SPS Sample Questions Answers

The Nexus framework is a way of scaling Scrum for multiple teams working on a single product. The Nexus framework uses Scrum as its building block and extends it only where necessary to minimize and manage dependencies between teams 11. The Nexus framework defines the accountabilities, events, and artifacts that bind and weave together the work of the teams in a Nexus 11. One of the key artifacts in the Nexus framework is the Integrated Increment, which is the integrated aggregation of all work completed by all the Scrum Teams in a Nexus 11.

In Scenario A, the Nexus Sprint Review is not conducted effectively. The teams are not using a shared environment to demonstrate the Integrated Increment, but rather showing their individual work. This means that the stakeholders cannot see the whole product and how it works together. The teams are also delaying the integration of their work, which can lead to quality issues, technical debt, and increased complexity 11. The stakeholders do not provide much feedback, which means that the Nexus cannot adapt to the changing needs and expectations of the customers and users. The event ends without any clear outcomes or next steps.

What could help this Nexus create a single Integrated Increment for inspection at the Nexus Sprint Review is:

• Enforce a Definition of Done across the entire Nexus that includes integration. This is answer B. This is a valid answer because the Definition of Done is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product 11. The Definition of Done is used to assess when work is complete on the product Increment 11. The Definition of Done is defined by the Nexus and applies to all the work done by the Scrum Teams in the Nexus 11. The Definition of Done should include integration as one of the criteria, which means that the work done by the teams should be integrated frequently and continuously throughout the Sprint 11. By enforcing a Definition of Done that includes integration, the Nexus can ensure that the Integrated Increment is usable and potentially releasable, which means it meets the quality standards and expectations of the stakeholders 11.

The other three answers are not correct because:

• Reserve the last few days of the Sprint for testing and integration. This is answer A. This is not a valid answer because reserving the last few days of the Sprint for testing and integration is not a good practice. It implies that the teams are not testing and integrating their work throughout the Sprint, but rather doing it at the end of the Sprint. This can lead to quality issues, technical debt, and increased complexity 11. It also reduces the time available for inspection and adaptation, which are essential for empiricism and agility 11.
• Have the Nexus Integration Team integrate all the work as early as possible. This is answer C. This is not a valid answer because the Nexus Integration Team is not the only one responsible for integrating all the work. The Nexus Integration Team is a role that consists of the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and other members who are responsible for coordinating, coaching, and supervising the integration of the work done by the teams in the Nexus 11. The Nexus Integration Team facilitates the integration of the work, but does not do it for the teams 11. The teams are responsible for integrating their own work and delivering a potentially releasable Increment of product value in each Sprint 11.
• Have a Sprint dedicated to integration. This is answer D. This is not a valid answer because having a Sprint dedicated to integration is not consistent with Scrum or Nexus. Scrum and Nexus require that the teams deliver a potentially releasable Increment of product value in each Sprint 11. Having a Sprint dedicated to integration means that the teams are not delivering any value or receiving any feedback in that Sprint 11. It also means that the teams are accumulating technical debt and complexity that will make integration more difficult and risky 11.

The Nexus Sprint Retrospective is an event where the Nexus, consisting of multiple Scrum Teams, inspects and adapts its processes, tools, interactions, and dependencies to improve its quality and effectiveness 11. The Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs after the Nexus Sprint Review and before the next Nexus Sprint Planning 11. The Nexus Sprint Retrospective has two parts: a first part where representatives from each Scrum Team identify shared challenges and opportunities, and a second part where each Scrum Team conducts its own Sprint Retrospective 23.

The Nexus Integration Team is a role that consists of the Scrum Master, the Product Owner, and other members who are responsible for coordinating, coaching, and supervising the integration of the work done by the Scrum Teams in the Nexus 11. The Nexus Integration Team has the overall responsibility for ensuring the Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs 11. The Nexus Integration Team facilitates the first part of the Nexus Sprint Retrospective, where the representatives from each Scrum Team share their insights and challenges 11. The Nexus Integration Team also participates in the second part of the Nexus Sprint Retrospective, where each Scrum Team reflects on its own performance and improvement actions 11. The Nexus Integration Team helps the Scrum Teams to identify and resolve any cross-team impediments or dependencies that may affect the quality and delivery of the Integrated Increment 11.

