SPS Premium Exam Questions

The best way for multiple Scrum Teams to deliver a valuable and useful Increment in a Sprint is to complete work that integrates with all of the other work from other Scrum Teams on the initiative. This means that the Scrum Teams collaborate and coordinate their work to produce a single Integrated Increment that meets the Definition of Done and the Product Goal. The Integrated Increment is the combined work of all the Scrum Teams that is potentially releasable and provides value to the customers and stakeholders 11.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

• Each Scrum Team delivering done Increments of its own area of responsibility and integrating them into a whole product during stabilization prior to release is not a good idea, as it violates the Scrum principles and values. The Scrum Guide states that the Scrum Team delivers a product Increment that is usable and valuable at the end of every Sprint, not at the end of the release 22. Delaying the integration until the stabilization phase would compromise the transparency, the feedback, and the adaptability of the Scrum Teams.
• Each Scrum Team providing a unique done Increment that includes the team’s added functionality is not a good idea, as it does not ensure that the product Increment is integrated and consistent across the initiative. The Scrum Guide states that the product Increment is the sum of all the Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint and all previous Sprints 22. If each Scrum Team provides a unique Increment, they may not be aligned with the Product Goal and the Definition of Done, and they may create conflicts or dependencies with other Scrum Teams.
• Functionality not integrated with the work of other Scrum Teams being delivered as unintegrated Increments to demonstrate the value created by the Scrum Teams unable to completely integrate their Increments is not a good idea, as it does not ensure that the product Increment is done and valuable. The Scrum Guide states that the product Increment must be usable and meet the Definition of Done 22. If some functionality is not integrated with the work of other Scrum Teams, it may not be usable or valuable to the customers and stakeholders, and it may introduce technical debt or quality issues.

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.

The purpose of Nexus Sprint Planning is to:

• Coordinate the activities of all the Scrum Teams in a Nexus. This is answer A. This is a valid answer because the Nexus Sprint Planning is an event where the Nexus, consisting of the Product Owner and appropriate representatives from each team, meet to plan the Sprint 11. The purpose of Nexus Sprint Planning is to coordinate the activities of all teams in the Nexus for a single Sprint 11. The Nexus Sprint Planning helps the teams to align their work with the Product Goal, identify and resolve dependencies, and create a common understanding of the Sprint 11.
• Create a plan for the Sprint. This is answer D. This is a valid answer because the Nexus Sprint Planning is an event where the Nexus creates a plan for the Sprint 11. The result of Nexus Sprint Planning is a Nexus Sprint Goal that aligns with the Product Goal and a Nexus Sprint Backlog that contains the work to be done by the teams to achieve the Nexus Sprint Goal 11. The Nexus Sprint Backlog is a visualization of the work across the Nexus that has dependencies 11. The Nexus Sprint Goal and the Nexus Sprint Backlog guide the teams throughout the Sprint 11.

The other two answers are not correct because:

• Discover all the dependencies between Product Backlog items. This is answer B. This is not a valid answer because the Nexus Sprint Planning is not the only time to discover all the dependencies between Product Backlog items. 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. The Nexus Sprint Planning is a time to coordinate the activities of the teams for the upcoming Sprint and to create a Nexus Sprint Goal and a Nexus Sprint Backlog 11. The discovery of dependencies should be done continuously throughout the Sprint, not only during the Nexus Sprint Planning 11. One of the activities that can help the teams to discover dependencies before the Nexus Sprint Planning is the Cross-Team Refinement, 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 1[1][6].
• Ensure all teams are committing to the right work. This is answer C. This is not a valid answer because the Nexus Sprint Planning is not a time to ensure all teams are committing to the right work. The Nexus Sprint Planning is a time to coordinate the activities of the teams for the upcoming Sprint and to create a Nexus Sprint Goal and a Nexus Sprint Backlog 11. The Nexus Sprint Planning is not a time to impose or dictate the work to the teams, but rather to collaborate and align the work with the Product Goal 11. The teams are self-organizing and autonomous, which means they decide how to do their work and what work to do 1[1][7]. The teams do not commit to the work, but rather forecast the work based on their capacity and understanding 1[1][7].

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.

When a Nexus, which is a group of approximately three to nine Scrum Teams working on the same product, faces many dependencies during Nexus Sprint Planning, it can use some techniques to manage them effectively. One technique is to reorganize team members between the teams to eliminate cross-team dependencies. This can be done by forming feature teams or component teams based on the nature of the work and the skills required. By doing so, the Nexus can reduce the need for coordination and integration across teams, and increase the autonomy and ownership of each team 1122. Therefore, statement B is correct.

Another technique is to reorder Product Backlog items to better accommodate dependencies. This can be done by applying dependency management techniques such as dependency mapping, dependency inversion, dependency breaking, and dependency prioritization. By doing so, the Nexus can identify, visualize, resolve, and minimize the dependencies that affect the delivery of the Integrated Increment, which is the combined work of all the Scrum Teams in the Nexus that meets the Nexus Sprint Goal 334455. Therefore, statement D is also correct.

Statement A is incorrect because it implies that the Nexus Integration Team, which is a group of people who are accountable for ensuring the integration and delivery of the Integrated Increment, should do the dependent work ahead of the Sprint for the teams. This would create a bottleneck and a single point of failure, as well as undermine the self-organization and collaboration of the Scrum Teams 1122. Statement C is incorrect because it suggests that the Nexus should extend the Sprint so that the teams can have more time to complete the dependent work. This would violate the Scrum principle of time-boxing, which ensures that the Nexus delivers value frequently and incrementally, and inspects and adapts its process regularly 1122.