Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais' modern framework for designing software teams and reducing cognitive load. Learn how team structure affects software architecture and delivery speed.

Team Topologies is the book that explained why our microservices architecture wasn't working. Skelton and Pais' framework—stream-aligned teams, platform teams, enabling teams, complicated-subsystem teams—showed me that our team structure didn't match our architecture. We had one team trying to own too many services, which created cognitive load and slowed everything down. The book's principle that team structure and software architecture are inseparable changed how I think about system design. The chapter on cognitive load helped me understand why some teams ship faster than others, and the section on team interactions—collaboration, X-as-a-Service, facilitating—gave me a vocabulary for discussing team boundaries. My only critique is that some organizations can't restructure teams easily, but the principles still apply. I've recommended it to engineering managers trying to organize teams around services, and it's helped them see why Conway's Law matters. Essential reading for anyone designing teams or architectures.

Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais' framework for designing software teams and reducing cognitive load. Learn how team structure affects architecture and delivery.

Team Topologies: Organizing Software Teams for Fast Flow

Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow

Gene Kim's developer-centered companion story to The Phoenix Project about cognitive load and platform engineering. Learn how developers can fight back against technical debt and bureaucracy.

The Unicorn Project is The Phoenix Project from the developer's perspective, and it's the book I wish I'd read when I was drowning in technical debt. Kim tells the story of a developer trying to ship features while fighting against bureaucracy, legacy systems, and cognitive load. The book's focus on developer experience and platform engineering resonated deeply—I've been the developer who can't get a local environment set up, who has to wait days for infrastructure changes, who can't test code because the test suite is broken. The chapter on the five ideals—locality and simplicity, focus and flow, improvement of daily work, psychological safety, and customer focus—gave me a framework for advocating for better tooling and processes. The story shows how small wins—fixing the test suite, automating deployments, reducing cognitive load—build momentum. My only critique is that some of the solutions feel too easy compared to real-world constraints, but the principles are sound. I've recommended it to developers who feel stuck in bureaucratic organizations, and it's helped them see that change is possible, even if it's slow.

Gene Kim's developer-centered story about cognitive load and platform engineering. Learn how developers can fight back against technical debt and bureaucracy.

The Unicorn Project: Developer Story About Technical Debt

The Unicorn Project: A Novel About Digital Disruption, Redshirts, and Rebelling Against the Ancient Powerful Order

Hand-picked cognitive load tools and resources we actually use in production. Each item tested by developers, for developers.

Cognitive Load Products

Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow

The Unicorn Project: A Novel About Digital Disruption, Redshirts, and Rebelling Against the Ancient Powerful Order