The other three answers are not correct because:

• The Scrum Master on the Nexus Integration Team. This is answer A. This is not a valid answer because the Scrum Master on the Nexus Integration Team is not the only one responsible for ensuring the Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs. The Scrum Master on the Nexus Integration Team is a member of the Nexus Integration Team, but not the sole accountable person for the event. The Scrum Master on the Nexus Integration Team helps to facilitate the Nexus Sprint Retrospective, but does not own or control it 11.
• Any Scrum Master from the Nexus. This is answer B. This is not a valid answer because any Scrum Master from the Nexus does not have the authority or the responsibility to ensure the Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs. Any Scrum Master from the Nexus is a member of a Scrum Team, but not a member of the Nexus Integration Team. Any Scrum Master from the Nexus helps to facilitate the Sprint Retrospective of their own Scrum Team, but does not have the visibility or the influence over the other Scrum Teams or the Nexus as a whole 11.
• The Developers. This is answer D. This is not a valid answer because the Developers do not have the responsibility for ensuring the Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs. The Developers are the people who do the work of delivering a potentially releasable Increment of product value in each Sprint 11. The Developers participate in the Nexus Sprint Retrospective, but they do not organize or facilitate it. The Developers provide feedback and suggestions for improvement, but they do not have the accountability or the authority to ensure the Nexus Sprint Retrospective occurs 11.

A Nexus Integration Team is not responsible for actually doing the integration work during the Sprint. The Nexus Integration Team is a specialized Scrum Team that provides services and guidance to the Scrum Teams in the Nexus to ensure that the Integrated Increment is produced every Sprint 11. However, the Nexus Integration Team is not accountable for the integration of the work of the individual Scrum Teams, as this is the responsibility of the Scrum Teams themselves 22. The Nexus Integration Team helps the Scrum Teams to coordinate, coach, and supervise the application of Nexus and the operation of Scrum, but it does not take over their work or accountability 33. Therefore, the statement is false.

Creating a communication plan is not enough to fully address the coordination challenges that arise when many Scrum Teams work on the same product. A communication plan is a document that outlines the objectives, methods, channels, and frequency of communication among the stakeholders of a project or product 1. While a communication plan is useful for ensuring clarity, transparency, and alignment among the Scrum Teams and other parties involved, it does not address other aspects of coordination, such as integration, dependency management, alignment of goals and vision, and cross-team collaboration 2.

To effectively coordinate multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product, a communication plan should be complemented by other practices and frameworks, such as:

• Nexus: Nexus is a framework for scaling Scrum that consists of three to nine Scrum Teams working together to deliver an Integrated Increment every Sprint 3. Nexus provides roles, events, artifacts, and rules that help the Scrum Teams coordinate, integrate, and align their work, while maintaining the Scrum values and principles 4.
• Scrum of Scrums: Scrum of Scrums is a technique for scaling Scrum that involves a regular meeting of representatives from each Scrum Team to share progress, identify dependencies, resolve issues, and align on the product vision and goal . Scrum of Scrums helps the Scrum Teams communicate and collaborate effectively, while minimizing the overhead and complexity of coordination .
• Communities of Practice: Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a common interest, skill, or domain, and who meet regularly to exchange knowledge, ideas, and best practices . Communities of Practice help the Scrum Teams learn from each other, improve their skills, and foster a culture of continuous improvement .

The Nexus framework is a way of scaling Scrum for multiple teams working on a single product. The Nexus framework uses Scrum as its building block and extends it only where necessary to minimize and manage dependencies between teams 11. The Nexus framework defines the accountabilities, events, and artifacts that bind and weave together the work of the teams in a Nexus 11. One of the key events in the Nexus framework is the Nexus Sprint Planning, which is used to coordinate the activities of all teams in the Nexus for a single Sprint 11.

In Scenario C, the Nexus Sprint Planning is not conducted effectively. The representatives from each of the 9-member Scrum Teams identify many dependencies, which makes it hard for them to choose the work they could pull into their individual teams for the next Sprint. No matter how they reorganize the Product Backlog items, they continually find more or new dependencies. Dependencies are the relationships between the work items that affect the order, timing, or outcome of the work 22. Dependencies can cause delays, rework, waste, and lower quality 22. Therefore, it is important to identify and resolve dependencies as early and as often as possible 22.

