Fix engineering team structure debt with Team Topology

Weera Kasetsin
LINE Thailand Engineering Office Lead
https://linedevday.linecorp.com/2020/ja/sessions/5055
https://linedevday.linecorp.com/2020/en/sessions/5055

Transcript

2. Agenda › History (what happen in the past) › What we are trying to achieve › What Team Topology is › How we adopt and implement team topology › Key takeaway
3. History What happen in the past | What the problem we faced
4. Small team What happen in the past 9-12 engineers Product A Product B 5-7 engineers 1-2 modules 1-2 modules
5. Product grew from 1-2 modules to 1x modules What happen in the past 1x – 2x engineers Product A Product B 1x – 2x engineers 1x modules 1x modules
6. Team grew without re-structure What happen in the past A single (big) team for one product Product A 1x modules
7. Function Silo What happen in the past Frontend Engineers Product A 1x modules Backend Engineers QA Engineers SRE Engineers
8. › Communication issue from unclear boundary › Time consume for discussion › Infinite cognitive load (need to understand all business domains and modules) The development speed was slowing down What problems we faced
9. › Engage only related topics (based on function) › Only a few people talk in discussion › Care only what they have done in the past Team members disengaged from team and product What problems we faced
10. What we are trying to achieve
11. #1 Be Technical Excellence Team What we are trying to achieve › Agility can only happen when you are able to make changes to the product in an easy, fast, and flexible way
12. #2 Increase Level of Autonomy What we are trying to achieve › Utilize the full potential, knowledge, and creativity of the team for solving problem and keep developers engaged › Increase team’s velocity Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
13. #3 Create the Culture of Ownership What we are trying to achieve › Encourage teams to claim and carry out their ideas, their responsibilities and their initiatives › When teams care more about their work, they do the best work of their lives Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash
14. Team Topology What Team Topology is
15. What Team Topology is › It is the approach to optimize team interactions for flow Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash
16. Core Ideas in Team Topologies
17. 4 Fundamental Topologies Core ideas in team topologies › 1. Stream-aligned team: aligned to a flow of work from (usually) a segment of the business domain › 2. Enabling team: helps a Stream-aligned team to overcome obstacles. Also detects missing capabilities › 3. Complicated Subsystem team: where significant mathematics/calculation/technical expertise is needed › 4. Platform team: a grouping of other team types that provide a compelling internal product to accelerate delivery by Stream-aligned teams https://teamtopologies.com/key-concepts
18. Flow of Change Core ideas in team topologies › “You Built It, You Run It” teams. There are no hand-offs to other teams for any purpose. https://teamtopologies.com/key-concepts
19. 3 Core Interaction Modes Core ideas in team topologies › 1. Collaboration: working together for a defined period of time to discover new things › 2. X-as-a-Service: one team provides and one team consumes something “as a Service” › 3. Facilitation: one team helps and mentors another team https://teamtopologies.com/key-concepts
20. How we adopt and implement team topology
21. Re-structure team Guild A Guild B Guild C › Create small teams (5-7 engineers) as the stream-aligned team › Include all functions in the team › Groom them to be cross-functional team Adopt and implement team topology
22. Create domain boundaries Chat Marketing Shopping … › Create a clear boundary for each team › Emphasize the domain ownership to the team Adopt and implement team topology
23. Set up special taskforce to tackle complex problem (blur boundary) Adopt and implement team topology › Work across guilds and own by the guild Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash
24. Set up Enabling Team › Tackle complicated technical challenges › Develop tools to enable technical excellence and flow Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash Adopt and implement team topology
25. Embed TPM to each team for facilitation › Facilitate all activities for the team › Collaborate across teams › Solve any blocker for the team › Observe the team and make it flows Photo by Marília Castelli on Unsplash Adopt and implement team topology
26. Revise Product Backlog › Create product backlog by business domain › Create dependency mapping between business domain Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash Adopt and implement team topology
27. Revise Working Process and Interaction › Collaborate with high-interaction and mutual-respect › X-as-a-Service by emphasizing the User Experience in mind › Help and be helped to adopt new practices (open-mind) Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash Adopt and implement team topology
28. Promote the Solution Engineer Role › Use their strength and open to work cross functions › Aim to handle end-to-end development Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash Adopt and implement team topology
29. Key takeaway
30. Key Takeaway › Understand your people (chemistry and skill) before re- structure team › Make sure you have a good culture norm › Technical excellence is one of the key factor Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
31. Thank you