Scrum of Scrums: Multi-Team Coordination Simply Explained

Scrum of Scrums (SoS) is a scaling technique in agile project management developed to coordinate multiple Scrum teams working together on a larger product or project. It is a practical solution to the challenges that arise when a single team is not sufficient to fulfill all requirements.

Basic Concept and Structure

At its core, Scrum of Scrums is an extension of the Daily Scrum meeting to a cross-team level. While a regular Daily Scrum brings together members of a single team, Scrum of Scrums connects representatives from multiple teams to discuss progress, dependencies, and obstacles at the program level.

The typical structure includes:

• Team Representatives: Each Scrum team sends a representative to the SoS meeting. This can be the Scrum Master, but is not limited to that role – depending on the context, team members or Product Owners may also participate.
• Regular Meetings: SoS meetings typically take place 2-3 times per week, but can also be held daily if needed.
• Hierarchical Scaling: For very large projects, a "Scrum of Scrum of Scrums" (SoSoS) can be implemented to create an additional coordination level.

Process of a Scrum of Scrums Meeting

A typical SoS meeting follows a similar structure to the Daily Scrum, but is focused on cross-team concerns:

1. What has my team completed since the last meeting? Focus on increments that could be relevant for other teams.
2. What does my team plan to accomplish by the next meeting? Especially tasks that could have an impact on other teams.
3. What obstacles does my team have that could affect other teams? Identification of dependencies and blockers.
4. Is my team planning anything that could hinder other teams? Proactive communication of potential conflicts.

The timeboxing rule applies here as well, with 15-30 minutes being typical, depending on the number of teams involved.

Roles and Responsibilities

In a Scrum of Scrums setup, additional roles may emerge:

• Scrum of Scrums Master: Facilitates the SoS meeting, tracks cross-team impediments, and supports their resolution.
• Chief Product Owner: Coordinates work between Product Owners of different teams and ensures alignment with the overarching product vision.
• Team Ambassadors: The representatives of each team who participate in the SoS and communicate information in both directions.

Advantages of Scrum of Scrums

Implementing Scrum of Scrums offers several advantages:

• Improved Coordination: Early identification and resolution of cross-team dependencies.
• Increased Transparency: Creates visibility across team boundaries.
• Faster Problem Resolution: Obstacles affecting multiple teams are identified and addressed more quickly.
• Consistent Integration: Ensures continuous integration of the work of different teams.
• Lightweight Scaling: Provides a straightforward method for scaling without extensive frameworks.

Challenges and Best Practices

Common Challenges:

• Too many participating teams, leading to inefficient meetings
• Unclear delineation of responsibilities between teams
• Lack of decision-making authority of team representatives
• Over-focus on status reports instead of coordination
• Insufficient follow-up on identified problems

Best Practices:

• Limit to a maximum of 5-7 teams per SoS for effective communication
• Clear definition of expected outcomes of the SoS meeting
• Rotating representatives depending on the topics being discussed
• Maintaining a cross-team impediment backlog
• Visualization of cross-team dependencies on a shared board
• Focus on coordination and integration, not pure status updates

Scrum of Scrums vs. SAFe and Other Scaling Approaches

Compared to more comprehensive frameworks such as SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) or LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum), Scrum of Scrums is:

• Less prescriptive and easier to implement
• More flexible and adaptable to specific organizational contexts
• Better suited for medium-scale scaling (up to approximately 10 teams)
• Often a component within larger frameworks
• Focused on operational coordination rather than comprehensive organizational transformation

Implementation in Practice

For a successful implementation of Scrum of Scrums, the following is recommended:

1. Start with a small number of teams (2-3)
2. Define clear goals and expectations for the SoS meetings
3. Establish decision-making processes and escalation paths
4. Introduce tools for visualizing and tracking cross-team dependencies
5. Conduct regular retrospectives at the program level
6. Iteratively adjust the structure based on feedback and experience

Scrum of Scrums is a pragmatic approach to scaling agile practices that is particularly effective in organizations that already have experience with Scrum at the team level and are now growing or developing more complex products.