PSP #1: Three Ways to Organize Product Teams
Spotify has a specific “Spotify Model,” where work is organized around small, cross-functional “squads”, then grouped into larger tribes. The small squads are intentionally autonomous: teams decide how to achieve their mission, and they have significant influence over both what and how they build. The PM is part of that squad and helps set priorities and direction, but usually does not have formal authority over engineers or designers. Their influence comes more from coordination and alignment.
At Airbnb, Product, design, and engineering work closely together, while major product direction is also shaped heavily by senior leadership. PMs still help define roadmaps and coordinate execution, but they operate within a strong top-down product vision and design culture.
At Zappos, holacracy distributes authority across specific roles and circles instead of relying on a traditional management hierarchy. Decisions are made by whoever holds responsibility for that area, so authority is tied to the role rather than job title.
I would probably prefer Spotify’s model because it gives teams meaningful autonomy while still keeping enough structure to stay coordinated. It seems like a good balance between independence and collaboration.
Sources:
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/agile-at-scale/spotify
https://www.adaptconsultingcompany.com/2024/07/06/how-zappos-implements-holacracy/
https://medium.com/@elishaong/designing-design-teams-23eb85b66085
