Agile teams often use the ‘onion’ model to define their structure, encompassing core, operational and governance layers. The core team consists of people who work day-to-day on the product, while the operational team includes those who contribute to the product but not on a daily basis. The governance layer is for those who need to understand the product’s progress but don’t actively contribute to its development.

The ‘pizza’ model, meanwhile, is used to determine the optimal team size. According to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, if a team can’t be fed with two pizzas, it’s too large. However, the number of slices in a pizza varies, so this model is not always reliable.

Instead, it’s more effective to consider factors such as communication channels, the complexity of the work, and the maturity of the team. For example, a mature team may be able to handle more members, while a newly-formed team might struggle with too many people.

The key is to ensure that everyone in the team feels included and has a clear understanding of their role. This can be achieved by ensuring that core team members are involved in key decisions and that operational and governance layers are kept informed about the product’s progress.

Ultimately, the size and structure of an agile team should be flexible and adaptable, changing as the product and team evolve.

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