Answering: “Five new Scrum Teams have been created to build one product. A few of the developers ask the Scrum Master who will coordinate the work between the different teams. What should the Scrum Master do?”

The Scrum Master should teach the Developers that it is their responsibility to form teams with the skills and knowledge to create an integrated Increment every Sprint. Coordination is built into how the teams are formed and work, not handed to a coordinator.

Exam Question

Five new Scrum Teams have been created to build one product. A few of the developers ask the Scrum Master who will coordinate the work between the different teams. What should the Scrum Master do? (choose the best answer)

• A. Visit the five teams each day to facilitate alignment and synchronization of their Sprint Backlogs.
• B. Teach them that it is their responsibility to form their teams of people with the skills and knowledge to create an integrated Increment by the end of every Sprint.
• C. Advise the teams to reduce interdependence by working in separate branches and organizing a specific Sprint every four development Sprints to handle integration.
• D. Collect the Sprint tasks from the teams at the end of their Sprint Planning and merge that into a consolidated plan for the entire Sprint.
• E. Teach the Product Owner to work with the lead developers on ordering Product Backlog in a way to avoid too much technical and development overlap during a Sprint.

Correct Answer

B. Teach them that it is their responsibility to form their teams of people with the skills and knowledge to create an integrated Increment by the end of every Sprint.

Why This Is the Correct Answer

Scrum Teams are self-managing and cross-functional. When several teams build one product, they share a Product Goal and Product Backlog and must produce one integrated Increment. The Scrum Guide says that teams working on the same product “must mutually define and comply with the same Definition of Done,” which implies integration happens every Sprint. If teams are structured so each can deliver integrated features, and they coordinate directly with each other, there is no need for a central coordinator. Frameworks such as Nexus build on this idea.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A. The Scrum Master visits each team daily to align their Sprint Backlogs. This makes the Scrum Master a coordinator and takes ownership of the plans away from the Developers.

C. Use separate branches and an integration Sprint every four Sprints. Delaying integration means Increments are not done each Sprint. Special integration Sprints are an anti-pattern.

D. Collect tasks after Sprint Planning and merge them into a master plan. Central consolidation creates a project manager role and undermines each team’s ownership of its Sprint Backlog.

E. Have the Product Owner and lead developers order work to avoid overlap. Scrum has no lead developers. Avoiding overlap through ordering does not remove the need to integrate every Sprint.

Exam Tip

In multi-team questions, the right answer usually keeps responsibility with the Developers and insists on an integrated Increment every Sprint.

Key Takeaways

• Multiple teams on one product must produce one integrated Increment each Sprint.
• Developers own how they organize to make integration happen.
• Integration Sprints and central coordinators are anti-patterns.