Designing Teams for Effective Software Delivery

Introduction In this post, I explore how to consciously design team structures and responsibilities to enable effective, sustainable software delivery. Inspired by Team Topologies, this approach emphasizes the deliberate design of team boundaries and interactions to maximize flow and minimize friction. As Team Topologies explains: “We call these consciously designed team structures team topologies, a term that acknowledges that teams should be deliberately ‘placed’ into organizations while also referring to the boundary of responsibility of each team.” ...

January 14, 2025 · 6 min · 1077 words · Luke Swithenbank

How Teams Communicate and Interact

Introduction In the second part of this blog series inspired by Team Topologies, I explore how teams communicate and interact with one another. Effective team communication is a cornerstone of organizational success, but it’s often easier said than done. This post dives into key interaction modes and practices that can help teams strike the right balance between autonomy and collaboration, ultimately improving flow and reducing friction. 1. The Challenge of Team Communication ...

January 8, 2025 · 4 min · 816 words · Luke Swithenbank

Why Teams Matter Over Individuals

Introduction Recently, I started reading Team Topologies and quickly noticed that many of the key concepts in the book resonated deeply with my experiences at Dovetail. The most striking realization was the power of teams over individuals. This idea challenged some traditional notions of performance and productivity, highlighting that team structure and dynamics are far more important than individual brilliance. Reflecting on these concepts has helped me better understand some of the organizational issues we’ve encountered and provided a fresh lens for approaching potential solutions. This blog is the first in a series where I’ll explore the key learnings from Team Topologies and share how they relate to my own experiences. ...

December 20, 2024 · 4 min · 724 words · Luke Swithenbank