What Is Agile Squad and How it Differs from Scrum Team

The first time I heard the word “Squad” in relation to the project team, I was flabbergasted. It was 2018, and we were in a meeting with a company that was developing search engine software for scientists. We were going to augment their software development team, or pardon me, squad, with a few people from our company (I worked at the company that provided outsourcing and outstaffing services at that time). It turned out that our client`s company tech management people were very advanced in terms of modern project management practices and were big fans of the Spotify management model, the very company that, by the way, coined the term “Agile Squad”.

I can`t tell that after that, I encountered this term and this approach too often, but I still think it is pretty interesting and worth attention. In this blog article, I will explain what an Agile Squad Model is and how it differs from a regular Agile or Scrum project team. 

What is Agile Squad?

As I have already mentioned, the concept of the Agile squad was introduced by Spotify in their influential Spotify Engineering Culture videos, particularly by Henrik Kniberg and Anders Ivarsson. They drew inspiration from the military when introducing this approach to managing software development projects, where this approach had existed for some time.

In general, Agile Squad is a small, cross-functional, self-organized team focused on a specific feature or product area. It typically consists of 6-12 professionals who work together to achieve particular business objectives. Squads in the Spotify Model are part of larger structures, such as Tribes, Chapters, and Guilds.

Agile Squad Structure

A typical Agile Squad structure comprises a mix of individuals with diverse skills, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that it resembles a regular Agile Team. Similar to regular Agile Teams, Agile Squad size is relatively small, with an optimal headcount of 6 to 12 members. This size is small enough to collaborate effectively but large enough to handle diverse tasks.

The Spotify Model, which introduced Agile Squads to Agile Project Management, gained popularity also due to its straightforward scaling approach, which is simpler compared to Scrum’s scaling approach.

Whenever the project requires scaling, Agile Squads are grouped into larger teams and can also form sub-teams within the Tribes based on different criteria. Here is a full breakdown of which groupings are practicing in the Spotify Model:

• Squads – Small teams of 6–12 people who work together on the same product or feature. Each squad chooses its preferred method of working, be it Scrum, Kanban, or another approach.
• Tribes – Groups of squads that work on related areas. Tribes are kept under 100 people to stay manageable, following the idea behind Dunbar’s number.
• Chapters – Groups within a tribe made up of people with similar skills (like backend developers or designers). They share knowledge and best practices.
• Guilds – Communities of interest that cut across tribes. Anyone can join to connect with others who share the same interests, such as security, testing, or UX.

Agile Squad Roles And Responsibilities

In general, the roles in an Agile Squad are very similar to those in a Scrum Team, however, they’re not fixed by the framework and imply more flexibility. The only requirements are that the Agile Squad should include people with all the necessary roles to complete the product.

Here are the typical roles and responsibilities in Agile Squad:

• Developers—the people who write the code, who can also be broken down into a few sub-teams, such as front-end, backend, for example.
• QA specialists – the ones who control the quality of the product and make sure that all the features work as expected
• Product owner – the person who decides which features the squad should work on and which are of priority, but doesn’t tell them how to do the work
• UI/UX designers – create an engaging design that ensures the product looks good and is easy to use.
• DevOps – the ones who do deployments, automations, integrations, updates, and streamline the software delivery process, for faster, more reliable releases.
• Agile coach – a person who helps the team work better together as a cohesive team, applying Agile best practices.

How Agile Squad is Different from a Scrum Team

As you can see from the previous description, characteristics of Agile Squad appear to be very similar to those of a regular Scrum Team, so I assume you may wonder how different they are. In fact, there are some differences, which may not be visible to the naked eye.

First of all, though Agile Squad borrows the main Agile principles, it allows more autonomy, flexibility, and cross-functionality. It isn’t a formal framework like Scrum, but a real-world application of Agile at scale.

Also, a Scrum Team typically follows strict rules and roles, whereas Agile Squad is more fluid, often including all necessary skills (designers, testers, developers, etc.) to own a feature or product end-to-end.

