Session Title: Scrum at Scale

1. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Agile Network India Webinar
Improve Your Entire Enterprise with
Scrum@Scale
Incrementally Crafting the Right Organization
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2. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 2
About Jeff Lopez-Stuit, CEC
Improve Your Ability to Improve!

3. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Components of the Scrum@Scale Framework
Continuous
Improvement &
Impediment
Removal
Executive
Action
Team
Cross-Team
Coordination
Team-Level
Process
Metrics &
Transparency
Product &
Release Feedback
Strategic
Vision
Executive
Meta Scrum
Deployment
Backlog
Prioritization
Backlog
Decomposition
& Refinement
Release
Planning
Potentially
Shippable Product
Increment
Product Owner
Cycle
Scrum Master
Cycle
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4. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
― Dr. Jeff Sutherland
“As a medical school professor funded for many years by
NIH to study the evolution of the human cell, I designed
Scrum to Scale like a biological organism from a single cell.”
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5. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scale-Free Architecture
• If you want to scale exponentially you need
a “scale-free” architecture
• Otherwise you risk introducing waste into
the system and slowing the whole
organization down
• You will not achieve linear scalability
• Scale-free architectures are pervasive
in biology (ex. neural networks)
• They are able to evolve to perform
new functions more rapidly than an
alternative network design
Diagram of a scale-free network that contains components with
a highly diverse level of connectivity. Some components form
highly interconnected hubs, while other components have few
connections, and there are many levels of interconnectivity in
between. Scale-free networks are pervasive in biology.
Computer simulations at the University of Chicago show that
scale-free networks are able to evolve to perform new functions
more rapidly than an alternative network design.Source: http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/061207/darwin.shtml
Digital Darwinian world reveals architecture of evolution
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6. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 6

7. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 7

8. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Why India is the great
fertile ground for agility…
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Zest For Learning Comfort With Chaos
and Ambiguity
…at scale!!!!

9. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scaling Challenge: Bureaucracy & Hierarchy
• A bureaucratic processes creates poor decision latency.
• Everything we do requires so many sign-offs that nothing gets done.
• We have layers upon layers of managers.
• Therefore, we need a Minimum Viable Bureaucracy.
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10. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 10

11. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
― James Lawson
“Power is an energy that is for all of our own use. Plantation
(organization)*
is the use of power to maintain control. We the
people have to take the life-giving power back from the entities
that are using it for control now.”
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*
Lawson uses the term “plantation capitalism” - the denial of human agency: the capacity to make choices, take action, and organize to work together towards an end

12. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
When Does Scrum Fail?
• If you can’t prioritize, cool agile tools will only
make you feel better as you fail
• If you can’t deliver, cool technical tools will just
keep you busy as you fail
• If you can’t regularly refactor the organization to
focus on priorities, no scaling framework will
prevent you from failing
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13. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
“Scrum-but” vs. True Scrum
Sprints never finish with working product
Process Efficiency = 5%
Sprints always finish with working product
Process Efficiency = 50%
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14. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scrum@Scale: Definition
• Scrum (n): A framework within which people can address complex adaptive
problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the
highest possible value.
• Scrum@Scale (n): A framework within which networks of Scrum teams
operating consistently with the Scrum Guide can address complex adaptive
problems, while creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.
• NOTE: These “products” may be hardware, software, complex integrated
systems, processes, services, etc., depending upon the domain of the
Scrum teams.
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15. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Components of the Scrum Master Cycle
V
Continuous
Improvement &
Impediment Removal
Executive
Action
Team
Cross-Team
Coordination
Team-Level
Process
Product &
Release Feedback
Deployment
Scrum
Master
Cycle
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16. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scaling a Broken System Doesn’t Work
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17. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
2012ScrumInc.
Team-Level Scrum Process
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18. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scrum of Scrums (SoS)
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SM
SM
SM
SM
SM
SoS
• Is not an event
• Is a team of teams that have a
need to coordinate to produce
a shippable increment by the
end of a Sprint
• Must work closely with the
Chief Product Owner

19. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
The Scaled Daily Scrum: The SM Role Scaled
•Scrum must scale in an
organic way consistent
with the Scrum Guide or
it will be slow
•Using a Scrum of Scrums
reduces communication
paths but increases
communication saturation
NEW ROLE
• In order for the SoS to
be most effective, we
need a Scrum of
Scrums Master
(SoSM) to ensure that:
• Impediments are
shared and removed
• Knowledge is spread
and standardized
• Dependencies are
discussed and resolved
• The SoS functions as a
Release Team
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20. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scaled Daily Scrum (SDS)
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SM
SM
SM
SM
SM
SoS
• Exists to coordinate the Scrum of
Scrums and remove impediments
to the delivery of value to
customers
• The SDS event mirrors the Daily
Scrum
• An opportunity to re-plan in
order to achieve the Sprint goal
for the SoS
• Surfaces impediments
• Shares learnings for continuous
improvement
SDS

21. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
The Executive Action Team• Accountable for the quality of Scrum in the organization
• Owns the Organizational Transformation Strategy
• Owns the Transformation Backlog and “eats
impediments” that block it
• Removes impediments not handled at the Team level
due to scope, budget, or corporate political power
• Executes the Transformation Strategy or delegates it to
a center of expertise (often called the Agile Practice)
• Measures and improves the quality of Scrum in the
organization to build capability for business agility
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22. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Typical Impediment Escalation
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23. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Components of the Product Owner Cycle
V
Team-Level
Process
Product &
Release Feedback
Strategic
Vision
Executive
Meta Scrum
Release
Planning
Backlog
Decomposition
& Refinement
Backlog
Prioritization
Product
Owner
Cycle
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24. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 24
Scaling the Product Owner
Product
Owner
•Team
•Sprints
•Validated
Learning
Chief
Product
Owner
•Multiple Teams
•Roadmap
•Coordinating
teams
Chief Chief
Product
Owner
•Value Streams
•Vision
•Organizational
Priorities
PO
CPO
MetaScrum
PO
PO
PO
POPO
Executive
MetaScru
m

25. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc. 25
The MetaScrum: Refinement
C
CPO
S
H
Stakeholde
rs
P
O
Product
Owners
Aligned
Product
Backlog
C
S
HP
O
Sprint/Time
Aligned
Product
Backlog
C
P
O
Aligned
Product
Backlog
C
P
O
S
H
S
HS
H
S
HS
HP
O
P
O
P
O
Validated
Learning
Vision
Validated
Learning

26. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
The MetaScrum Backlog Refinement
•A MetaScrum Scaled Backlog Refinement Meeting is a gathering of Key
Stakeholders, Leadership, Product Owners, and Team members.
•Run by Chief Product Owner
•Did anything change that would change the strategy or priorities?
•Aligns enterprise around single backlog
•The forum for stakeholders to express preferences, remove blocks and provide
resources needed (they should not try to alter product vision between MetaScrums)
•Decompose upcoming backlog
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27. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scaling SAAB Technologies to Hundreds of
Teams
Synchronizing 2000 People in 1.25 Hours!
• 7:30 Daily Scrum
• 7:45 Scaled Daily SoS
• 8:00 Scaled Daily SoSoS
• 8:15 Scaled Daily SoSoSoS
• 8:30 Executive Action Team
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28. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
How do we know SAAB solved the
Scaling Problem?
• A simple test for a successfully scaled Scrum:
• 1) Do you have working product at the end of every Sprint?
• Are you in line with the second value of the Agile Manifesto?
• Are you compliant with the Scrum Guide?
• 2) Have you reduced production costs and time to market by 75%?
• Can you implement similarly to the case studies in the book, “Scrum: The
Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time”?
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29. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Scrum Master and Product Owner
Functions Scale Coordination Differently
Scrum Master Product Owner
• Share best practices
• Collectively solve problems &
remove impediments
• Maintain clear and consistent
product vision
• Optimize business value
• Respond decisively to
changing market
Tea
m
Scrum of Scrums
Scrum of Scrum of Scrums Product PO team
Component PO
team
Component PO
team
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30. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Why would we need an Agile
Practice?
• In a smaller company or implementation,
the EAT can both develop the
transformation and implement it
• As a company grows or as the
implementation gets larger, it is common
that the executives who create the
transformation strategy do not have the
time to dedicate to implementing it
• As such, they may delegate the
implementation to another group, which is
known as the Agile Practice
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31. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Case Study: Spotify’s Agile Practice Dashboard
Scrum is continuous process improvement.
Agile Leaders measure Scrum Masters on process improvement and team happiness.
Scaling @ Spotify, Anders Ivarsson & Henrik Kniberg, Scrum Alliance Gathering Paris, 6 Feb 2013
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32. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Maintain a Clear Product Decomposition
Hierarchy
Component
Goal
Feature
Capability
Feature
Capability
EpicEpic Epic
Story
Story
Story
Product Vision
Component
Goal
Product
Feature
Epic
Story
Decomposition
Level
Conceptual
Hierarchy
Increase SB usage of
eBanking website
Add online customer
center for self-service of
common needs
Find Branch
location
Able to search for specific language skills
Able to search close to a specified address
Able to search by hours of operation
Be the banking provider of
choice for small
businesses
Stop
Payments
Access historical
statements
Retail bank center
rated “excellent”
by SB customers
Add monthly financial
reporting summary to
track company profits
Example
Initiative
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33. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Initial Steps For Agile Operating System
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Dark
Work
Junk
Stories
Customer
Will Use
1. Establish an empowering, measurable business vision
for the future that includes agility
2. Create Leadership Team that owns Agile initiatives
3. Product Owner and Scrum Master Training for all
4. Leadership creates Product Owner organization
5. Everything is prioritized - eliminate Dark Work
6. Create teams that focus on highest priorities
initiatives first
7. For each initiative eliminate useless features
8. Descale - set up initial teams as True Scrum to serve
as model for organization. Expand in rolling waves
when they can do “twice the work in half the time.”

34. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
Components of the Scrum@Scale Framework
Continuous
Improvement &
Impediment
Removal
Executive
Action
Team
Cross-Team
Coordination
Team-Level
Process
Metrics &
Transparency
Product &
Release Feedback
Strategic
Vision
Executive
Meta Scrum
Deployment
Backlog
Prioritization
Backlog
Decomposition
& Refinement
Release
Planning
Potentially
Shippable Product
Increment
Product Owner
Cycle
Scrum Master
Cycle
34

35. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
More information on Scrum @ Scale
• Scrum @ Scale Web site:
https://www.scrumatscale.com/
• Official Guide:
https://www.scrumatscale.com/scrum-at-scale-guide/
• Harvard Business Review Article on Agile at Scale
https://hbr.org/2018/05/agile-at-scale
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36. © 1983-2018 Jeff Sutherland & Scrum Inc.
January 16 – 17, 2019
Gurugram, India
Includes registration to Agile Gurugram!
http://www.agilegurugram.com/workshops/s
crum-at-scale-certified-practitioner/
Registration Questions?:
Community@agilenetworkindia.com
Scrum @ Scale Questions?:
jeff@improvementschool.com
Connect with Jeff:
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefflopezstuit/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.lopezstuit
Next Scrum @ Scale Practitioner Course
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