Teams generate value via the production and exchange of artefacts

Teams generate value via the production and exchange of artefacts with systems

The interaction between teams and systems is bi-directional. Conceptually a system may step in to perform the role of a team – when a previously manual activity is automated, or as an automatic emergency response to a human failure or accident; and vice versa, a team may step in to perform the role of a system – as a manual work around in case of system failure or outage. Mathematically, the relationship between teams and systems is symmetric.

In abstract terms, both teams and systems can be thought of as actors that perform one or more roles. The distinction between teams and systems is one of convenience, to inform the reader of a model about the levels of human and automated decision making in a given context.