About Team Topologies and Context Mapping

Team Topologies focuses on team structure & purpose:

• How do large teams split the workforce?
• How do teams interact with one-another?

Colaboration between teams is one of the key fundamental traits of successful companies, but there has not been a framework to explain the succesful approaches at companies like Spotify or Toyota. 

There are only 4 team types: 

1. Stream Aligned Team focused on a specific cross-functional business capability
2. Platform Team providing common services to others
3. Complicated Subsystem Team has high specialization & specific knowledge about one portion of the system
4. Enabling Team: expert who are helping others to evolve & improve

In terms of relationship between teams we can have:

• Collaboration when teams are working towards a common goal;
• X - as a service when there is contact in terms of usage, but little collaboration;
• Facilitation when a team is helping another one to get rid of impediments.