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Case Driven Webinar – Architects as an Enabling Team

Architecture for Flow at DHL eCommerce

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Architects as an Enabling Team: Architecture That Supports Flow at DHL eCommerce

As organisations grow, the tension between system cohesion and team autonomy is often resolved in the same way: by centralising. Architecture boards and approval processes promise control and give management a sense of certainty. From a Team Topologies perspective, however, they also place a bottleneck on the critical path of every stream-aligned team — after which it is called “governance”.

At DHL eCommerce Benelux we reached that crossroads while scaling to 35 independent development teams. We knew that a central architecture board of ‘ivory tower’ architects would slow down flow. So we deliberately made the opposite choice: architects as an enabling team, working in a facilitating role, with the decision-making authority for architecture staying where the changes happen: within the teams themselves.

In this session we share our journey from architecture as a control and compliance function to architecture as a collaborative practice that supports and strengthens teams.

Who is this session for?

  • Working as an architect across multiple teams or domains.
  • Being responsible for platforms and having to combine standards with team autonomy.
  • Scaling a technology or engineering organisation.
  • Working with Team Topologies or exploring enabling team patterns.
  • Wanting to improve governance without adding extra approval layers and decision gates.

What will you take away from this session?

  • A real-world example of architects operating as an enabling team.
  • Insight into how architectural decisions can stay closer to the teams doing the work.
  • A different view on governance, without centralising decision-making.
  • Practical lessons on reducing cognitive load through collaborative modelling.
  • An honest picture of the organisational and cultural challenges involved in decentralising architecture.

A dynamic, case-driven conversation in which we explore real organisational challenges, hands-on experiences and lessons learned.

You will have room to ask questions, share your own experiences and connect the discussion to your own organisation.

Specification

  • Virtual Class
  • Case Driven Webinar
  • Engels
  • 3 November 2026
  • 16:00  -
  • 17:00

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