Recently, we integrated some of the organizational ideas from Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, into SAFe. We have incorporated this guidance into several articles, courses, and toolkits and discussed it at length in webinars and conferences. Feedback from SAFe Enterprises, who have implemented team topologies, aligns with the impression that we had when we first encountered this work – the application of the four topologies and their associated responsibilities dramatically simplifies the job of organizing around value.

However, we also know that whenever we introduce new guidance into SAFe, questions naturally arise as users think through how best to apply them in their contexts. Examples always help. To meet this need, we are pleased to announce a new Appendix to the advanced topic article Organizing Agile Teams and ARTs: Team Topologies at Scale.

This Appendix includes a ‘worked example’ of team topologies at scale, using the ‘hypothetical Financial Services’ Operational Value stream (shown above), which occurs in other articles and courseware. We start by applying the topologies to the two Development Value Streams to identify the ARTs by considering various trade-offs. Following this, we use the topologies again to organize the Agile teams within these ARTs.

We hope this small but important addition provides some help when you come to apply team topologies in your context.

Stay SAFe

— Andy