Org Topologies: Principles and Methodology
Org Topologies (OT) is a framework designed for strategic organizational design and transformation. It is recognized as the first approach that is both human-centric and AI-friendly, meaning it prioritizes people’s engagement and ownership of change while also preparing for the integration of AI into the workplace.
Key principles and components of Org Topologies include:
Psychology of Change: OT emphasizes that sustainable change happens when individuals throughout the organization actively participate and take ownership, rather than having changes imposed from the top down. It offers a visual and collaborative mapping process that enables teams to "visualize, discuss, understand, and shape the change" collectively. This shared understanding fosters a common language for organizational design and ensures broad engagement in the transformation process.
Fit-for-Purpose Design: Org Topologies ensures that an organization’s structure aligns with its strategic vision or “North Star.” Since different business priorities—such as speed, adaptability, efficiency, or innovation—demand distinct organizational designs, OT helps leaders identify the most effective target structure to meet their specific goals. It keeps organizations “fit for purpose” by adapting to evolving objectives and works at any scale, from the enterprise level to individual subdivisions, ensuring that structure, strategy, and transformation efforts remain in sync.
Organization Mapping and Archetypes: A key methodology in Org Topologies (OT) involves mapping the existing organization onto a two-dimensional grid, where the axes represent fundamental aspects of organizational design—such as the depth of cross-functional skills (scope of skills mandate) and the breadth of product/customer focus (scope of work mandate). OT categorizes teams or units into common structural and operational patterns, known as archetypes. The latest version defines 16 archetypes, grouped into four categories and positioned along the two axes. The Org Topologies Map serves as a visual tool to evaluate the organization’s current state, identify structural misalignments, and determine whether the existing design supports the capabilities needed to achieve business objectives.
MADE Change Method: Org Topologies provides a step-by-step change management approach called the MADE method – Map, Assess, Design, Elevate. In practice, change agents first Map the current “as is” org structure, then Assess it to diagnose issues or misalignments . Next, they Design a “to be” state (selecting archetypes/topology that better fit the goals), and finally Elevate the organization towards that target state through iterative changes . Rather than one big reorganization, OT advocates design experiments and continuous improvements to evolve structure gradually. It even provides Elevating Katas™️, which are guided practices or experiments teams can run to practice new ways of organizing and working in small steps . This incremental approach helps avoid the disruption of large-scale reorganizations by continuously adjusting structure in a controlled way.  
Topologies and Organizational Patterns: The archetypes are further grouped into three broad topologies – often described as Resource, Delivery, and Adaptive topologies. Each topology represents a distinctive way the organization coordinates work:
- Resource Topology (Traditional Model): This model is defined by specialized, siloed teams that operate under centralized coordination, with a strong focus on resource utilization. Decision-making is handled by directing units (such as PMOs or managers), while doing units carry out the execution. This structure often leads to hand-offs and dependencies, which, while optimizing local efficiency, can come at the cost of speed and adaptability.
- Delivery Topology: Prioritizing rapid output flow, this model structures teams as cross-functional, self-contained delivery units (often referred to as feature teams or "feature factory" setups). By eliminating inter-team dependencies, it enables a steady, predictable stream of feature delivery with short lead times. However, work definition (i.e., deciding what to build) is typically managed by separate planning or analysis roles, meaning discovery remains distinct from delivery. This topology is ideal for organizations where the primary goal is fast, efficient execution of known features rather than market exploration.
- Adaptive Topology: Designed for maximum flexibility and innovation, this model integrates directing, doing, and delivering within a single, unified unit. Teams—often organized as "team-of-teams" networks—are fully empowered to both discover and deliver value continuously, working across a broad product scope with high organizational synchrony. In this model, humans, AI agents, and even robots collaborate within "Driving" units to solve complex challenges, adapt quickly, and optimize customer outcomes in real time. The Adaptive Topology is best suited for organizations prioritizing growth, learning, and customer-driven innovation, ensuring long-term business resilience by enabling fast, cost-effective responses to change.
Intended Application of OT
Org Topologies is intended for any industry or domain seeking to improve organizational agility and performance – from software product companies to farms or construction firms. It is especially useful in agile and digital transformations, where existing structures hinder fast delivery, adaptability, or innovation. By using OT, leaders gain a “critical managerial tool” to drive performance via org design. For example, OT can be overlaid with frameworks like SAFe, LeSS, with approaches like Team Topologies, or even non-tech models like Haier’s Rendanheyi to map and enhance an Agile Release Train or a networked organization. Overall, Org Topologies helps organizations “align all the moving pieces” – structure, strategy, and change efforts – to achieve strategic goals in a sustainable way.