Another important difference is in their scaling capabilities. Scrum Teams require additional frameworks, such as SAFe, LeSS, or Nexus, to scale. And Agile Squads are built to scale, often organized into Tribes (groups of Squads), with minimal additional process overhead.

Please refer to the table below for the primary differences between Agile Squads and Scrum Teams.

Agile Squad vs Scrum Team

Feature / Aspect	Scrum Team	Agile Squad (Spotify Model)
Framework Type	Formal Agile framework (Scrum)	Company-specific Agile model (Spotify-inspired)
Team Size	5–11 members	Typically 6–12 members
Team Roles	Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers	No fixed roles; usually includes all needed skills
Ceremonies	Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Review, Retrospective	Varies by squad; inspired by Scrum but flexible
Autonomy	Moderate (within Scrum guidelines)	High autonomy (each squad chooses its process)
Cross-functionality	Expected, but sometimes limited by org	Strongly emphasized; each squad is self-sufficient
Scaling Mechanism	Needs frameworks like SAFe, LeSS	Uses Tribes, Chapters, and Guilds to scale
Ownership	Shared across the Scrum Team	Full ownership of a product/component
Governance	Scrum Master facilitates the process	Minimal governance; leadership provides vision
Flexibility	Less flexible (rules-based)	More flexible (principles-based)

Benefits of the Agile Squad Model

As you probably already understood, the Agile Squad Model offers numerous benefits for project management. It helps teams work more effectively together, complete tasks faster, and adjust direction easily when needed. Let`s check the most valuable Agile Squad benefits:

1. Stronger Collaboration and Easier Knowledge Sharing

Squads make it easier for people with diverse skills to work closely together. Due to the freedom of decision-making within the team, knowledge is shared more easily and naturally. This leads to better ideas.

Chapters and Guilds also help. Chapters enable people with a similar skill set to share knowledge. Guilds are dedicated to anyone interested in the same topics to discuss and share, regardless of which squad they’re in. I mean, some companies where I worked used to organize specific events, meetups, or even Centers of Excellence dedicated to knowledge sharing between experts in one area, but that was only by the initiative of some employees. And in the Shopify Model, these things are implied by the framework itself.

2. Higher Efficiency and Productivity

In the Spotify Model, Agile Squads plan their work based on what they can handle. They are also accustomed to breaking down bigger tasks into small chunks. This way, they don’t take on too much and can avoid getting stuck waiting for someone else’s okay.

Such an approach allows for minimizing overload and bottlenecks, which is especially important for projects with high dynamics, where individuals are prone to burnout. 

Working closely together also allows Squads to solve problems more efficiently.

3. Faster Product Development Cycles

Due to their high degree of independence, Squads can quickly develop, test, and release new product increments without requiring external approvals or sign-offs. They have all the skills they need in their group, so they don’t have to wait on others.

They frequently test products and conduct early integration, which enables them to identify and resolve issues promptly, thereby preventing costly delays down the line. Such rapid iteration shortens time-to-market and improves product quality, giving the organization a competitive edge.

4. Greater Agility and Responsiveness to Change

Squads are agile by design. They are an ideal example of the “inspect and adapt” philosophy. They regularly assess the progress and often adjust their plans based on the findings.

By adopting this approach, they can stay up to date with what users want and what the business needs. By working in small chunks, squads avoid committing to long-term plans that may become irrelevant over time. They can shift focus quickly, keeping up with changes in user feedback and business goals. This adaptability ensures that the product remains relevant and valuable in a dynamic market.

The Challenges of Agile Squads

Although Agile squads are powerful for autonomy and speed, they come with some drawbacks and challenges that organizations frequently run into. Let`s go through the most common of them:

1. Team Isolations and Silos

Although Agile Squads’ independence is usually beneficial, it also has its downsides. Teams can become isolated, focusing only on their backlog and losing sight of the bigger picture. This, in turn, may lead to negative effects that could impact the project or even the entire company. For example, if one squad needs another to deliver a component, delays and blockers can accumulate. Also, squads working at different paces can make integrated releases more challenging.

