchasing system.
- A “Journey Planning Team” responsible for real-time journey updates.
2. Enabling Teams
Definition: Enabling teams provide expertise, tools, or support to stream-aligned teams to help them overcome obstacles and improve delivery capabilities. These teams typically engage with other teams on a temporary basis.
Characteristics:
- Focused on unlocking the potential of stream-aligned teams.
- Often composed of specialists in a particular domain (e.g., DevOps, data science).
- Operate in a facilitative mode, helping other teams acquire new skills or implement solutions.
Examples in User Needs Mapping:
- A “Data Insights Team” supporting a stream-aligned team by providing analytics expertise.
- A “DevOps Enablement Team” helping teams adopt continuous deployment practices.
3. Complicated Subsystem Teams
Definition: Complicated subsystem teams manage areas of high technical complexity requiring specialized knowledge. They focus on delivering and maintaining components that are difficult for other teams to handle effectively.
Characteristics:
- Responsible for specific subsystems or technologies requiring deep expertise.
- Often provide reusable components or services used by multiple teams.
- Typically interact with other teams in a collaboration or consuming mode.
Examples in User Needs Mapping:
- A “Machine Learning Models Team” managing complex algorithms for personalized recommendations.
- A “High-Performance Database Team” ensuring low-latency data storage and retrieval.
4. Platform Teams
Definition: Platform teams build and maintain foundational systems and services used by other teams. They enable stream-aligned teams to focus on delivering value by providing reliable and reusable capabilities.
Characteristics:
- Provide self-service APIs, infrastructure, or tools.
- Focus on creating a frictionless experience for consuming teams.
- Enable stream-aligned teams to operate independently.
Examples in User Needs Mapping:
- An “API Platform Team” maintaining APIs for ticketing and journey planning.
- An “Infrastructure Platform Team” providing scalable cloud resources.
Applying Team Types with User Needs Mapping
When mapping user needs and capabilities, the four team types help assign ownership and reduce complexity:
- Stream-Aligned Teams: Own capabilities directly tied to user needs.
- Complicated Subsystem Teams: Handle highly technical areas or components critical to delivering value.
- Platform Teams: Provide reusable services and tools to minimize dependencies.
- Enabling Teams: Support stream-aligned teams in overcoming temporary challenges or adopting new practices - although we generally do not model them on a User Needs Map because they should not “own” a capability.
By aligning team types with the capabilities identified in your User Needs Map, you can create a clear, scalable structure that optimizes delivery and collaboration.