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 When there are multiple teams working on one product, each Scrum Team should not have a separate Product Owner. This is because:

The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. They are responsible for identifying and articulating the Product Goal, which is a long-term objective for the product that guides all the activities of the Scrum Team.

The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog, which is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product. They must ensure that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible, and understood by everyone who needs to work on it.

Having multiple Product Owners for one product may lead to conflicts, inconsistencies, or confusion among the Scrum Teams and the stakeholders. It may also reduce the alignment, collaboration, and ownership of the product development.

Instead of having multiple Product Owners, it is recommended to have one Product Owner who works with representatives from each Scrum Team to ensure that they have a shared understanding of the product vision, goals, and priorities. The Product Owner may also delegate some of the Product Backlog management tasks to these representatives, but they remain accountable for the final decisions.

References:

[Scrum Guide], page 6, section “Product Owner”

[Scrum Guide], page 11, section “Product Backlog”

[Scrum Guide], page 10, section “Product Goal”

[Professional Scrum Product Owner™ Training], page 6, section “Product Vision”

[Professional Scrum Product Owner™ Training], page 9, section “Business Strategy”

The Daily Scrum is an event for and by the Developers. They can choose whatever structure and technique they want, as long as they focus on the progress toward the Sprint Goal and produce an actionable plan for the next day of work12. The Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and the person coming in last are not necessarily the ones who should start the Daily Scrum. The person who has the token is a possible technique, but not the only one3.

The Scrum Team can maintain the Product Backlog to maximize its transparency by continually keeping it up to date with the most recent insights because:

It reflects the current state of the product and the work. The Product Backlog is a dynamic and emergent artifact that represents all the possible features, functions, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that constitute changes to the product. By updating it frequently, the Scrum Team can ensure that the Product Backlog is accurate, complete, and relevant.

It enables the Product Owner to optimize the value of the product and the work of the Scrum Team. The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes ordering, refining, and communicating the Product Backlog items. By updating it frequently, the Product Owner can incorporate new learnings, feedback, opportunities, and changes into the product decisions and priorities.

It supports the inspection and adaptation of the Scrum Team and the stakeholders. The Product Backlog is a source of information and transparency for everyone involved in the product development. By updating it frequently, the Scrum Team and the stakeholders can inspect the progress and outcomes of each Sprint, and adapt their plans and actions accordingly.

References:

Scrum Guide 2020, page 10: “The Product Backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes … ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The ordering of the items in the Product Backlog is the sole responsibility of the Product Owner. They order Product Backlog items to best achieve goals and missions.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “Higher ordered Product Backlog items are clearer and more refined than lower ordered ones.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 15: “The Sprint Review is an informal meeting, not a status meeting, and the presentation of the Increment is intended to elicit feedback and foster collaboration.”

The Scrum Team is a self-managing unit that organizes its own work and delivers a valuable product1. The Scrum Team consists of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers2. The Scrum Team is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint[3][3]. If a Developer is having conflicts with other team members that affect the delivery of the Increment, the Scrum Team is responsible for resolving the issue and deciding whether to remove the Developer from the team or not. The Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the hiring manager do not have the authority to remove a Developer from the Scrum Team, as this would violate the principle of self-management4.

References:

1: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 5

2: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 6

[3][3]: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 9

4: Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework, Scrum.org, accessed on December 16, 2023

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next 24 hours. This meeting is designed to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary. The intended outcomes are to identify any impediments that may prevent the Developers from achieving the Sprint Goal (D) and to foster a shared understanding among the Developers of what work is most important to undertake next in order to make the best possible progress toward the Sprint Goal (E). It is not a status update meeting for the Scrum Master or upper management, nor is it primarily about updating Scrum boards for stakeholder transparency.

References: The Scrum Guide and the resources provided by Scrum.org on the Daily Scrum emphasize these outcomes as essential to the effectiveness of the Daily Scrum event12.

 The Product Owner orders the Product Backlog items according to various criteria, such as:

The value of Product Backlog items. The Product Owner aims to maximize the value of the product and the work of the Scrum Team. Therefore, they prioritize the items that deliver the most value to the stakeholders and the users, considering factors such as customer satisfaction, market share, revenue, social impact, etc.

The dependencies between Product Backlog items. The Product Owner tries to minimize the dependencies between items, as they may create complexity, uncertainty, and risk. Therefore, they order the items in a way that reduces or eliminates the dependencies, or resolves them as early as possible.

