Wrike
Wrike header logoWrike header logo
    • For teams

      • Marketing

        Streamline proofing and reporting for seamless campaigns.

      • Creative & Design

        Create high-quality assets and get them approved in record time.

      • Product

        Accelerate your product process, from idea to delivery.

      • Client Services

        Exceed clients’ expectations with expert resources.

      • PMO

        Align strategy with execution and deliver results.

      • IT

        Execute initiatives, optimize workflows, and automate requests.

      • Operations

        Make work flow seamlessly with intuitive management tools.

      • HR

        Manage teams effortlessly with customizable HR features.

      • Legal

        Organize every file, case, and due date in one secure space.

      • Finance

        Centralize all financial tasks, from budgeting to invoicing.

      • See all teams

    • For industries

      • Technology

        Build solutions that matter, and deliver faster.

      • Consumer Goods

        Move fast with unified planning, delivery, and reporting.

      • Manufacturing

        Enhance operations, accelerate production, and empower teams.

      • Professional Services

        Organize clients, streamline projects, and automate workflows.

      • Finance

        Deliver better, faster financials with automations.

      • Healthcare

        Collaborate cross-functionally in a secure setting.

      • Education

        Unite multiple disparate teams, departments, and colleges.

      • Construction

        Streamline building projects, from scoping to invoicing.

      • Media & Entertainment

        Choose one powerful platform for fast-paced work.

      • Agencies

        Centralize client work, boost creativity, and increase profitability.

      • See all industries

    • Workflows

      • Campaign Management

        Make marketing magic with end-to-end campaign management.

      • Product Lifecycle

        Watch your product lifecycle flow, from concept to customer.

      • Client Service Delivery

        Get ahead of the competition with faster client services.

      • Project Management

        Plan Agile projects, track deadlines, and deliver results.

      • Project Portfolio Management

        Manage your complete portfolio, from strategy to results.

      • Creative Production & Content

        Create, collaborate, proof, and approve all in one place.

      • Resource Management

        View team workloads and reallocate tasks to avoid burnout.

      • Workflow Management

        Use custom statuses and automate your team workflows.

      • Event Management

        Design, execute, and monitor flawless events.

      • Task Management

        Organize incoming requests and eliminate repetitive tasks.

      • See all workflows

    • Explore Wrike

      • Take a Product Tour

      • Book a Demo

      • ROI Calculator

      • Customer Stories

      • Start with Templates

    • Features

      • Dashboards

        Fuel better, faster, data-driven decisions with powerful analytics.

      • AI

        Learn about powerful AI and automations with Work Intelligence®.

      • Automation

        Define and trigger automated workflows to eliminate manual efforts.

      • Gantt Charts

        Interactive project scheduling across teams.

      • Proofing

        Streamlined proofing and collaboration in one place.

      • Custom Item Types

        Tailor work items to fit your specific workplace.

      • Project Resource Planning

        Plan and allocate resources for timely delivery.

      • Project Views

        Get the full picture with customizable, intuitive project views.

      • Kanban Boards

        Instantly view project progress and create customized workflows.

      • Dynamic Request Forms

        Custom forms powered by conditional logic.

      • Approvals

        Keep approvers in the loop from start to finish.

      • Cross-Tagging

        Unparalleled visibility across multiple work streams.

      • See all features

    • Platform

      • New! Visual collaboration

      • Book a Demo

      • Start with Templates

      • Wrike AI

      • Integrations

      • Security

      • Mobile & Desktop Apps

    • Workflow-Powered Collaboration

      Sync with multiple teams to keep work flowing across your organization.

    • Industry-Leading Security

      We're dedicated to safeguarding data beyond industry standards and ensuring secure collaboration.

    • Pioneering AI and Innovation

      Put the power of data and AI to work for your organization.

    • Invested in Customer Success

      We support customers at every step of their journey from pre-sales to onboarding with 24/7 support.

    • Boundless Configuration

      Customize your workspace to suit the unique needs of every team in your organization.

    • Effortless Scalability

      Add new teams or adjust to rapid growth seamlessly with Wrike’s scalable platform.

    Why Wrike beats the competition

    Find out why 20,000+ of the world’s top companies choose Wrike to manage their workflows

    View comparison
    • Go deeper

      • Resource Hub

        Top assets on productivity, collaboration, and more.

      • Wrike Blog

        Latest news and best practices on project management.

      • Educational Guides

        Guides and tools to unlock better work management.

      • Webinars

        Join our live or on-demand sessions to do your best work.

      • Customer Stories

        Explore Wrike’s case studies for key insights on customer success.

      • Developers

        Connect and build integrations with easy-to-use APIs.

