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Towards Architecture
Organization Topologies for
Sustainable Fast Flow of Change
Eduardo da Silva, PhD
(esilva.net | modernarch.consulting | @emgsilva | [email protected])
Agile meets Architecture 2023, 2023/10/05
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Doing Agile & trying to achieve higher Agility?
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Trying to improve Architecture* for higher Agility?
* ability to learn, Design & Decide on “important things”
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Towards Architecture
Organization Topologies for
Sustainable Fast Flow of Change
Eduardo da Silva, PhD
(esilva.net | modernarch.consulting | @emgsilva | [email protected])
Agile meets Architecture 2023, 2023/10/05
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Organizations that are not enabling sustainable
Learning, designing and decision-making will struggle
to respond to their environment
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Photo by Cole Patrick on Unsplash
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“Learning is a process that
leads to change, which
occurs as a result of
experience and increases
the potential for improved
performance and future
learning”
Ambrose et al., 2010
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⚠ It is not just about
learning, but how to
leverage that learning to
drive designs & decisions
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Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash
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Image & Credits: https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework
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Image & Credits: https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework
Most modern orgs have a
lot of activities here…
“Best practices” and
expert knowledge is not
enough! We need to
“probe > sense > respond”
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Image & Credits: https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework
⚠Many organizations
are using practices from
these domains to work
on their “Complex
Domains”...
☹
Most modern orgs have a
lot of activities here…
“Best practices” and
expert knowledge is not
enough! We need to
“probe > sense > respond”
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Image & Credits: https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework
Most modern orgs are
here…
Unpredictable but “all is
inter-connected”
“Best practices” and
expert knowledge is not
enough! We need to
“probe > sense > respond”
⚠many organizations
are using practices from
these domains to work
on their “Complex
Domains”...
⚠classic “controlling operating models” and “Ivory
Tower Architects” do not work well on Complex
Domains!
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Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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stretching our teams/org & creating
complex processes => increasingly
messier social and technical systems
(⚠Conway’s Law)
Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash
Outcome: continuously “fight” against the environment
(external & internal)...
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🏭🤖 These mechanistic org structures & Controlling
Operating models limit the dynamics & agility that
modern orgs need (& create lot of waste!)
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Photo by Cole Patrick on Unsplash
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Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
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💡Creating org cultures, structures and incentives that
embrace the nature of the environments we “live in…”
Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash
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🔬Learning: minimal and
made in isolation
📝Designing: outside teams
(by Architects and
controlled Managers)
🤝Decision-making: outside
teams (by Architects and
Managers (“boss”))
🔬Learning: maximized
across the org (no
silos)
📝Designing: in teams &
with teams involvement
🤝Decision-making: by
teams close to problems
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🔬Learning: minimal and
made in isolation
📝Designing: outside teams
(by Architects and
controlled Managers)
🤝Decision-making: outside
teams (by Architects and
Managers (“boss”))
🔬Learning: maximized
across the org (no
silos)
📝Designing: in teams &
with teams involvement
🤝Decision-making: by
teams close to problems
How can we start doing that?
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TL;DR: approaches to
architecture in teams &
organization will take
different forms & change
in time (to allow for
sustainable flow of
change in the org).
Embracing that is key to
understand and improve
them more explicitly.
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Architecture Topologies & Architecture as Enabling Team, Eduardo da Silva
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Architecture Organization Topologies, Eduardo da Silva
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Architecture Organization
Topologies (AOTs)
🔗 esilva.net/architecture-topologies
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bol.com 1999 - 2019
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
bol.com 1999 - 2019 (Org + Tech + Architecture evolution)
Arch.
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall
Phase 1 (1999 - ~2010): Starting, waterfall & monoliths
Arch. Centralized (by Architects)
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall
Phase 1 (1999 - ~2010): Starting, waterfall & monoliths
Arch. Centralized (by Architects)
⚠
“need for scaling”
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Architects doing all the
design & decision making
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
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Architecture in team
(mostly) by the team;
architects doing
everything around teams
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Teams capable of
iterating
quickly on their
scope
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Teams capable of
iterating
quickly on their
scope
Able to deploy
quickly and
independently
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Teams capable of
iterating
quickly on their
scope
Able to deploy
quickly and
independently
Teams able to
design and
decide things
on their scope
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Many
teams
Prod
&
Tech
Silos
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Many
teams
Prod
&
Tech
Silos
Organic net of
Microservices
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~10
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Archs
“need for scaling”
Many
teams
Prod
&
Tech
Silos
Organic net of
Microservices
Architects
“keeping
things
together
around teams”
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~100
~10 ~600
Phase 2 (~2010 - ~2018): Autonomous Teams
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Architects (anything around teams)
⚠
⚠
⚠
⚠
“need for
sustainable fast
flow of change”
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Architects managing a
lot of the
“dot-connecting” of
multi-team activities
and tems being “islands”
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● Team scope has all
disciplines needed
(including “product” and
“tech”)
● Product scope groups teams
working on related value
streams
Re-adjusting Organization Structure
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Product Taxonomy, Ross Clanton, Amy Walters, Jason Zubrick, Pat Birkeland, Mik Kersten, Alan Nance, and Anders Wallgren
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● “Product Leadership” team
(e.g., Engineering Manager
+ Product Manager + Tech
Lead) works as an Enabling
Team
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Product Taxonomy, Ross Clanton, Amy Walters, Jason Zubrick, Pat Birkeland, Mik Kersten, Alan Nance, and Anders Wallgren
Multi-team Leadership Enabling team
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Teams owning
architecture on
their scope with
clearer alignment
to the multi-team
scope (with
Enabling
Architects)
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Tech
Arch
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Prod
Monoliths
Products
Tech
Org
(&
Way
of
Work)
Waterfall Agile
Product Teams
DevOps Teams
(Micro)services
~30
~100
~10 ~600 ~50
Phase 3 (~2017 - ??): Product organization
Arch. Centralized (by Architects) Teams + Architects (anything around teams)
Teams (+ Enabling Product Architects)
“need for
sustainable fast
flow of change”
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Products
Waterfall Agile
Product Teams
DevOps Teams
~30
~100
bol.com 1999 - 2019 “need for scaling” “sustainable fast
flow of change”
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⚠ Change & Uncertainty will not stop
✅ Embrace it, and thinking models and practices that
help you notice it, learn & decide how to navigate it
Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash
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Thank you!
Eduardo da Silva, PhD
Independent consultant - Sustainable Fast Flow of Change
Team Topologies Valued Practitioner (TTVP)
# @emgsilva | esilva.net | modernarch.consulting | [email protected]
💡stay tuned for “companion article”
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