Agile at Scale · Inspired by Spotify
The "Spotify Model" is one of the most copied — and least understood — case studies in agile at scale. Companies have spent over a decade importing squads, tribes, and chapters without the context of what problem they solved, what Spotify has changed since, or whether the model even fits their own structure. This two-day private session walks through the real case study: what was built, why, what worked, and what didn't.
Private training only · Taught by Scott Dunn, Certified Scrum Trainer · 16 SEUs & 16 PDUs toward renewal
Private training
We aren't running public Agile at Scale, Inspired by Spotify sessions right now. Every session is private, built around your teams, your product, and where your organization is with autonomy and structure.
Either way works. Email a bit of context — including your group size and what's prompting the conversation — and we'll follow up with a plan, or skip straight to 30 minutes with Scott to talk through your teams and structure.
What you'll learn
Six areas that cover the model end to end, from where it came from to how the pieces fit together — plus the product framework Spotify itself used to ship.
Module 01
Where the "Spotify Model" actually came from, what it was optimized for back in 2012, and how the reality has evolved since — including where the popular case study tends to get misread.
Module 02
What makes a Squad function as a small, self-organizing team, and the conditions Spotify put in place to let real autonomy work at scale.
Module 03
The organizational structure built around Squads — how competence, alignment, and community of practice get supported without reintroducing a rigid hierarchy.
Module 04
How cross-team strategic alignment and prioritization actually happened — the rhythm and OKR practices that kept autonomous teams pointed the same direction.
Module 05
Team and Tribe leadership roles and responsibilities, and how Spotify approached developing leaders rather than simply appointing them.
Module 06
The values and beliefs that shaped the culture, how Scrum, Kanban, and XP fit inside it, and the habits — transparency, knowledge-sharing, blameless looks at failed experiments — that kept it learning.
The product framework
Spotify's own product development framework, plus a candid look at the challenges, lessons learned, and failed experiments behind the model — so you leave with the real picture, not just the highlight reel.
Who it's for
If you're weighing squads, tribes, or chapters for your own organization — or trying to understand why the last attempt to copy them didn't stick — this is for you.
Rethinking how much structure a large organization actually needs in order to move fast.
Looking for a well-documented, real-world case study to ground conversations about organizational design.
Ready to look past the team boundary at how squads connect to the wider organization around them.
Curious how strategic alignment and prioritization work across many autonomous teams at once.
Bringing a real, widely-referenced model into their own structural-redesign conversations.
Responsible for the culture and leadership-development half of any structural change.
On prerequisites: there's no strict requirement, but basic familiarity with Agile principles and practices — Scrum experience especially — will help you get more out of the material.
Your session
Two days, a shared vocabulary for talking about org design, and a clear-eyed view of what the model would and wouldn't solve for you.
This two-day session earns 16 Scrum Education Units and 16 PMI Professional Development Units, applicable toward Scrum Alliance and PMI certification renewal.
Private delivery means we connect Spotify's model directly back to your own org chart and constraints, not a generic audience.
You'll hear where the model succeeded, where it didn't, and what Spotify itself has changed since it first went public.
Leave with the frameworks and language — Squads, Tribes, Chapters, Guilds — to keep the conversation going internally.
Feedback
Reactions from previous Agile at Scale, Inspired by Spotify sessions.
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I literally woke up at 2:00 am thinking of how I can affect change in my company and couldn't fall back to sleep.
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Great content that covers all aspects.
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Great to learn about all the examples on how to support the autonomous squad.
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I cannot wait to start thinking about what I'll apply, tweak, and convert.
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Great combo of theory, examples, and exercises.
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Love the energy and enthusiasm of the teachers.
Your trainer
Founder, Rocket Nine Solutions · Certified Scrum Trainer
Scott has spent two decades helping organizations design for autonomy at scale — coaching the structural, cultural, and leadership questions that come up whenever a company tries to make many teams move together without slowing any of them down. He teaches the "Spotify Model" as the well-documented case study it is: what Spotify actually built, why, and where imitators tend to get it wrong. Bring your own org chart; he'll help you separate what's worth borrowing from what only worked in Spotify's specific context.
Looking at other models?
Spotify's model isn't the only lens for scaling agility — these are worth comparing against your own structure.
Questions
No. This session draws on the publicly documented "Spotify Model" case study that Spotify shared with the agile community starting in 2012. It is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Spotify AB.
No formal credential is issued — this isn't a Scrum Alliance or PMI certification. It is eligible for 16 SEUs and 16 PDUs toward your existing certification renewals, awarded for attendance and participation with no exam.
There's no strict prerequisite, but basic familiarity with agile principles and practices — Scrum experience especially — will help you get more out of the material and the discussion.
Yes — that's the point of running it privately. We'll talk through your org chart, group size, and goals before the session so the discussion connects Spotify's model directly to your own constraints.
Not currently — Agile at Scale, Inspired by Spotify is offered as private training only. Book a session and we'll set it up around your organization and group size.
Day one covers the history, Squads, and the Chapters/Tribes/Guilds structure around them. Day two moves into alignment (the Spotify Rhythm and OKRs), leadership, culture, and the product framework — closing with a candid look at what's changed and what didn't work.
Still deciding?
Not sure if Spotify's model is the right lens for your organization yet? Describe your structure and we'll give you a straight answer.
Email us your question →Ready to book?
Skip the back-and-forth and put 30 minutes on Scott's calendar to talk through dates, group size, and format.
Book with Scott →One private two-day session, the real case study behind Squads and Tribes, and a clear view of what actually fits your organization. Let's put time on the calendar.