duikerteams

Duikerteams is a term used in organizational design to describe small, autonomous, cross-functional teams intended to deliver value quickly with minimal overhead. The name draws on the duiker, a small, agile antelope of sub-Saharan Africa, as a metaphor for speed, situational awareness, and nimbleness.

Typically composed of four to nine members, duikerteams are multi-disciplinary, own their backlog and objectives, and operate with lightweight governance and clear decision rights. They coordinate with other teams via well-defined interfaces and use short iteration cycles, akin to agile sprints. Leadership tends to be distributed rather than centralized, with a focus on accountability through outcomes.

Benefits commonly attributed to duikerteams include faster time-to-value, higher adaptability to changing requirements, improved ownership, and resilience in volatile environments. They can also foster better cross-functional collaboration and accelerated learning.

Challenges include potential duplication of effort if alignment is weak, resource contention, and coordination overhead when many teams scale. Measuring performance may require different metrics, focusing on outcomes rather than outputs. Adoption often requires cultural changes, adjusted incentives, and governance updates to avoid silos and ensure strategic alignment.

Implementation guidelines often cited include starting with a clear strategic objective, forming small teams around value streams, establishing lightweight product ownership, creating standard interfaces for inter-team collaboration, and applying short feedback loops and continuous improvement practices. Begin with a pilot and scale cautiously as organizational capability grows.

See also: agile team, squad model, holacracy, fractal organization.