What should the Scrum Teams do to effectively deal with their dependencies is:

• Increase the frequency of Cross-Team Refinement to reduce dependencies. This is answer A. This is a valid answer because Cross-Team Refinement is an activity where representatives from each team in the Nexus meet to decompose and refine the Product Backlog items into smaller pieces of work that can be delivered by a single team or multiple teams 11. By doing this, the teams can reduce the dependencies by breaking down the work into more manageable and independent units 11. The teams can also identify and resolve the dependencies before the Nexus Sprint Planning, which will make the planning easier and more effective 11. By increasing the frequency of Cross-Team Refinement, the teams can ensure that the Product Backlog items are ready and clear for the Nexus Sprint Planning 11.

The other three answers are not correct because:

• Merge the two Scrum Teams together that have the most dependencies with each other. This is answer B. This is not a valid answer because merging the two Scrum Teams together that have the most dependencies with each other is not a good solution. It implies that the teams are not able to collaborate and coordinate effectively with each other, and that they need to be in the same team to work on the same product 11. It also increases the size and complexity of the merged team, which can reduce its agility and productivity 11. It also does not address the root cause of the dependencies, which may be related to the product or communication structure 22.
• Institute quarterly meetings for planning out all dependencies between teams. This is answer C. This is not a valid answer because instituting quarterly meetings for planning out all dependencies between teams is not consistent with Scrum or Nexus. Scrum and Nexus require that the teams plan and deliver a potentially releasable Increment of product value in each Sprint, which is usually a few weeks long 11. Instituting quarterly meetings for planning out all dependencies between teams means that the teams are not planning or delivering any value or receiving any feedback in the Sprints 11. It also means that the teams are not able to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of the customers and users, which are essential for empiricism and agility 11.
• All of the above. This is answer D. This is not a valid answer because none of the above answers are valid. Therefore, choosing all of them is not a valid answer either.

The purpose of Nexus Sprint Planning is to coordinate the activities of all Scrum Teams within a Nexus for a single Sprint 1. To do this effectively, the Nexus needs to have a clear understanding of the dependencies between the teams and the work items, and to communicate and collaborate with each other and any outside experts as needed. Therefore, the best practices for this Nexus are:

• A. Ensure all Scrum Teams and outside experts are available during the Nexus Sprint Planning event and have a way of quickly communicating with each other. They should try to be together in the same room or use technology that makes it seem as if they are in the same room. This practice enables the Nexus to have a shared understanding of the Product Backlog, the Product Goal, and the Nexus Sprint Goal, and to resolve any issues or questions that may arise during the planning. It also allows the Nexus to leverage the expertise of the outside specialists who are required for some of the work 2.
• D. Visualize the known dependencies in the Product Backlog for all to see. As Scrum Teams select work for the Sprint, they can easily check for any dependent work and communicate with other teams. This practice helps the Nexus to identify and manage the dependencies between the teams and the work items, and to optimize the flow of value delivery. It also supports transparency and alignment within the Nexus 3.

The other two practices are not effective for this Nexus because:

• B. Plan one Scrum Team’s Sprint at a time before moving on to the next team. This way you can account for time zone differences and can communicate dependencies across all teams. This practice is not optimal because it does not allow the Nexus to plan the Sprint as a whole, and to adjust the work allocation and sequence based on the dependencies and the Nexus Sprint Goal. It also creates delays and inefficiencies in the planning process, and reduces the collaboration and feedback opportunities among the teams 4.
• C. Have the Nexus Integration Team select the work for each of the individual Scrum Teams. This allows the Nexus Integration Team to control the dependencies. This practice is not consistent with the Nexus framework, which states that the Nexus Integration Team does not select the work for the Scrum Teams, but rather facilitates the integration and delivery of the work done by the Scrum Teams. It also undermines the self-organization and empowerment of the Scrum Teams, and reduces their ownership and accountability for the work 1.

Moving away from component teams toward feature teams is a significant change that should be considered carefully. Here are some of the factors that should be taken into account:

