GeeCON 2025: Tomasz Sikora - Scaling Agile Teams: The Matrix Model for Scalable Autonomy

Autonomy and Industry Context

Tomasz Sikora of The Travel Corporation discusses scaling agile teams while acknowledging limited true autonomy—teams deliver software but rarely drive independent business outcomes. He targets scrum masters and facilitators managing organizational growth.

Software Demand and Scaling Paths

GDP growth correlates with accelerating software demand across industries, with cybersecurity and compliance cutting across sectors. Companies scale through internal product development, third-party libraries, or SaaS—each carrying vendor-lock-in risks that must align with long-term strategy.

Barriers to Scaling

Key impediments include talent gaps, inherited technical debt from dependencies, process bottlenecks, and misalignment between business vision and engineering execution. Innovation and cross-domain learning between technology and business teams accelerate growth before formal scaling is possible.

Team Foundations

Sikora argues scaling begins with cohesive teams providing psychological safety and mutual support. Ecosystems like open source, cloud computing, and rapid-iteration environments demonstrate how shared infrastructure enables experimentation at scale.