The Secrets of Managing Multiple Scrum Teams

Caught in the spring sun of Barcelona, one immediately goes on a trip around the city. However, NIX Solutions’ project managers had another plan in mind. Of course, they made their Facebook photo report. However, their primary purpose was to level up skills in managing multiple Scrum teams. Check out how our managers have coped with this most arduous task from the experienced Agile coach Peter Götz. Their solution puzzled Mr. Götz.

At the beginning of the training, all participants formed a backlog of expectations so that everyone received a 100% intended result. By the end of the training, all issues from the backlog were resolved and moved to the “Done” column. A solid understanding of what we should do in a difficult situation appeared and concerns were removed.

During those two days, we learned how to lead a multiple-team Scrum project. It was made within an easy and convenient Nexus framework. Our coach Peter Götz is a former developer, so he taught also from the standpoint of a developer and a team member.

We went through all key points step by step, task by task. We learned to determine when scaled Scrum is needed, and when not. “If you’re scaling shit, you’ll get an enormous pile of crap” (c); Worked on all roles and stages of iteration and release; Also studied the bottlenecks: how to manage dependencies, share information between teams, and define and maintain the architecture of the project. All questions and concerns were discussed in detail, leading us to a strong understanding of framework fundamentals.

We had fun with an exercise whose aim was to show that project could not be started under specified conditions: expected outcome—it will not work. Our solution puzzled the coach of the team: it is not an optimal and easy way, but if you really need it, here are three implementations.

Thanks to the coach, we met world achievements and patterns of multiple-team development, and are now ready for the most complex projects. Thank you to NIX Solutions for an excellent opportunity to expand professional horizons, to pump skills, and gain inspiration from the trip.

Elena, group lead and scrum-master of NIX Solutions

P.S. Here comes the photo report we mentioned above! ;)