Work System Types provide a framework for understanding value-creating constellations in organizations to enhance design and coordination.
Work System Types provide a shared language to describe the kinds of value‑creating constellations that exist in an organization. Before designing boards, cadences, or improvement experiments, it helps to name the system you’re dealing with. Doing so clarifies intent, boundaries, interfaces, and the kind of coordination and governance it needs.
Use these types to:
- Frame conversations about scope, outcomes, and success signals
- Reveal dependencies between systems and the handoffs to design intentionally
- Choose fitting principles, practices, and pattern families (e.g., flight routes, reteaming)
Enabling Functions provide internal services and governance to enhance an organization's delivery capability, focusing on compliance and optimization rather than direct value creation.
Customer-Facing Products and Services deliver value directly to paying customers, integrating multiple functions to shape reputation and drive revenue through a clear market promise.
Supporting Products and Services provide internal systems that enable customer-facing operations through shared components and services, ensuring reliability and efficiency.
Pop-Up Systems are temporary, goal-oriented teams formed to address specific challenges, characterized by high autonomy and cross-functional membership, that dissolve after achieving their objectives.