Organized for Agility & Leadership at Ticketfly
I’m often asked to speak with new and potential Flyers about how Tech at Ticketfly is organized. Years ago we gained inspiration from a white paper laying out what would become known as the “Spotify Model”[1]. Since that time we’ve grown organically within our own context, adapted as needed, and found an identity uniquely our own based on three cultural pillars: Curiosity, Transparency, and Community. We organize around these pillars with squads at the center of everything.
Squads
Mostly long-lived, our squads have areas of focus that allow them to dig deep and gain a greater understanding of specific areas of the code and aspects of our business. They are comprised of everyone needed to do the job — from Product Owners, Front-End and Back-End engineers, to Designers and Test automation specialists. Squads work as a real team to meet goals and solve real world problems. They work closely with stakeholders to make sure they’re providing value and getting the feedback they need to iterate and adjust in a fast changing environment.
One role you might find missing on our squads is manager. Questions I often get asked: “Who manages the squad?” They do. “Who’s responsible for the project/product?” The squad is. “Then what do managers do?” They play a key role as leaders of chapters.
Chapters
Every member of Ticketfly Tech comes to us with a passion for growth and learning and we see it as part of our mission to help. Chapters are groups of professional focus: Front-End, Back-End, Product, Design, Test, SRE-Tools, and Agile. Within Chapters we come together as professionals to build strong communities of practice. The focus of which is to help each other find the next step of growth, both technically and personally, in our careers. Chapters are led by people with proven skills and experience in the field with a want to help others succeed and grow. Chapter Managers are responsible for helping people grow professionally, helping create systems in which excellence can happen, and doing anything they can to support the people doing the work.
Guilds
Guilds are another way we help each other grow. Each Guild represents an area of interest within Ticketfly Tech. They are one way we spread knowledge across squads and feed our curiosity. Guilds are open and fluid. Anyone with an interest in a Guild’s mission can join. Anyone with a mission can start a new Guild. We self-organize to solve hard problems around Tech-Debt, Architecture, Development Work Flows, and other areas of interest.
Autonomy & Leadership at all Levels
In order for this to work we rely on the bounded autonomy of squads and leadership at all levels. At Ticketfly, bounded autonomy describes the negotiable lines around a squad’s mission and decision making authority. We understand that…
“Code is not a collection of keystrokes. It is a collection of decisions, which are the distillate of experience and learning.” — Tim Ottinger
In order to create the best code, and build the best products, we need to constantly look for ways to push decisions closer to where the work is done and learning occurs. Transparency between teams and stakeholders, open discussion about needs and priorities, and clear vision of the “What & Why” from Product combined with principled “How & When” from Engineering leads to the trust needed to make this happen.
We recognize that this takes leadership, and that leadership is not a person. It’s a role that we all have a responsibility to fulfill. Leadership in and out of squads isn’t just about starting projects, setting deadlines, or getting people motivated. It’s also about supporting each other, using our voice to propose alternatives when we think there might be a better way, and looking for ways to continuously improve. Real leadership happens every day, at all levels, as people help each other learn, grow, and make the best decisions we can for ourselves and to help bring value to our customers.
Ticketfly Tech’s cultural pillars (curiosity, transparency, and community) and organizing principles (bounded autonomy and leaders at all levels) help make the scaffolding we’ve built up around squads, chapters, and guilds an effective way to organize and work together.
