Better Team Coordination
A Scrum of Scrums meeting aligns the work of multiple Scrum teams, especially when their tasks are interdependent. It quickly brings to light misalignments, interface issues, and differences in deliverables between teams. The session also provides a space to share progress and give constructive feedback across teams.
Key Points
- Purpose: synchronize several Scrum teams and manage cross-team dependencies.
- Attendees: representatives (often Scrum Masters or team delegates) from each team; short, timeboxed cadence.
- Focus: cross-team impediments, risks, integration points, and handoffs rather than detailed team status.
- Outcomes: clear actions with owners, visibility into inter-team impacts, and early detection of misalignment.
Example
Three Scrum teams (API, Mobile, and QA) coordinate a shared release. In a 15-minute Scrum of Scrums, the API team flags a database change that could break Mobile builds. The group agrees on a feature toggle, updates the integration plan, and assigns owners, preventing a release delay.
PMP Example Question
Several Scrum teams are encountering issues at integration points due to inter-team dependencies. Which event should the project manager promote to improve coordination and surface cross-team blockers?
- Daily Scrum
- Sprint Retrospective
- Scrum of Scrums meeting
- Sprint Review
Correct Answer: C — Scrum of Scrums meeting
Explanation: The Scrum of Scrums is specifically designed to coordinate multiple teams, manage dependencies, and expose integration issues.
HKSM