Nexus Scaled Agile Framework
Nexus is a group of 3-9 Scrum Teams working to deliver a single product. Consequently, it has a single Product Backlog managed by a single Product Owner. It notes the below scaling challenges as that of arising due to Product Structure and Communication Structure and then provides opportunities to change the process, product structure and communication structure to reduce or remove these dependencies. Nexus and Scaled Professional Scrum were collaboratively developed by Ken Schwaber, David Dame, Richard Hundhausen, Patricia Kong, Rob Maher, Steve Porter, Christina Schwaber, and Gunther Verheyen.
The framework extends Scrum as
Accountabilities: The Nexus Integration Team ensures that the Nexus delivers a valuable, useful Integrated Increment at least once every Sprint. The Nexus Integration Team consists of the Product Owner, a Scrum Master, and Nexus Integration Team Members.
Events: Events are appended to, placed around, or replace regular Scrum events to augment them. As modified, they serve both the overall effort of all Scrum Teams in the Nexus, and each individual team. A Nexus Sprint Goal is the objective for the Sprint.
Artifacts: All Scrum Teams use the same, single Product Backlog. As the Product Backlog items are refined and made ready, indicators of which team will most likely do the work inside a Sprint are made transparent. A Nexus Sprint Backlog exists to assist with transparency during the Sprint. The Integrated Increment represents the current sum of all integrated work completed by a Nexus.
Along with the standard Scrum Accountabilities of Developers, Product Owner and Scrum Master, Nexus introduces a new accountability – Nexus Integration Team.
Nexus Integration Team
Ensures that every Done Integrated Increment is produced at least once a Sprint
Provides focus that makes possible accountability of multiple Scrum Teams to come together to create valuable, useful Increments.
While Scrum Teams address integration issues within the Nexus, the Nexus Integration Team provides a focal point of integration for the Nexus including addressing technical and non-technical cross-functional team constraints impeding the delivery.
It’s members include Product Owner, a Scrum Master and members from Scrum Teams with the appropriate skills. This means that the composition of Integration Team is not static. The Scrum Master can also be a shared role.
Is responsible for coaching and guiding the Scrum Teams to acquire, implement, and learn practices and tools that improve their ability to produce a valuable, useful Increment.
Membership in the Nexus Integration Team takes precedence over individual Scrum Team membership.
Nexus Events
Only the necessary people are needed for Nexus Events.
Events:
Cross-Team Refinement – Involves breaking down of Product Backlog entities to a granular level thus reducing or eliminating cross-team dependencies and make the dependencies transparent
It helps the Scrum Teams forecast which team will deliver which Product Backlog items.
It identifies dependencies across those teams.
It’s an ongoing activity
Nexus Sprint Planning
Nexus Sprint is same as Sprint in Scrum
Sprint Planning coordinates the activities of all Scrum Teams within a Nexus for a single Sprint
Appropriate represents from each Scrum Team and the Product Owner are needed
Outcomes
a Nexus Sprint Goal that aligns with the Product Goal and describes the purpose that will be achieved by the Nexus during the Sprint
a Sprint Goal for each Scrum Team that aligns with the Nexus Sprint Goal
a single Nexus Sprint Backlog that represents the work of the Nexus toward the Nexus Sprint Goal and makes cross-team dependencies transparent
A Sprint Backlog for each Scrum Team, which makes transparent the work they will do in support of the Nexus Sprint Goal
Nexus Daily Scrum
Identify any integration issues, new dependencies and inspect progress towards the Nexus Sprint Goal
Appropriate representation from each Scrum Team
Each team will have it’s own Scrum to create plans for the day, focused primarily on addressing the integration issues raised during the Nexus Daily Scrum.
Not the only time teams can interact – cross-communication and re-planning is allowed all day
Nexus Sprint Review
Held at the end of the Sprint to provide feedback on the done Integrated Increment the Nexus built in the previous Sprint and determine future adaptations
Individual Team Review not needed
Results of work done and progress towards achieving the Product Goal are discussed
Nexus Sprint Retrospective
- Plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness across the whole Nexus
- Inspects how the last Sprint went with regard to individuals, teams, interactions, processes, tools, and its Definition of Done.
The Nexus Sprint Retrospective concludes the Sprint.
Nexus Artifacts and Commitments
Product Backlog
A single product backlog for the whole Nexus is maintained. No individual backlog for a Scrum Team.
Granular enough to identify dependencies and minimize them
Maintained by Product Owner including content, availability and ordering
Commitment: Product Goal which describes the future state of the product and serves as a long-term goal of the Nexus.
Nexus Sprint Backlog
It’s a composite of Nexus Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlogs for each team derived for each Scrum Team
Highlights dependencies and flow of work during the Sprint
Regularly updated
Detailed enough that progress can be inspected against it in the Nexus Daily Scrum
Commitment: Nexus Sprint Goal – the single objective for Nexus and is the sum of all the work and Sprint Goals of the Scrum Teams within the Nexus.
Integrated Increment
Sum of all integrated work completed by a Nexus toward the Product Goal
Inspected at the Nexus Sprint Review, but may be delivered to stakeholders before the end of the Sprint
Commitment: Definition of Done - state of the integrated work when it meets the quality and measures required for the product. It is integrated, valuable, and usable. Individual teams can have their additional Definition of Done
References