    • Upskill and Connect

      • Training & Certifications

      • Help Center

      • Wrike's Community

      • Premium Support Packages

      • Wrike Professional Services

      • Partners

    Introducing Wrike + Klaxoon

    You can now add Klaxoon’s infinite whiteboard to your Wrike subscription and work management toolkit

    Request a demo
  • Enterprise
  • Pricing
Contact Sales
    language-selector
    English
    Dansk
    Deutsch
    Español
    Français
    Bahasa Indonesia
    Italiano
    Bahasa Melayu
    Nederlands
    Norsk
    Polski
    Português (BR)
    Svenska
    Русский
    日本語
    한국어
    中文 (简体)
    中文 (繁體)
Log in
Wrike header logoWrike header logo
Wrike header logoWrike header logo
Menu
Guide overview
  • 1. What Is the Agile Manifesto?
  • 2. The Benefits and Advantages of Agile
  • 3. What Is Agile Operations?
  • 4. The Agile Software Development Life Cycle
  • 5. Building an Agile Team Structure
  • 6. A Guide to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
  • 7. Agile and Lean Portfolio Management
  • 8. Understanding Squads, Tribes, and Guilds
    • The Spotify model
    • Should you create squad teams?
    • Build your own model
  • 9. What Is Agile Transformation?
  • 10. Themes, Epics, Stories, and Tasks in Agile
  • 11. A Complete Guide to Agile Epics
  • 12. How to Create User Stories
  • 13. Agile Estimation: Understanding Story Points
  • 14. Using Gantt Charts in Agile
  • 15. Glossary
  • 16. FAQs
Guide overview
  • 1. What Is the Agile Manifesto?
  • 2. The Benefits and Advantages of Agile
  • 3. What Is Agile Operations?
  • 4. The Agile Software Development Life Cycle
  • 5. Building an Agile Team Structure
  • 6. A Guide to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
  • 7. Agile and Lean Portfolio Management
  • 8. Understanding Squads, Tribes, and Guilds
    • The Spotify model
    • Should you create squad teams?
    • Build your own model
  • 9. What Is Agile Transformation?
  • 10. Themes, Epics, Stories, and Tasks in Agile
  • 11. A Complete Guide to Agile Epics
  • 12. How to Create User Stories
  • 13. Agile Estimation: Understanding Story Points
  • 14. Using Gantt Charts in Agile
  • 15. Glossary
  • 16. FAQs
  1. Agile Guide

Understanding Squads, Tribes, and Guilds

9 min readLAST UPDATED ON APR 13, 2025
Alex Zhezherau
Alex Zhezherau Product Director, Wrike

There are countless ways to form an Agile team in the world of project management. But before we can delve into various grouping terms, such as squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds, we must first get to the core of why these groups exist in the first place.

As any good project manager will tell you, strong team culture is integral to a project’s success. Legendary baseball player Babe Ruth once said: “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” 

The same is true of Agile teams. For example, a Scrum team could have the best UX specialist in the world, but if they don’t work well with other team members, the team won’t be able to deliver the best software possible. The Agile Manifesto principles reference the importance of teamwork on numerous occasions, highlighting the value of motivated, self-organizing teams that communicate regularly and seek to continuously improve. 

But how do you build the perfect “squad”? It’s essential that project managers take some time to choose their team members. As Dr. Suzanne Bell points out, team success “hinges on some basic tenets of team composition.” When groups are organized correctly, they can thrive.

One example project managers can take inspiration from is the Spotify model, where teams are organized into squads, tribes, chapters, and guilds. Let’s examine these groups in more detail.

The Spotify model

Music streaming platform Spotify is one of the world’s most recognizable companies. Founded in 2006, it has rocketed in popularity and now joins technology giants such as Apple, Microsoft, and IBM in embracing the Agile methodology.

The Spotify model was released in 2012 as part of a whitepaper called Scaling Agile @ Spotify by Henrik Kniberg and Anders Ivarsson. The aim was to provide an insight into how the company organizes its teams and maintains an Agile mindset.

The whitepaper outlined four key groups:

Squads

A squad is a small unit of people (usually between six and 12) working together on a long-term mission. These teams work autonomously through the various stages of software development. Spotify squads choose their own project management methodology, be it Scrum, Kanban, or an alternative option. There is no official leader, but a product owner will prioritize the squad’s work without getting directly involved in the working process. Squad members also have an Agile coach to guide them through the project.

Tribes

A tribe is a group of squads working in related fields. It is designed to have no more than 100 members — this is in line with a concept known as Dunbar’s number, which suggests that stable social relationships are difficult to maintain in groups larger than 100 people. There is a tribe lead who will help encourage productivity and innovation among the various squads. Spotify tribes gather regularly to share updates, offer insights, and showcase new products.

Chapters

A chapter is a collection of people who share a similar skill set and work in the same tribe. The chapter is led by a line member, who is also a squad member. Spotify chapters work across different squads and hold regular meetings to discuss their specialized area.

Guilds

A guild is a wider community of people who share the same interest. While chapters exist in a single tribe, a guild can include members from multiple tribes. There is a guild coordinator who helps to unite all the different members. Spotify guilds are designed so members from any area can come together to share their knowledge and best practices.

These groups were specifically formed to maintain an Agile philosophy at Spotify as its developer headcount rapidly grew in size. So, how can you tell if it will work for your organization?

Should you create squad teams?

If you want to scale Agile at your organization, the Spotify model is a good source of inspiration. Its appeal lies in its simplicity, offering an easily accessible path for teams to organize their work in a way that suits their culture. It is an informal approach that encourages self-management and innovation. It also aligns well with the principal benefits of Agile itself, including customer satisfaction, improved quality, and greater adaptability.

