How to apply scrum ?

You've provided a lot of information Ana. I'll try to provide some feedback.

- Backlogs should not contain task-related items. The backlog should be a list of items that each provide usable business value when completed. A task can be checked off when complete, but rarely if ever result in usable functionality to the business.

- There should be a separate backlog maintained by each PO. It is ok for multiple teams to serve a single PO, but that PO must maintain their own list of user stories for their teams. From the information you've provided, there should be 3-4 separate product backlogs maintained by 3-4 Product Owners.

- It is wasteful for organizations to maintain hundreds of items in a backlog. Perhaps this might improve if it is separated into 3-4 backlogs, but typically an organization simply cannot work through that many items in a timely manner, so it is wasteful to document and track potential work that may be 1 or more years into the future.

- In Sprint Planning, the PO offers work to the team, and the team determines if they have the capacity/skills/comfort level to accept the work. Negotiations ensue if needed to arrive at the sprint backlog for the upcoming sprint.

It is ok if the CPO is prioritizing the offers for all of the teams, although this approach seems to circumvent the authority of the PO. You want PO's who have the authority and capability to direct work to their teams to maximize business value. You should discourage this activity being silo-ed through one individual (CPO).

- You don't mention the state of stories that are being prioritized/offered. Do your teams work with a Definition of Ready (list of criteria that a story should meet to be considered Ready For Sprint)?

- It isn't terrible to open up Product Backlog entries to anyone who wants to submit them, but I have seen very good practices come from coordinating such submissions through the PO who is in charge of identifying and prioritizing such work. Otherwise, you may end up with duplicate entries, and work submissions that are ignored by the PO (where did this come from?), which can lead to conflict and waste.

> POs are responsible only for the project(item) success.

I think that's the key concern here. In Scrum each PO should be clearly responsible for the value of his or her product. The product boundaries do not seem clear in this case, nor do their integration points. A project view is perhaps being taken in an attempt to compensate.

Hi,

I'm also new to scrum and new in a company that is trying to apply Scrum. What is confusing me for the moment, is the daily Meeting - where we have the Scrum Master present and that is conducting each daily meeting. As I can see in your guide only Development Team is required to attend it and the SM only if needed. If I'm looking on another authorized scrum sites about the daily meeting the presence of the SM is mandatory. What should I say to my team, it is or not mandatory the presence of SM? What can I explain about the other site option?

Thanks

The daily meeting is a team meeting. It is an opportunity for team members to come together and talk about the current sprint.

With a mature Scrum team that can facilitate this meeting on their own, the Scrum Master isn't really required, although there is still value in having the SM observe and provide observations and/or suggestions after the meeting.

For newer teams, it is beneficial to have the Scrum Master attend in order to facilitate the meeting and ensure that it is being conducted according to Scrum standards.

I do not know what other sites you are referring to, but I would caution against any "interpretation" of Scrum that isn't specified in the Scrum Guide.

Cerasala,
As you may have read in scrum guide, role of SM is to facilitate. SM is not there to conduct the daily meeting. Daily meeting is to be organized and conducted by development team only. If development team is not mature enough to conduct it, again SM is to coach the team how to do it but never be the conductor of the meeting.

> What should I say to my team, it is or not
> mandatory the presence of SM? What can I
> explain about the other site option? 

A Scrum Master should be aware of how the Daily Scrum is being conducted, and should be confident that the rules are being followed. These are covered in the Scrum Guide. The SM can step in and provide coaching if necessary. Otherwise he or she does not need to be there, and it is sufficient for the team to provide an updated list of impediments.

The message to give your team regarding any contradictory material is that the Scrum Guide is authorative.