Scaling Scrum with Scrum™ (SSwS): A Universal Framework

Scrum is a simple framework allowing a single team, working from a single backlog, to maximize the value it delivers to its stakeholders. Unfortunately, your organization probably has more than one team and more than one backlog—but you still need to maximize the value to your stakeholders. You need Scrum, but how do you scale it for your organization? Dan Rawsthorne proposes Scale Scrum with Scrum™; tie your organization’s development scrum teams together with Leadership Teams and Coordination Teams. These are scrum teams that assure that each development team has a backlog, that the backlogs as a whole maximize value to the stakeholders, and that cross-cutting issues are dealt with quickly and appropriately. Simply put, these two-team patterns make sure that the right people are having the right conversations at the right time. People keep rediscovering these patterns in many different situations. Most common scaling frameworks use them—either knowingly or unknowingly—and lock them into particular configurations while adding unnecessary process baggage.