ORG TOPOLOGIES MAPPING
Language of Org Design
“Most of our teams are CAPS-2—multi-skilled yet incomplete, lacking certain capabilities. There are also functional TASKS-1 parties supporting our CAPS-2 teams. This creates dependencies and challenges that are managed by CAPS-1 and PART-1 groups…”
These few sentences convey a wealth of information! They describe an ecosystem, allowing us to grasp its dynamics holistically, recognize existing challenges, and begin a meaningful conversation about organizational improvement.
Org Topologies introduces this simple but powerful language to clarify organizational development without resorting to “agile” or other framework-specific jargon. This makes it easier to see things as they are, bringing together specialists from different backgrounds and facilitating open, unambiguous discussions about the current situation and the next steps.
There are three common Org Topologies to know, starting with:
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The Resource Topology—a topology characterized by frozen functional archetypes specialized in one domain. Its purpose is to ensure that each unit is 100% utilized (i.e. resource utilization). It is seen in “resource management” approaches where “resource managers” (or project managers) are responsible for planning and monitoring resource allocation and utilization
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The Delivery Topology, compared to the Resource Topology, upgrades delivery units to have fast flow by removing dependencies. Structurally, this typically involves forming complete cross-functional teams, and facilitating a smoother path to “completely done” work. In some domains, this topology is called a “Feature Factory” since Delivery units can provide a near-endless stream of features. Note a strong focus on outputs and local efficiency.
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The Adaptive Topology merges “directing, doing, and delivering” into one holistic unit within the Driving archetypes, where humans, AI agents, and robots collaborate on complex problems in an adaptive way, and the group explores and drives themselves in their ‘car’. The goal of this topology is adaptiveness (easy, cheap change based on learning) and customer-centricity to discover and deliver customer delight.
More can be learned from the Primer.
GET THE PRIMER
Org Topologies™ Primer is a free, comprehensive summary of the Org Topologies™ method to help you map, assess, design, and elevate your organizational ecosystem with a strategic org design approach:
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Two dimensions of org design
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Four organizational characteristics
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Sixteen archetypes within four groups
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Three distinctive organizational topologies
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Change MADE Real method
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Strategic AI adoption
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Framework Mapping
The phrase “we are doing SAFe” (or any other framework) doesn't say much about your current organizational design and its target future state.
Org Topologies offers an alternative: strategic org design, guided by a path that connects business objectives, organizational goals, topologies, and, finally, frameworks.
![[Deutsch] Einführung in Org Topologies™](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9ef88_fe1b5ea7b4084811ac75138a5858c901~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1148,h_648,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/d9ef88_fe1b5ea7b4084811ac75138a5858c901~mv2.png)
What Change Agents Say
Senior Product Owner
"I used Org Topologies for the last two years myself, to answer questions regarding the agility of a team and the current project, and to identify the next steps moving forward. It supported me as a basis for alignment with our clients in identifying where we stand right now and, if there is a wish to evolve, which would be the right direction and actions. I recommend checking out if the Org Topologies might work for you as well"
Scrum Master / Agile Coach
"There are many tools out there that promise organizations the moon, but somehow with each attempt to improve the # of issues, only multiply. Frustrations and waste increase, while retention and resilience decrease, which is especially painful and costly in time of crisis. Org Topologies™ IS the missing link that orchestrates the connection between the REAL issue at hand and RIGHT solution."
