scrum of scrums

Scrum of Scrums

This approach from project management was implemented as a technique to scale individual Scrum teams at company level. In this approach, each product line has its own Scrum of Scrums, and some products may even contain multiple Scrums of Scrums. The Scrum of Scrums meeting is held daily for about 15 minutes and is used to reduce the barriers to release during the sprint and to hear a team-level report answering the daily Scrum questions. These questions should cover the work done, future work and roadblocks along the way. In this technique, larger groups of more than twelve people are divided into agile teams of five to ten people each. The daily scrum includes a specific member as an ambassador to attend a daily meeting with other ambassadors from the other teams. The Scrum Master and the Product Owner should also be part of the daily meeting. The first to use this approach was Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber from GE Healthcare. Jeff Sutherland defined Scrum of Scrums as follows: ‘The Scrum of Scrums, as I used it, is responsible for delivering all teams’ working software to the Definition of Done at the end of the sprint or release during the sprint.’ The main motive of Scrum of Scrums is to support the agile teams to increase team productivity, and it also helps in collaboration and coordination of their work with other teams. It also helps in problem-solving and decision-making. The overall purpose is to keep the teams in flow and keep the overall results on track. Each Scrum of Scrum meeting should point the way to the sprint goal, and the team can set the clear plan for the day. Potential roadblocks can be identified. Once the meeting is over, the team works on the roadblocks in detail to find solutions for better productivity.

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Sylvia Marian

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