How can I manage multiple scrum teams at the same time?
I contribute to an ongoing series called Ask Women in Product. In this article, I outline my approach for managing multiple scrum teams at the same time.
Answer from Stephanie Muxfeld, Consultant at Slalom
This is a great question! In a perfect world, product managers would always be aligned with a single team and a single product. In the real world, however, we sometimes get spread across multiple products. I’ve also seen products so large that they needed multiple teams, aligned to the same product manager. The good news is that different team structures have the potential to be successful at producing a quality product.
As with many things involving agile and product management, the answer depends on the team and the situation. To tackle this question, we’ll look at the question from a few different angles.
Team Setup
Backlog Management
Stakeholder Management
Technical Considerations and Tools
Team Setup
Why are there multiple Scrum teams? Is it a case where you are the product manager over different products, or is your one product so large that you need multiple teams?
In both cases, you’ll need to consider the impact on your schedule:
Are the teams using the same sprint start and end dates? If so, how is that working for the teams? It can be a challenge for a product manager when multiple teams have ceremonies on the same days, but not impossible.
Can the teams conduct their ceremonies at different times of day, so that you can attend both? The advantage with this is that you get all your ceremonies done, with the rest of the sprint left for you to divide your time between your two teams.
There is no reason why you can’t succeed as the product manager for two different products at the same time, but you’ll need to prioritize organization, documentation, and dedicated time with each team to succeed.
You will also need to grow your ability to change contexts (products) on the fly, as your teams need you. But being organized and taking excellent notes can make this much easier.
Backlog Management
What’s the situation with the backlogs? Do the teams have separate, distinct backlogs? Are both teams pulling work from a single backlog?
In most situations, it is imperative that each team have a unique backlog that they own, without dependencies, so they can pull work as they are able without coordinating with another team.
If you are in a situation where two teams share a single backlog, I’d recommend looking for ways to split them up. If the teams are working on the same product and you cannot reasonably split the backlog, having a combined planning session is likely your best bet.
Consider sharing showcases as well. I am a firm believer that retros should always be team-specific, but in the scenario where teams are working on the same product, it can be helpful to occasionally hold combined retros. The communication between the two teams is critical to avoid them working on top of each other.
Stakeholder Management
What are the expectations of your stakeholders? How involved are your stakeholders in the day-to-day work of your team? Do stakeholders require your teams to be on the same start date, have a shared showcase, etc.?
The best-case scenario would be that our stakeholders let our teams determine their own way of working, and focus solely on results. However, I’ve heard enough stories about overreaching stakeholders and I’ve also experienced them first-hand. If your stakeholders are dictating things that your team should be deciding for themselves, I suggest taking a hard look at where you can push back on the stakeholder.
Sometimes stakeholders are used to dictating to their teams, but if you push back and make your case for the team being self-directed, it may turn out in your favor. Sometimes our stakeholders need to be educated about the value of self-directed teams. And then other times they will not relent, and you have to manage that and protect your team from the distraction. I find stakeholder management to often be the hardest part of being a product manager!
Technical Considerations & Tools
Are your multiple teams working in the same code base? If so, do they have a defined branching and merging strategy? What is your approach to QA/testing and fixing defects/bugs?
If you have two teams working on the same product, you must work with your engineers to ensure they have a strategy to avoid working on top of each other.
They will, at a minimum, need an approach for branching and merging that will allow them to work together while not driving each other crazy. You’ll also need a strategy for production deployments. Can each team deploy independently, or do they need to coordinate deployments? Are they going to test each other’s changes? It’s always better to develop working agreements on these topics before it’s time to push to production!
Do you have a backlog management tool that you use? If so, that’s great. Learn it inside out and make it work for your team. I’ve also managed backlog successfully using a tool as simple as a spreadsheet. The specific tool is irrelevant, as long as it works for your team!
You Can Do This!
If you are the product manager for multiple teams, you can absolutely drive success for both your teams and your product(s). While it usually isn’t an ideal situation, you can — with proper organization, documentation, and time management — deliver awesome products while having some fun along the way!
Use these resources to learn more
One Product Manager, Four Teams? by John Cutler (Hackernoon)
Synchronize Rather than Overlap Sprints by Mike Cohn (Mountain Goat Software)
How to set up multiple Scrum teams working on the same set of Master User Stories within a Project (Atlassian Community)
This article was originally published in the January 28, 2019 edition of Ask Women in Product. The original, complete article can be found here.