Collaboration Plan
In Scrum, collaboration is critical. A Collaboration Plan explains how decision makers, business stakeholders, and team members will interact, share information, coordinate work, and make decisions.
Key Points
- Defines roles, responsibilities, and decision-making pathways across the team and stakeholders.
- Specifies communication channels, meeting cadences, and collaboration tools.
- Sets expectations for transparency, feedback loops, and conflict resolution.
- Aligns engagement practices with Scrum events and artifacts for continuous alignment.
Example
On a software product initiative, the Collaboration Plan states that the Product Owner meets stakeholders every Friday for review, the team holds daily standups on Slack and Zoom, backlog refinement occurs mid-sprint, decisions about scope changes follow a clear escalation path (PO then steering group), and Jira is the single source of truth for work and status.
PMP Example Question
Which statement best describes the purpose of a Collaboration Plan in a Scrum project?
- It defines how team members and stakeholders will work together, share information, and make decisions.
- It lists all deliverables and the detailed schedule baseline.
- It authorizes the project and names the sponsor and project manager.
- It catalogs risks and documents mitigation actions and owners.
Correct Answer: A — Defines how people work together and make decisions
Explanation: A Collaboration Plan focuses on collaboration patterns: interactions, decision paths, communication methods, and cadence. The other options describe different artifacts (schedule baseline, charter, risk register).
HKSM