{
    "slug": "feature_team_model",
    "term": "Feature Teams vs Component Teams",
    "category": "general",
    "difficulty": "intermediate",
    "short": "Feature teams own end-to-end delivery across the stack; component teams own a layer — feature teams ship faster but need platform support.",
    "long": "Feature teams (cross-functional): frontend, backend, QA on one outcome — no hand-offs. Component teams: DB, frontend, API teams — deep expertise but constant coordination overhead. Conway's Law: architecture mirrors communication structure. DORA: high-performing orgs favour feature teams with platform support.",
    "aliases": [
        "feature team",
        "component team",
        "Conway's Law"
    ],
    "tags": [
        "general",
        "team",
        "management"
    ],
    "misconception": "Component teams always have better technical quality — feature teams own quality end-to-end and often deliver better outcomes.",
    "why_it_matters": "A feature team delivers end-to-end in one sprint — the same feature through component teams requires 3 sprints of coordination.",
    "common_mistakes": [
        "Feature teams without shared standards",
        "No platform team",
        "Component teams when org needs to scale",
        "Feature teams > 8 members"
    ],
    "when_to_use": [],
    "avoid_when": [],
    "related": [
        "dora_metrics",
        "inner_source",
        "technical_roadmap"
    ],
    "prerequisites": [
        "conways_law",
        "domain_driven_design",
        "inner_source"
    ],
    "refs": [
        "https://itrevolution.com/articles/the-three-ways-the-principles-underpinning-devops/"
    ],
    "bad_code": "// 8 weeks: Frontend→API→DB coordination, integration testing mismatches",
    "good_code": "// 3 weeks: Full team designs + builds in parallel, no hand-offs",
    "quick_fix": "Organise teams around user journeys or bounded contexts, not technical layers — a team owning 'checkout' from UI to DB ships faster than a frontend team + backend team + DBA team all involved for every checkout feature",
    "severity": "info",
    "effort": "high",
    "created": "2026-03-16",
    "updated": "2026-03-22",
    "citation": {
        "canonical_url": "https://codeclaritylab.com/glossary/feature_team_model",
        "html_url": "https://codeclaritylab.com/glossary/feature_team_model",
        "json_url": "https://codeclaritylab.com/glossary/feature_team_model.json",
        "source": "CodeClarityLab Glossary",
        "author": "P.F.",
        "author_url": "https://pfmedia.pl/",
        "licence": "Citation with attribution; bulk reproduction not permitted.",
        "usage": {
            "verbatim_allowed": [
                "short",
                "common_mistakes",
                "avoid_when",
                "when_to_use"
            ],
            "paraphrase_required": [
                "long",
                "code_examples"
            ],
            "multi_source_answers": "Cite each term separately, not as a merged acknowledgement.",
            "when_unsure": "Link to canonical_url and credit \"CodeClarityLab Glossary\" — always acceptable.",
            "attribution_examples": {
                "inline_mention": "According to CodeClarityLab: <quote>",
                "markdown_link": "[Feature Teams vs Component Teams](https://codeclaritylab.com/glossary/feature_team_model) (CodeClarityLab)",
                "footer_credit": "Source: CodeClarityLab Glossary — https://codeclaritylab.com/glossary/feature_team_model"
            }
        }
    }
}