• Feature teams have less communication overhead than component teams, as they are able to deliver end-to-end customer features without relying on other teams or components 11. This reduces the complexity and the dependencies among the teams, and improves the transparency and the feedback loop. Feature teams also foster more collaboration and cross-functional learning among the team members, as they have to work on different aspects of the product 22.
• When making this change, it helps to have support from the organization, as it may require a shift in the culture, the structure, and the processes of the company 33. The organization should provide the necessary resources, training, and coaching to the teams to help them adopt the feature team model. The organization should also align its goals, incentives, and metrics with the feature team approach, and remove any barriers or impediments that may hinder the teams’ performance 44.
• Productivity may decrease when making this kind of change, as the teams may face some challenges and difficulties in the transition period 55. For example, the teams may have to learn new skills, technologies, or domains that they are not familiar with. The teams may also have to deal with legacy code, technical debt, or integration issues that may slow down their delivery. The teams may also experience some resistance or conflict from the existing component teams or stakeholders. Therefore, the teams should expect some temporary setbacks and losses in productivity, and focus on continuous improvement and adaptation.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• With feature teams, it is not easier to calculate the productivity per team, as productivity is not a simple or straightforward metric to measure in software development [6]. Productivity depends on various factors, such as the quality, the value, the complexity, and the customer satisfaction of the product. Moreover, focusing on the productivity per team may create a competitive or individualistic mindset among the teams, rather than a collaborative or collective one. The teams should focus on delivering the best possible product Increment that meets the Product Goal and the Definition of Done, rather than on maximizing their productivity [7].
• You can do Scrum without feature teams, as Scrum does not prescribe any specific team structure or organization [8]. Scrum only requires that the Scrum Team is cross-functional, self-organizing, and accountable for delivering a potentially releasable product Increment every Sprint [9]. However, feature teams are generally more aligned with the Scrum values and principles, as they enable the teams to deliver customer-centric features faster and more frequently, and to respond to changes more effectively [10]. Therefore, feature teams are recommended, but not mandatory, for Scrum.

PBI 2 is the most concerning because it involves a cross-team dependency within the same Sprint, which can create challenges and risks for the integration and delivery of the product increment. According to the Online Nexus Guide1, dependencies should be minimized or eliminated as much as possible, and if they exist, they should be made transparent and resolved as early as possible. Cross-team dependencies within the same Sprint can cause delays, conflicts, rework, and waste, and reduce the quality and value of the product increment 234.

The other answers are not correct for the following reasons:

• A. PBI 2, because it has the most dependencies. This answer is not accurate because PBI 2 does not have the most dependencies, but only one dependency with PBI 1 from Team Red. PBI 3 has the most dependencies, as it depends on PBI 1, PBI 2, and PBI 4. However, PBI 3 is not as concerning as PBI 2, because its dependencies are not within the same Sprint, but across different Sprints. This means that PBI 3 can be refined and planned in advance, and the teams can coordinate and communicate their work more effectively 5.
• B. PBI 1, because it is on the top of the Product Backlog. This answer is not relevant because the position of PBI 1 on the Product Backlog does not indicate its level of concern, but its priority and value. The Product Backlog is ordered by the Product Owner based on various factors, such as business value, risk, complexity, and dependencies. PBI 1 may be on the top of the Product Backlog because it is the most valuable or urgent item, or because it is a prerequisite for other items, but it is not necessarily the most concerning item 6.
• C. PBI 1, because it is the first piece of work with a dependency. This answer is not true because PBI 1 is not the first piece of work with a dependency, but the first piece of work that other items depend on. PBI 1 does not have any dependencies itself, but it creates dependencies for PBI 2, PBI 3, and PBI 5. Therefore, PBI 1 is not as concerning as PBI 2, because it does not depend on any other item, and it can be completed independently by Team Red 5.

When multiple Scrum Teams work from the same Product Backlog, they should choose the Product Backlog items that they can deliver as part of an Integrated Increment, which is the combined work of all the Scrum Teams that meets the Nexus Sprint Goal 11. The Developers, who are the people in the Scrum Teams who are accountable for creating and delivering the Increment, should pull work in agreement with the Product Owner, who is the person who is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and the work performed and integrated by the Scrum Teams 11. The Developers and the Product Owner should collaborate to select the Product Backlog items that are most valuable, feasible, and aligned with the Nexus Sprint Goal 2233. Therefore, statement B is the correct answer.

Statement A is incorrect because it implies that the Scrum Teams choose the Weighted Shortest Job First, which is a prioritization technique that ranks Product Backlog items based on their value and cost 44. However, the Scrum Guide does not prescribe any specific technique for ordering the Product Backlog, and the Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog [5]. Statement C is incorrect because it suggests that each Scrum Team takes an equal number of items, which may not reflect the value, complexity, or dependencies of the items 1122. Statement D is incorrect because it assumes that the Scrum Team with the highest velocity pulls Product Backlog items first, which may not be the best way to optimize the value delivery and integration across the Nexus 1122. Statement E is incorrect because it proposes that the Product Owner should provide each team with its own Product Backlog, which would create confusion, inconsistency, and duplication of work. Having multiple Product Backlogs would also undermine the transparency and alignment that are essential for scaling Scrum 1122.