The team model is functional independent of how squads are composed. However, determining squad composition does affect how projects are allocated to the Squad. This is because projects typically have role requirements: the project has need for X developers, Y DX, and Z DL. Whether the Strategist has to take this into account depends on squad composition.
There are two principal ways a Squad can be organized: monorole and multirole.
A monorole squad is a squad that is composed entirely of one role. This way of organization has a number of notable properties; some advantages, some disadvantages.
- When working with monorole squads, every project will be a collaboration between squads, forming a project team. This requires the Strategist to be aware of specific project needs.
- Squad Captains can very easily rotate squad members
- Starting a project will have some friction as the squads learn to collaborate
- Roles that tend to be minorities for a project (DL, DX) will have more tailored support from their squad
A multirole squad is a squad that is composed of multiple roles, proportioned to typical project requirements. Advantages, disadvantages include:
- one squad can fulfill all needs of a project; the Strategist should only be aware of overall capacity.
- Squads will sometimes need additional minority role capacity: for example, more than one DL in order to manage multiple projects
- Squad Captains must be sensitive to the needs of all roles represented on the squad
- when a squad is assigned a project that has unusual role requirements (needs more DX than dev, for example), it may face growth problems within the role inside the squad
- Delivery and DX will be better normed to the dev team, no friction on project start
- Rotation of minority roles from one squad to another causes friction
- Squad Elasticity will not be representative of minority roles
