Here a good recap of this with conclusions => https://www.smharter.com/blog/2025/12/08/team-topologies-vs-feature-teams/
Subtitle: How to structure and organise teams and cross-team collaboration around the work and the codebase
#TEAMTOPOLOGIES #FEATURETEAMS #LeSS
#SoftwareEngineering #ProductDevelopment
#SocioTechPractices
If you prefer, join the conversation here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lucaminudel_teamtopologies-featureteams-less-activity-7397602818926485504-HVeY
#TEAMTOPOLOGIES #FEATURETEAMS #LeSS
#SoftwareEngineering #ProductDevelopment
#SocioTechPractices
================================= More on Team Topologies Vs Feature Teams ================================= In large enough tech organisations, it's common for software sharing and reuse to employ both approaches across different parts of the codebase: a) ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ-๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ: Software is consumed as a closed system (e.g., commercial or internal binaries, or via IaaS/SaaS). ๐ข๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ in this case remains ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ to the providing team (a la Team Topologies) or external company. b) ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ: Software is shared as internal or external source code. ๐ข๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ to some degree, granting users rights like autonomously making direct code changes (a la Feature Teams), autonomously forking, or at least posting a Pull Request. Should a successful organisation or a competent professional exclusively devote themselves to one approach (Team Topologies or Feature Teams) over the other? Why? => ___________________________________ The 2008 ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ paper and book detailed a valuable socio-technical software development practice, which was later packaged into marketing and sales materials for the LeSS framework. Similarly, the 2019 ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐ book also described a highly effective socio-technical development practice. This practice, too, later evolved into a distinct brand used for non-profit and commercial offerings, marketing, and sales (TTs maintains a stance against certification exploitation). Many professionals have become affiliated with one offering or the other, leading to a polarisation where the two practices are often treated as ๐บ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐. Instead of maintaining this split, shouldn't we shift the conversation back to the core ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต/๐๐ผ๐ณ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป? Shouldn't we: 1. Explore and understand the ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ of both practices, 2. Identify the ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ where each fits best, 3. Find practical ways to ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ both approaches? #TEAMTOPOLOGIES #FEATURETEAMS #LeSS #SoftwareEngineering #ProductDevelopment #SocioTechPractices
The 1st time I was called out for leaning toward my passion and preferences and ignoring the pros of an alternative technique was by Giulio Vian. We have all been there; moving beyond that is part of the journey toward professional maturity.
Thanks to Outpace Conf for hosting a potentially controversial topic and for the great discussions with the audience ๐
#OutpaceConf
#Manchester
#technologyConference
#seniorPractitioners
#leaders
#TEAMTOPOLOGIES
#FEATURETEAMS
============================
Team Topologies Vs Feature Teams
============================
Here at the tech conference Outpace Conf (Manchester), I am exploring the trade-offs, pros and cons, and contextual fitness of two ways to organise teams. And sharing insights from the audience, based on their lived experience.
--------------------
... contine
#OutpaceConf
#Manchester
#technologyConference
#seniorPractitioners
#leaders
#TEAMTOPOLOGIES
#FEATURETEAMS
I'll be speaking at Outpace Conf in Manchester on the 16th of October.
A 1-day tech conf for Sr practitioners & leaders.
I'll be sharing about
----------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM TOPOLOGIES VS FEATURE TEAMS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Polar opposites or points of a continuum?
Early bird tickets until Friday, 26th
The Conf => https://outpaceconf.com/
The right adage is โFirst, make the change easy, then make the easy changeโ instead of "It will get worse before it gets better" when forming a Platform team, a Complicated subsystem team, or more in general moving a responsibility/task outside a team => https://www.smharter.com/blog/2024/01/01/when-how-to-move-effectively-tasks-responsibilities-outside-the-team/
Ever wondered when/how to effectively move a task/responsibility outside the team? To a Global/shared Function, a Subject Matter Expert, an external contractor, an Agency, a Team Topologiesโ Platform team or a Complicated subsystem team.
Here are some thoughts => https://www.smharter.com/blog/2024/01/01/when-how-to-move-effectively-tasks-responsibilities-outside-the-team/
What is your experience? When did it work well for you? When it did not?
#FeatureTeams #SME #ExternalContractor #Agency #GlobalFunction #SharedFunction #TeamTopologies #PlatformTeam #ComplicatedSubsystemTeam
@matthewskelton @jessitron @jeffsussna
> The problem I have with all the LeSS
Note that this was widespread among XPers a decade before LeSS.
> I have yet to hear a convincing story
My own experience with related tradeoffs is here: https://www.smharter.com/blog/2022/11/21/transcending-agile-cross-team-collaboration-with-shared-work/
> 24x7 services and "on call" was not really a thing
I've seen a development team where members rotated to provide "on-call" incident support.
Could you expand on which DevOps principles are lacking?
I recently had a meaningful conversation, with Bas Vodde, which remembered me of the dual solution, compared to TT, consisting of transcending dependencies and Conway's Law => https://featureteams.org/
It was common while XP was popular and I used it a lot in 2006รท2013.
Luca Minudel