When many Scrum Teams are working on the same product, should all of their Increments be integrated every Sprint? 

When many Scrum Teams are working on the same product, should all of their Increments be integrated every Sprint? 
(choose the best answer)

A. No, that is far too hard and must be done in a hardening Sprint.
B. Yes, otherwise the Product Owners (and stakeholders) may not be able to accurately inspect what is done.
C. Yes, but only for Scrum Teams whose work has dependencies.
D. No, each Scrum Team stands alone.

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The integration of increments from multiple Scrum teams working on the same product

The integration of increments from multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product is a key aspect of scaled Scrum. The Scrum Guide, which is the official guide to Scrum written by the creators of Scrum, provides guidance on this.

So, the Scrum Guide doesn’t prescribe specific practices for how multiple Scrum Teams should integrate their work. However, it does emphasize the importance of creating a “Done” Increment in each Sprint, and this Increment should be in a potentially releasable state.

Let’s discuss the 4 different statements about whether or not increments from multiple teams working on the same product should be integrated every Sprint.

A. “Yes, but only for Scrum Teams whose work has dependencies.” – This option acknowledges the need for integration but restricts it to teams with dependencies.

B. “Yes, otherwise the Product Owners (and stakeholders) may not be able to accurately inspect what is done.” – This option highlights the importance of integration for accurate inspection by Product Owners and stakeholders. ✅. (ALIGNED TO SCRUM PRINCIPLES)

C. “No, each Scrum Team stands alone.” – This option suggests a more isolated approach for each Scrum Team.

D. “No, that is far too hard and must be done in a hardening Sprint.” – This option suggests delaying integration until a hardening Sprint, which may introduce risks.

Among these options, B is aligned with the Scrum principles, emphasizing the need for integration to ensure accurate inspection of what is done. However, the specific approach to integration may vary based on the context and dependencies between teams. It’s important for organizations to experiment and find the most effective way to integrate the work of multiple Scrum Teams while ensuring the overall product’s integrity.

You might like more…

• Which Scrum Role is Responsible to do all the Work Required to Turn Product Backlog in Potentially Releasable Items?
• What Happens If Scrum Teams Become Too Large?
• Understanding the Role of Product Manager vs. Product Owner
• Product Management Terms

REFERENCES

Scrum Guide, 2021