By Matthew Shilts, Forbes Councils Member for Forbes Technology Council

In tech, the “less is more” approach is starting to deliver some meaningful results.

Speed and agility are key when building a competitive advantage, and many organizations are using AI to get there. For engineering or development teams, an emerging strategy is using AI to streamline large teams into smaller and more agile units to turbocharge collaboration and innovation.

Although it may challenge conventional wisdom, deploying three-person teams (we refer to these micro teams as “pods”) can improve efficiency, accelerate product delivery and boost overall team morale. This doesn't happen overnight, however—there’s a learning curve involved. But with thoughtful planning and an open mind, leveraging AI-augmented three-person teams can skyrocket your productivity and business agility.

Bigger Teams Often Mean Bigger Problems

The difference between small and large teams goes well beyond head count. It’s all about the operational efficiencies smaller teams inherently foster, thanks to fewer unnecessary meetings, faster decision-making and much less organizational bureaucracy. The bottom line: When fewer people need to adapt to changing priorities, teams can move faster.

Take the “two-pizza team” concept made popular by Amazon—the idea that teams should be small enough to be fed by two pizzas, typically four to eight people. In comparison, many large enterprises still rely on scrum teams of 10 to 15-plus people. These larger teams suffer from inefficiencies of complexity, coordination and management.

But what’s the makeup of these teams? Tech often requires specialized knowledge—developers may focus on front-end interfaces, back-end APIs, machine learning algorithms or data pipelines. Each role can benefit from deep expertise, making it attractive to put together large teams filled with specialists.

In this scenario, however, productivity and agility are major trade-offs. Large teams grouped by specific skills create an “assembly line development” model where front-end teams build the user interface and back-end teams develop the supporting APIs. On paper, this structure seems efficient, but in practice, it creates bottlenecks. Dependencies quickly pile up, team meetings multiply, lead times get pushed, and deadlines get missed.

The key here is making smaller teams self-sufficient to create agility. The challenge: How do you make a small team self-sufficient when you need four or five different types of engineers to complete a feature?

AI As The Catalyst For Smaller, Faster And Smarter Teams

The recent rise of AI has been a game changer on this front. By implementing the right AI-powered tools to augment niche skills, smaller teams can achieve the output (and often the quality) of larger scrums. Shrewd uses of AI allow teams to streamline tedious tasks and fill gaps in knowledge and experience.

Transitioning to smaller, AI-augmented teams allows them to maintain autonomy while staying cross-functional. The one thing you want to avoid is a “lone wolf” scenario where a single specialist becomes a bottleneck. This is why I like the “rule of three”—micro teams of three members provide an optimal balance of redundancy, agility and collaboration. I’d love to go smaller yet, but in a two-person team, when somebody goes on vacation, there isn’t much of a “team” left to operate.

That said, the key isn’t just reducing team size; it’s redefining each team’s focus. Effective micro pods tie their work to business outcomes instead of technology silos. This makes team charters essential to define a clear mission, decision-making authority and success metrics.

For example, a three-person pod focused on engagement might prioritize customer retention, so their backlog might be directly tied to efforts around reducing churn. Tighter alignment accelerates results and fosters more accountability. Better still, individual team members can’t hide or become “lost” in the shuffle. Each pod has a finely tuned focus on specific business metrics, reducing noise and cross-team dependencies.

The Challenges And Benefits Of Smaller Team Pods

Although AI-enhanced teams create tangible benefits, the transition also comes with some challenges:

• Identifying Underperformance: Weak links are exposed more quickly in smaller teams, meaning organizations must be prepared to address performance issues promptly to avoid individuals dragging down overall output.

• Increased Accountability: Because each team member holds more responsibilities, product managers may face increased pressure to assemble manageable workloads tailored to leaner teams.

• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Streamlined teams need modern and robust CI/CD pipelines to support faster releases. Investing in automation helps teams deliver continuously without creating manual bottlenecks.

Despite the challenges, organizations that successfully implement smaller, AI-augmented teams can realize benefits that extend far beyond productivity gains:

• Stronger Product-Manager Relationships: Fewer layers between product managers and delivery teams lead to much better communication.

• Faster Feedback Loops: Smaller teams are inherently faster. We can go all the way back to the 12 principles behind the “Agile Manifesto” to see that this is one of the most important goals for agile teams.

• Boosted Team Morale: Leaner teams provide a greater sense of ownership, and meetings shrink in both duration and frequency, which is music to just about anyone’s ears.

Is Your Team Ready For Leaner, More Agile Teams?

The advantages of smaller, AI-augmented teams are clear, but it’s not a universal fix for every organization. For most, hiring practices will require an overhaul to prioritize adaptability, problem-solving and collaborative mindsets alongside technical expertise. Cultural shifts are also likely, especially for those used to traditional hierarchies or entrenched niche job titles. Building a culture of trust where teams make autonomous decisions is critical, and future-proof skill sets become much more valuable in keeping teams effective and resilient.

Every organization wants speed, agility and innovation, and rethinking team structures can be an important tool for achieving that goal. Businesses can cultivate a more engaged and empowered workforce by leveraging AI to support smaller, high-agency teams.

The future of work means small, lean, agile and AI-driven teams. And that future is now. Is your organization ready to adapt and accelerate? Or are existing hierarchies too calcified, making you willing to risk falling behind?

‍

As Published in Forbes May 19. 2025: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/05/15/enhancing-agility-and-throughput-in-the-ai-era-with-micro-teams/a

‍