Misaligned Team Ownership

When organisations first create a User Needs Map, they often discover messy, uncomfortable truths about unclear ownership or misaligned boundaries. The challenge isn’t the insight — it’s knowing how to handle it safely. Teams need confidence in how to act on what the map reveals.

What This Challenge Looks Like

  • Teams panic when overlaps or gaps become visible

  • People feel threatened by potential boundary changes

  • Leaders ask for “the correct structure” too early

  • Participants jump straight to reorgs instead of small moves

  • Ownership discussions become political rather than practical

A UNM with a handwritten note stating, "These borders have been here for some of us." Below the map are two simple cartoon characters with smiling faces, one wearing glasses and a green shirt, the other without glasses wearing black.

Why It Happens During UNM Adoption

  • Ownership has been implicit for years

  • Boundaries are historical accidents, not intentional design

  • Teams worry about losing autonomy, identity, or headcount

  • No shared language around team interactions

  • Leaders fear destabilising delivery

Two cartoon characters, one with glasses and a blue shirt and the other with an orange shirt, having a conversation about whether they are looking at a map or a minefield.

How to Move Past It

  • Reinforce: UNM is not a reorg tool — it's a clarity tool

  • Focus on interface clarity before boundary changes

  • Introduce Team Topologies interaction modes to depersonalise

  • Use small, safe-to-try adjustments (not wholesale redesigns)

  • Highlight capabilities with unclear ownership as “learning areas” not failures

UNM illustrating team capabilities to a group of colourful cartoon people.

Practical Tips

  • Start Small: Begin with one team or value stream to test and refine realignment efforts.

  • Clarify Ownership: Ensure each capability and user need has a clearly defined owner.

  • Iterate: Treat team alignment as an ongoing process, adjusting as priorities or needs evolve.

Ownership conversations get easier when the map becomes the shared reference point — not individual opinion or politics.

A cartoon illustration of a user needs map with characters observing and commenting.

Safe-to-Try Interventions

Overlay Current Teams

Map your existing team responsibilities onto the user needs map. This will help identify overlaps, gaps, or misalignments between team ownership and key capabilities.

Use Team Topologies Principles

Apply concepts like stream-aligned teams, enabling teams, and platform teams to realign structures. This approach ensures teams are optimised for fast flow and manageable cognitive load.

Engage Leadership

Involve leadership early to secure buy-in and ensure restructuring decisions are communicated clearly to all stakeholders. This prevents resistance and helps teams understand the rationale behind changes.