However, there has been some concern among Agile professionals about the practice of directly implementing the Spotify model and treating it as an established organizational framework. Kniberg himself said the model was not “intended to be a generic framework” that project managers could adopt in their own organization. It was an example of how Spotify worked in 2012 and its individual approach to scaling Agile. The whitepaper even states: “This article is only a snapshot of our current way of working — a journey in progress, not a journey completed. By the time you read this, things have already changed.”

Professional Scrum trainer Kate Hobler goes one step further and argues that trying to replicate the Spotify model in your own company is “like trying to transplant a kidney from a total stranger. There is a chance this transplant will not get rejected, but we have a way better chance of winning a lottery.” 

The overall message here is that the Spotify model is just that — a model for Spotify. For your organization, you may need something more.

Build your own model

So, how can you build your own Agile team model? Start by drawing inspiration from Spotify’s group design. Maybe you like the idea of squads, but not tribes or guilds? Tweak the team structure to suit you  — take what you like from it and disregard the rest. 

Another tip here is to remember the value of autonomy. The Spotify model is admirable because it creates a positive atmosphere where teams can self-organize effectively and foster their individual creativity. If you are creating a hybrid approach where you incorporate practices from various models and methodologies, make sure you don’t make it too prescriptive — give your teams the freedom to work the way they want.

Finally, focus on your culture. What makes your organization unique? Prioritize the cultural elements you don’t want to lose and figure out how to build them into your Agile team model.

To help you on the road to scaling Agile, why not try a project management platform such as Wrike? Whether you want to split your organization into squad teams or follow a different formation model, Wrike can help you boost collaboration with features such as team dashboards, shared calendars, and interactive Gantt charts. Manage multiple teams with an all-in-one software solution — start your free trial today.

Alex Zhezherau

Alex is Wrike’s Product Director, with over 10 years of expertise in product management and business development. Known for his hands-on approach and strategic vision, he is well versed in various project management methodologies — including Agile, Scrum, and Kanban — and how Wrike’s features complement them. Alex is passionate about entrepreneurship and turning complex challenges into opportunities.

Agile and Lean Portfolio ManagementWhat Is Agile Transformation?
Basics of Agile
  • 4 Pillars of Agile
  • Disadvantages of Agile
  • Agile Milestones
  • Agile Iteration
  • Agile Organization
  • Agile Personas
  • Timeboxes in Agile
Agile Teams
  • Agile Team Charter
  • Agile Leadership
  • Agile Practitioner
  • Agile Mindset
  • Niko-Niko Calendar
  • Agile Release Train (ART)
Agile Frameworks & Techniques
  • Agile Iron Triangle
  • Context Switching in Agile
  • FDD in Agile
  • Parking Lot in Agile
  • Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
  • Agile Crystal Methodology
Guidelines for Agile Projects
  • DevOps vs Agile
  • Agile vs PMP
  • How Does Agile Relate to PMBOK?
  • Agile Business Process Management
  • Agile EVM
Optimizing Agile Projects
  • Story Splitting in Agile
  • Definition of Ready
  • Planning Poker in Agile
  • Agile Three Amigos
  • Agile Impediment
  • Agile Information Radiator
  • Burn Rate in Agile
  • Product
    • Product tour
    • Pricing
    • Templates
    • Apps & Integrations
    • Task Management
    • Gantt Charts
    • Wrike Status
    • Security
    • Wrike API
    • Compare
    • Features
  • Solutions
    • Enterprise
    • Marketing
    • Creative
    • Project Management
    • Product Development
    • Business Operations
    • Professional Services
    • IT Management
    • Students
    • All Teams
    • All Use Cases
  • Resources
    • Help Center
    • Community
    • Blog
    • Webinars
    • Interactive Training
    • Support Packages
    • Find a Reseller
    • Google Project Management Tools
    • CA Notice at Collection
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Leadership
    • Careers
    • Our Customers
    • Events
    • Newsroom
    • Partner Program
    • Collaborate - User Conference
    • Wrike Engineering
    • Contact Us
  • Guides
    • Project Management Guide
    • Professional Services Guide
    • Kanban Guide
    • Agile Guide
    • Remote Work Guide
    • Scrum Guide
    • Marketing Project Management Guide
    • Collaborative Work Management Guide
    • Digital Marketing Guide
    • Return to Work Guide
    • Product Management Guide
    • Go-to-Market Guide
    • Goal Setting Guide
  • Latest in Wrike Blog
    • Free Google Sheets budget template (Excel included)
    • How to create and manage a project calendar to deliver projects on time
    • Work breakdown structure template (WBS) for project management
    • Project organization: Your ultimate guide
    • How to write a business requirements document (Plus template)
    • Stay productive anywhere: A deep dive into the Wrike mobile app
    • From good to game changing: The power play of human instinct + AI speed in 2025

Subscribe to Wrike news and updates

Stay informed with the latest news and updates by subscribing to our marketing emails.

  • App Store
  • Google Play
©2006-2025 Wrike, Inc. All rights reserved. Patented. Privacy Policy. Terms of Service. Cookie Preferences