The CAP theorem is a concept in distributed systems that describes the trade-offs between consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. In the context of engineering teams, it can inform how to make decisions about code sharing, collaboration, and autonomy. The CAP theorem states that it's impossible for a system to simultaneously provide more than two of these guarantees: consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. When applying this concept to teams, the trade-offs are similar - teams will prioritize either consistency (shared codebase), availability (autonomy to ship changes quickly), or partition tolerance (allowing teams to work independently). Engineers can use this framework to make informed decisions about how to balance these competing demands, considering factors like project requirements and company culture.