  Context: DevOps can be defined as a cultural movement to improve and
accelerate the delivery of business value by making the collaboration between
development and operations effective. Objective: This paper aims to help
practitioners and researchers to better understand the organizational structure
and characteristics of teams adopting DevOps. Method: We conducted an
exploratory study by leveraging in depth, semi-structured interviews to
relevant stakeholders of 31 multinational software-intensive companies,
together with industrial workshops and observations at organizations'
facilities that supported triangulation. We used Grounded Theory as qualitative
research method to explore the structure and characteristics of teams, and
statistical analysis to discover their implications in software delivery
performance. Results: We describe a taxonomy of team structure patterns that
shows emerging, stable and consolidated product teams that are classified
according to six variables, such as collaboration frequency, product ownership
sharing, autonomy, among others, as well as their implications on software
delivery performance. These teams are often supported by horizontal teams
(DevOps platform teams, Centers of Excellence, and chapters) that provide them
with platform technical capability, mentoring and evangelization, and even
temporarily facilitate human resources. Conclusion: This study aims to
strengthen evidence and support practitioners in making better informed about
organizational team structures by analyzing their main characteristics and
implications in software delivery performance.
