Team Topologies
by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais, Ruth Malan · first published 2019
52% recommend37% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Approachable, quick read on organizing software and ops teams for fast flow, covering stream-aligned teams, team interaction patterns, cognitive load and Conway's Law; suits engineering managers and org designers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Effective software teams are essential for any organization to deliver value continuously and sustainably. But how do you build the best team organization for your specific goals, culture, and needs? Team Topologies is a practical, step-by-step, adaptive model for organizational design and team interaction based on four fundamental team types and three team interaction patterns. It is a model that treats teams as the fundamental means of delivery, where team structures and communication pathways are able to evolve with technological and organizational maturity. In Team Topologies, IT
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…times. But if you clicked on it because you're new to EM and keen, here are a few books that are much more helpful IMO: - The Manager's Path, by Camille Fournier - An Elegant Puzzle, by Will Larson - Team Topologies, by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais - Thinking in Systems, by Donella Meadows - Also see: references cited in the above and other works by same authors Disclaimer: Not a seasoned EM and definitely…
on “Engineering Management” ↗…and in fact it's been somewhat "popular" for several years depending on what communities and circles you participate it on- and off-line. I'm surprised not to find any mentions to things like: - the Team Topologies book by Skelton and Pais, published in 2019 where they cover the topic. Particularly of note here is the fact that Skelton has a Computer Science BSc and a Neuroscience MSc - the many, many, many articles,…
on “Cognitive loads in programming” ↗Team Topologies[0] goes into more depth about this topic, it's a good read. [0] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1942788819
on “Designing Engineering Organizations” ↗…Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management (Will Larson) * Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and Devops: Building and Scaling High Performing Teams (Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim) * Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow (Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais) * Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Marty Cagan) * The Phoenix Project (Gene Kim, Kevin Behr,…
on “A reading list for new engineering managers” ↗There's a decent book about this called Team Topologies. Not necessarily the org design bible, but maybe close, and definitely addresses many specifics around this topic and your comment. https://www.amazon.com/Team-Topologies-Organizing-Business-T...
on “Conway's Law” ↗…overlooked, especially by those who think agile means “everyone does everything”. The trick is to become agile whilst maintaining a division of responsibilities between teams. If you look up articles about Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, they outline a team structure that works for large, distributed systems.
on “Ask HN: Do you find working on large distributed systems exhausting?” ↗…pattern. TL;DR: yes, as companies scale, introducing management reduces the cognitive load of teams and their higher-ups. If you want to read more about this, there's an excellent website/book called Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais[1] that I think captures one way that teams can be organized and how it can help reduce that cognitive load I was talking about. If your company will let you expense…
on “Ask HN: Are Managers Necessary?” ↗…facilitate this (self service systems, service oriented software design, documentation, etc.). Organic collaboration can be harmful as companies grow beyond certain limits if not kept in check. The book Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton is a deep dive on this topic if you find that interesting. I hope that answers your question.
on “Why are you so busy?” ↗…2000's, and predicts (more or less) the next ten years of where the company went. "The Effective Manager" by Mark Horstman - All the things that no one says or tells about management and communication. "Team Topologies" by Skelton and Pais - A really good view of organizational design patterns and anti-patterns for software teams rooted in the premise of Conway's Law.
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗…way forward. The specific rituals of Jira-based scrum, those could go and not much of value would be lost. If you're looking for a new framework, are you familiar with the Accelerate book? How about Team Topologies ? The Goal ?
on “Ask HN: Do we need to revisit Agile/Scrum?” ↗If you're interested in team sizing, dynamics and communication streamlining, you might be interested in the book Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton. It's an (admittedly opinionated) approach that attempts to solve some common issues with (software and ops) teams.
on “Independence, autonomy, and too many small teams” ↗…Growth Handbook - covering the operations and biz side * The DevOps Handbook - developer effectiveness in larger orgs with examples * Monolith to Microservices - how to execute the transition * Team Topologies - how to organize teams for effectiveness My site has notes for these books and more: https://www.briansnotes.io/books/
on “Recommended books about tech company growing pains” ↗…of value by Don Reinertsen. Tough read btw. "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge. This is a classic text that also covers the mental model side of the shift from managing people to managing flow. "Team Topologies" by Skelton and Pais. Another classic on team structure as it relates to flow of value. And well, have to mention my little book, "Agile V2 Coach's Field Manual" available on Amazon. Hardcover only.…
on “Amazon will require employees return to the office 3 days a week” ↗Accelerate https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Techno... Team Topologies https://www.amazon.com/Team-Topologies-Organizing-Business-T... Making Work Visible https://www.amazon.com/Making-Work-Visible-Exposing-Optimize...
on “Ask HN: What are good books/blogs to read for a first time CTO?” ↗Team Topologies: Organizing business and technology teams for fast flow.
on “Ask HN: What are the best tech books you read in 2021?” ↗