Scrum of Scrums: Purpose,Benefits, and Best Practices

Did you know that over 75% of Agile teams struggle to scale across multiple departments? What works beautifully for one or two teams often breaks down when ten or twenty are involved. Communication gaps widen, priorities clash, and progress slows. That’s exactly why Scrum of Scrums (SoS) was created: to bring structure and clarity to large-scale Agile delivery without sacrificing flexibility.

In this blog, we’ll explore the meaning of Scrum of Scrums, its purpose, its typical agenda, and best practices for running it effectively. Ready to streamline your team coordination and scale Agile with confidence? Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

1) What is Scrum of Scrums?

2) History of Scrum of Scrums

3) What is the Purpose of a Scrum of Scrums?

4) Why is Scrum of Scrums Important?

5) Who is Involved in a Scrum of Scrums?

6) A Scrum of Scrums Agenda

7) Advantages of Implementing Scrum of Scrums

8) Best Practices for Effective Scrum of Scrums

9) Conclusion

What is Scrum of Scrums? 

Scrum of Scrums is a scaled Agile practice used to coordinate multiple Scrum teams working together on a large project. Instead of involving everyone in one meeting, each team selects a representative to participate in a separate session focused on sharing progress, aligning goals, and resolving cross-team issues.

This approach maintains the core values of Scrum collaboration, transparency, and adaptability while helping larger teams work together effectively. It ensures that teams remain synchronised, dependencies are managed, and delivery stays on track.

History of Scrum of Scrums

The Scrum of Scrums is a coordination technique developed to scale Scrum across multiple teams. Below is a brief timeline of its evolution:

a) 1996: Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber developed Scrum of Scrums to coordinate work across eight business units with multiple product lines. It was designed to scale Scrum for larger organisations by improving inter-team communication and alignment.

b) 2001: Jeff Sutherland publicly introduced the concept in his article “Agile Can Scale: Inventing and Reinventing Scrum in Five Companies.”

c) Post-2001: The method gained traction and was later incorporated into scaling frameworks like Scrum@Scale, SAFe, and LeSS.

What is the Purpose of a Scrum of Scrums?

Here are four key areas that highlight the purpose of a Scrum of Scrums and explain how it supports coordination across multiple Agile teams:

Facilitating Open Communication

Scrum of Scrums provides a regular platform for team representatives to share updates, challenges, and key information. This openness ensures that all teams stay informed and aligned throughout the project.

Identifying and Resolving Cross-Team Issues

It helps surface blockers and dependencies that impact multiple teams early in the process. By resolving these issues quickly, teams can maintain momentum and avoid delays.

Enabling Team Coordination

The meeting aligns team efforts by coordinating priorities, schedules, and shared deliverables. This ensures that everyone moves in the same direction with minimal overlap or conflict.

Supporting Collective Decision-Making

Scrum of Scrums empowers teams to make informed decisions together based on shared context and goals. This collaborative approach improves agility and reduces the risk of misalignment.

Why is Scrum of Scrums Important?

Scrum is fantastic for small, self-contained teams. But when you scale it to dozens of teams, things get complicated. Without a way to connect those teams, silos form, miscommunication happens, and progress stalls.

Scrum of Scrums solves that by:

a) Breaking down silos across departments and teams

b) Providing visibility into what's happening beyond a single team

c) Fostering ownership across the entire product, not just parts of it

d) Promoting accountability, ensuring no team is operating in a vacuum

Even small misunderstandings can snowball into big projects. SoS helps catch those early and keep everyone rowing in the same direction.

Who is Involved in a Scrum of Scrums?

A Scrum of Scrums brings together key roles from across multiple teams to ensure effective coordination, communication, and problem-solving at scale. Here's a breakdown of who typically takes part and what they contribute:

1) Team Representatives

Each Scrum team selects a representative, often the Scrum Master or a senior developer, who understands the team's progress, blockers, and goals. They communicate updates and bring back decisions or action points to their teams. 