The dependencies to other products. The Product Owner also considers the dependencies that the product has to other products, such as platforms, frameworks, libraries, services, etc. Therefore, they order the items in a way that aligns with the availability and compatibility of those products.

References:

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes … ordering Product Backlog items; and, ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The ordering of the items in the Product Backlog is the sole responsibility of the Product Owner. They order Product Backlog items to best achieve goals and missions.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “Higher ordered Product Backlog items are clearer and more refined than lower ordered ones.”

The purpose of a Sprint is to produce a valuable, useful Increment that meets the Sprint Goal and the Definition of Done1. An Increment is a concrete step toward achieving the Product Goal and is the primary measure of progress in Scrum2. The Increment must be usable and potentially releasable, meaning that it meets the quality standards set by the Scrum Team and the stakeholders[3][3].

References:

1: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 9

2: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 6

[3][3]: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 13

The amount of the Sprint Backlog that must be defined during the Sprint Planning event is enough so the Developers can create their forecast of what work they can do. This is because:

Sprint Planning is an event where the Scrum Team plans for the upcoming Sprint. The purpose of Sprint Planning is to align the entire Scrum Team around a common goal and a plan for delivering an Increment that meets that goal.

The Developers are accountable for creating a Sprint forecast, which is a selection of Product Backlog items that they intend to work on during the Sprint. The Sprint forecast should be realistic, achievable, and valuable.

The Developers are also accountable for creating a plan for how they will deliver the selected Product Backlog items as a “Done” Increment. The plan may include tasks, dependencies, risks, estimates, or other information that helps them organize and manage their work.

The amount of the Sprint Backlog that must be defined during Sprint Planning may vary depending on the context, complexity, and uncertainty of the product development. However, it should be enough so that the Developers can create their forecast of what work they can do and have a clear direction for the first few days of the Sprint.

Other options, such as just enough to understand design and architectural implications, the entire Sprint Backlog being identified and estimated by the end of Sprint Planning, or just enough tasks for the Scrum Master to be confident in the Developers’ understanding of the Sprint, are not valid answers as they do not reflect what must be defined during Sprint Planning or what is required for creating a Sprint forecast.

References:

[Scrum Guide], page 14, section “Sprint Planning”

[Scrum Guide], page 7, section “Developers”

[Scrum Guide], page 15, section “Sprint Backlog”

[Scrum Guide], page 14, section “Sprint Planning”

In accordance with Scrum theory, a group of 100 people should be divided into multiple Scrum Teams by understanding the product, the product vision and the rules of the Scrum framework, and then dividing themselves into teams because:

It respects the self-organization and empowerment of the people. The people are the ones who have the knowledge, skills, and experience to create and deliver the product. They are also the ones who will work together as Scrum Teams, collaborating and coordinating their efforts. Therefore, they should have the autonomy and authority to decide how to form their teams, based on their preferences, interests, and capabilities.

It supports the alignment and coherence of the Scrum Teams. The people should have a clear and shared understanding of the product, the product vision, and the rules of the Scrum framework before forming their teams. This can help them to align their goals and missions, to ensure that they are working on the same product and towards the same vision. It can also help them to follow the same principles and practices of Scrum, to ensure that they are working effectively and consistently.

It fosters the collaboration and synergy of the Scrum Teams. The people should form their teams in a way that maximizes their collaboration and synergy. This can mean choosing team members that complement each other’s skills and strengths, that have good rapport and trust, that can communicate and coordinate well, and that can deliver a valuable Increment each Sprint.

References:

Scrum Guide 2020, page 5: “Scrum Teams are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value in each Sprint.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 5: “Scrum Teams are self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 9: “Multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product use one Product Backlog.”

Scrum Guide 2020, page 9: “The Product Owner is one person, not a committee.”

In Scrum, when Developers encounter difficulties in delivering an Increment due to a lack of understanding of a functional requirement, they should collaborate with the Product Owner. This collaboration is crucial as the Product Owner has the responsibility to clarify the items in the Product Backlog and to ensure that the Development Team understands the work to be done. The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and must work with the Development Team to find out what is feasible and acceptable for the Increment being developed. This approach aligns with the Scrum principle of collaboration and self-organization within the Scrum Team.

References: The Scrum Guide and the Professional Scrum Product Owner™ (PSPO I) materials emphasize the importance of collaboration between the Product Owner and the Development Team to ensure a clear understanding of the Product Backlog items and to optimize the value of the work being done