methodatlas
Team Design

Team API

Moves team boundaries, interfaces, and collaboration toward a concrete result through "provide the template", "clarify responsibilities and non-responsibilities", and "anchor it visibly in the wiki".

Core question
What does our team offer other teams as service, how do they interact with us, and what can they expect?
LowWorkshop + asyncHalf day initial, dann laufend
Open runsheetEstablish practiceStart comparison
Purpose

Helps clarify team boundaries, interfaces, and collaboration in concrete terms. It clarifies responsibility, interaction, and load between teams. The result is captured as a Team API document.

How it works

The team follows the steps "provide the template", "clarify responsibilities and non-responsibilities", "collect interfaces to other teams", "define service levels and communication channels", "add roadmap and onboarding guidance", and "anchor it visibly in the wiki". Each step is made visible. At the end, a Team API document is available so decisions, tests, or actions can continue directly.

Visual orientation

Method sketch for a quick mental model.

Team API · Make Team Interfaces ExplicitDescribe team purpose, responsibilities, offered services, expectations, and communication paths as an API between teams
Team APIThe visual shows a team as an API with required inputs, offered services, boundaries, expectations, service levels, and communication paths.Describe collaboration as a clear team interfaceA Team API makes visible what a team offers, needs, refuses, and how other teams can connect reliably.Needs from othersdata, decisions, platformsNot responsible forexplicit boundaries against driftOffersservices, advice, artifactsExpects from usersinputs, quality, lead timeService levelresponse time, quality, escalationCommunication pathschannels and sync cadenceTeam APIpurpose, ownership, and work boundariesDependency visibleAPI over ad hoc asksWorking agreement

Flow

  1. 1Provide the template
  2. 2Clarify responsibilities and non-responsibilities
  3. 3Collect interfaces to other teams
  4. 4Define service levels and communication channels
  5. 5Add roadmap and onboarding guidance
  6. 6Anchor it visibly in the wiki

The runsheet guides execution with 5 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open runsheet

Ideal for

  • Team Topologies rollout
  • Platform teams
  • Cross-team friction

Not good for

  • Very small organizations with one team

Deep dive

In detail

Team API comes from the book Team Topologies by Skelton and Pais. Each team describes itself as a service provider with responsibilities, interfaces, expectations, roadmap, and communication channels. The document is kept visible internally and reduces friction between teams. It complements classic org charts with interaction-oriented clarity.

Facilitation

Start with responsibilities and interfaces. Keep the document short. Make it prominent in the wiki.

Output artifacts
Team-API-Dokument
Tags
teamalignmentcommunicationservice

Sources

Team Topologies - Organizing for fast flow of valueteamtopologies.comGitHub - TeamTopologies/Team-API-template: A template for defining a Team API - as explained in the Team Topologies bookgithub.com
Artifact templates
Team API Working TemplateCompact working template for Team API with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
markdown

team-api-working-template.md

Compact working template for Team API with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.

Team API Working Template

Goal

Describes a team's tasks, services, and expectations as an API.

Context

When and for what do we use this method?

Input

Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?

Execution

Short notes along the runsheet.

Output artifacts

  • Team API document:

Assumptions and open questions

  • ...

Decision / next step

Owner, date, and success signal.

When to choose differently

Short decision aid for existing alternatives.

Working Agreements

Statt Team API, wenn ihr Alltagsregeln konkret und verbindlich im Team festlegen wollt und sie als gelebte Arbeitsbasis braucht.

Similar methods

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Moves team boundaries, interfaces, and collaboration toward a concrete result through "prepare the team list", "explain the three modes with examples", and "document agreements per pair".

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Team Cognitive Load Assessment

Moves team boundaries, interfaces, and collaboration toward a concrete result through "explain the scale and categories", "run an anonymous team survey", and "derive and track actions".

Facilitation
Expectation Mapping

Turns group input, selection, and decision into a tangible result by clarifying stakeholders and scope, collecting expectations silently, and deriving agreements.

Facilitation
Team Charter

Turns group input, selection, and decision into a tangible result by clarifying team purpose, capturing goals and stakeholders, and reviewing the charter over time.

Facilitation
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Turns group contributions, selection, and decision-making into a tangible result by defining three perspectives, collecting items, and deriving implications.