How to fix:

• Introduce regular tribe-wide standups or sync calls for alignment.
• Utilize tools like Jira Advanced Roadmaps to enhance visibility of dependencies, to identify inter-squad dependencies, and assign owners to manage them at the start of each sprint/quarter.
• Have one member temporarily join another squad to maintain communication.

2. Duplication of Work

Without strong knowledge sharing, two squads might build overlapping features or solve the same problem in different ways. Also, if the tech stack is not defined at a centralized level, multiple tech stacks or inconsistent architecture decisions can lead to long-term maintainability problems.

How to fix:

• Maintain a searchable repo (Confluence, Notion, internal wiki) for architecture decisions and reusable components.
• Create discipline-based groups (e.g., QA Chapter, Security Guild) to define and maintain standards within their respective areas.
• Encourage squads to demo new features/tools to the whole tribe so others can reuse them.

3. Resource Allocation Problems

We already know that one of the main features of Agile Squads is that they include people with all the necessary skills to complete the project. The problem is that skills aren’t always perfectly distributed – one squad may have a shortage of particular expertise (e.g., DevOps, UX), while another has an excess. However, the more challenging and frequent problem is when specialists become overbooked if they support multiple squads.

How to fix:

• Keep certain experts (DevOps, UI/UX designers, QA Automation, etc) in a shared “enablement squad” that supports multiple teams.
• Maintain a skills register across squads to help allocate personnel more effectively.
• Encourage T-shaped skills so that each squad member can cover more roles in a team.

4. Leadership & Decision-Making Challenges

There is a well-known rule that if a task lacks an owner, a specific person responsible for it, you may consider it incomplete. And this is actually a challenge with Agile Squads: without clear ownership, squads often get stuck or deviate from the company’s strategy.

How to fix:

• Ensure clear product ownership. It means that each and every Agile Squad should have a dedicated Product Owner empowered to make priority decisions.
• Document major decisions and their rationale in a shared space to maintain continuity.
• Ensure squad goals align with company-wide objectives and review them quarterly.

5. Difficulties With Changing Mindset

Unfortunately, old habits from hierarchical structures often prevent getting the most out of Agile self-management. When transitioning people from traditional hierarchies into Agile squads, you frequently encounter friction because squad members may wait for “approval from the boss” instead of making decisions independently. Leaders may try to micromanage squads, undermining autonomy. People may be afraid to admit blockers or failures, as they fear blame, etc.

How to fix:

• Provide ongoing training for squads and leadership on Agile values and ceremonies.
• Encourage open feedback loops to allow teams to discuss failures without fear of blame.
• Start by giving squads autonomy over small projects, then grow it as trust builds.

Who Should Consider Using Agile Squads

Based on the main benefits and features of the Spotify approach and Agile Squads, we may define several industries and cases, where using Agile Squads will help the most, in particular:

• Tech companies creating complex products with many connected features.
• Large organizations trying to expand Agile across multiple teams.
• Companies in fast-changing markets that need to move quickly and adapt (startups)
• Businesses with strong engineering cultures that value independence and innovation.

Companies with rigid, top-down management styles or compliance-heavy environments, though, may struggle unless leadership is committed to cultural transformation.

Final Thoughts on Agile Squads

To summarize, the Agile Squad Model is a powerful model for organizations seeking flexibility, speed, and innovation. By giving small, cross-functional Agile Squads the autonomy to own a product or feature end-to-end, companies can respond more quickly to change and empower employees to take genuine ownership of their work. However, the model isn’t without challenges – from alignment issues and duplicated work to cultural resistance and scaling pains.

You should never forget that Agile Squads aren’t a silver bullet, but when thoughtfully implemented, they can dramatically improve innovation, flexibility, delivery speed, and employee engagement. This model scales best when supported by strong communication frameworks, shared standards, and cultural readiness.

For organizations willing to embrace autonomy, collaboration, and continuous improvement, Agile Squads represent not just a project management methodology but a pathway to becoming a truly adaptive, future-ready enterprise.