2) Scrum Masters

Scrum Masters may directly participate or coordinate with the team representative to ensure that updates are accurate and blockers are addressed. They help maintain Agile principles across teams and support continuous improvement. 

3) Chief Scrum Master / RTE (Release Train Engineer)

In larger setups like SAFe, a Chief Scrum Master or RTE facilitates the Scrum of Scrums. They ensure alignment between teams, track dependencies, and escalate unresolved issues to higher-level forums when needed. 

4) Product Owners (Occasionally)

Product Owners may attend when cross-team product priorities, feature dependencies, or backlog alignment require direct input. Their involvement helps clarify goals and support decision-making related to customer value or delivery timelines. 

5) Stakeholders (Rarely)

Stakeholders are typically not regular participants but may be invited when critical decisions or blockers affect delivery outcomes. Their occasional presence helps ensure strategic alignment and removes high-level organisational barriers.

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A Scrum of Scrums Agenda

The meeting is short and focused, just like a daily Scrum, but with cross-team coordination in mind.

Here’s what usually gets covered:

a) What has my team done since the last Scrum of Scrums?

b) What will my team do before the next one?

c) Are there any blockers in our path?

d) Are we about to create blockers for another team?

e) Are there any dependencies that need discussion?

These meetings are typically time-boxed to 30 to 60 minutes and run at a regular cadence -maybe twice a week or more frequently during intense delivery phases. The goal is to keep things flowing without turning the meeting into a tedious status report.

Advantages of Implementing Scrum of Scrums

Here are the advantages of implementing Scrum of Scrums:

a) Improved Coordination: Teams gain visibility into what others are doing, making it easier to align plans, manage dependencies, and avoid last-minute surprises.

b) Faster Resolution of Issues: If multiple teams hit the same blocker, it is spotted and addressed early, often before it causes major delays.

c) Greater Transparency: Teams can see how their work contributes to broader goals, reducing duplicate efforts and misalignment.

d) Enhanced Collaboration: By communicating regularly, teams build stronger working relationships and solve problems together.

e) Scalable Agility: You keep the principles of Agile alive, even as the number of teams and complexity increase.

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Best Practices for Effective Scrum of Scrums

Scrum of Scrums isn’t difficult to run, but a few simple practices can make a big difference:

Select Skilled Team Representatives

Ambassadors should have deep knowledge of their team’s work and the ability to appropriately make decisions or escalate them. They act as the voice of the team in cross-functional discussions. Choosing the right representatives ensures clarity, faster responses, and stronger alignment.

Set a Clear Meeting Cadence and Focus

Decide on a regular schedule that makes sense based on sprint cycles. A predictable rhythm helps teams prepare and stay engaged. Keeping the agenda focused prevents the session from becoming a time-consuming status update.

Encourage Transparent Communication

Create a safe space where representatives can raise issues without blame. When people feel heard, they're more likely to surface blockers early. This openness builds trust and improves team dynamics across the board.
<H3> Address and Escalate Blockers Quickly

Don’t let blockers linger. Immediate escalation reduces project risk and avoids last-minute surprises. Assigning clear ownership ensures accountability and timely resolution. Clear follow-up actions keep momentum going and prevent repeated setbacks.

Track Progress and Timelines Consistently

Use visual tools like shared dashboards, cross-team boards, or integrated Agile tools to keep everyone aligned and focused. These tools create a shared understanding of progress and priorities. With real-time insights, teams can adapt quickly to shifting needs. Scrum of Scrum becomes more than a meeting when done right; it becomes the heartbeat of scaled Agile delivery.

Conclusion

Scrum of Scrums empowers large Agile teams to stay aligned, address cross-team challenges, and deliver with confidence. By promoting transparency, collaboration, and coordination ensures that scaled Agile remains effective and focused even in complex, fast-paced environments. Implementing it well can be a true game-changer.

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