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The Spotify Model
Spotify's model dates back to 2011 when Henrik Kniberg& Anders Ivarsson published a Whitepaper: Scaling Agile @ Spotify with Tribes, Squads, Chapters, and Guilds.
It was not intended to be published as a framework but as a generic overview of how product development is organised at Spotify, including team hierarchy, how teams are organised and what type of company culture will make it work.
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Squads
- A squad is the most basic unit of development.
- Each squad is designed to function as its own mini-startup, with all of the skills needed to build a product, (design, testing, engineering, etc).
- Teams are self-organizing, and each squad can choose the framework that works best for them, such as Scrum, Kanban, etc.
- Each squad has their own long-term goal, and own a particular part of the product.
- Squads are encouraged to employ lean product principles like A/B testing and releasing MVPs.
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Tribes
Squads are organised into the relevant tribes. Tribes consist of less than 100 people.
A tribe lead is assigned to each tribe and ensures everyone has what they need to thrive.
Crossover between squads is inevitable, which creates certain dependencies, which slow teams down. The model aims to lessen dependencies and prevent bottlenecks.
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Chapters
Members of different squads with similar skills or who work on similar problems form cross-squad chapters that meet regularly to keep up to date on what others are working on.
The frequent knowledge sharing ensures that there is helpful communication between the squads.
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Guilds
Guilds are more general areas of interest - for example, testing.
Everyone directly involved in testing will join the guild, but even those who are simply interested in it may also join in order to learn.
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Risk to system architecture
Spotify has 100 distinct systems which form the overall product. When squads update one, they may need to update several to implement the changes they’ve been working on.
The risk: The architecture can go awry if everyone is only focusing on a small chunk of it at a time.
Solution: A system owner who owns the integrity of the architecture can mitigate this risk.
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Autonomy
Autonomous work is the future of successful agile product development.
The main benefit of the Spotify model: Teams are empowered to make their own decisions and work in the way that best suits them. It encourages transparency, trust, collaboration, and experimentation, and lead to better products.
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Fewer bottlenecks and red tape
When teams take charge of themselves and make their own decisions, they’re can work faster and avoid bottlenecks.
The model encourages informal gathering and information sharing, without too much ceremony or formal process.
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It won’t work for every company
The Spotify model doesn't have to be used as a whole. For example, implementing some of the agile principles may also work.
Rearranging the structure of your company is a significant risk and a considerable investment. Because the Spotify model is working for them, it doesn't mean it was designed to work for everyone. It may not be a good fit for you.
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