SPS Scaled Professional Scrum (SPS) Exam Question and Answers

A Nexus Integration Team is not responsible for actually doing the integration work during the Sprint. The Nexus Integration Team is a specialized Scrum Team that provides services and guidance to the Scrum Teams in the Nexus to ensure that the Integrated Increment is produced every Sprint 11. However, the Nexus Integration Team is not accountable for the integration of the work of the individual Scrum Teams, as this is the responsibility of the Scrum Teams themselves 22. The Nexus Integration Team helps the Scrum Teams to coordinate, coach, and supervise the application of Nexus and the operation of Scrum, but it does not take over their work or accountability 33. Therefore, the statement is false.

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.

A Nexus is a framework for scaling Scrum that enables multiple Scrum Teams to work on a single product 1. A Nexus has one Product Backlog, which is an ordered list of the work to be done by the Scrum Teams in the Nexus 1. The Product Backlog has a single source of requirements and priorities for the product, and it is managed by the Product Owner, who is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and the work performed and integrated by the Scrum Teams 1. Having one Product Backlog for a Nexus ensures that the Scrum Teams have a common vision, goal, and alignment for the product 23. Therefore, the statement is true.

The answer is false because not all Scrum Team members are required to attend the Nexus Daily Scrum. According to the Online Nexus Guide1, the Nexus Daily Scrum is an event for appropriate representatives from individual Scrum Teams to inspect the current state of the Integrated Increment and to identify integration issues or newly discovered cross-team dependencies. The appropriate representatives are those who can best collaborate and communicate the progress and impediments of their Scrum Teams, and who can make and influence decisions regarding the integration and delivery of the product. The number and selection of the representatives may vary depending on the context and needs of the Nexus 234. The Nexus Daily Scrum does not replace the Daily Scrum of each Scrum Team, which is still held by all the Developers of the team to plan their work for the day 5.

The best way to improve the ability of the Scrum Teams in a Nexus to produce an Increment for the next Sprint is to reduce the amount of work that the teams pull into the Sprint. This will allow the teams to focus on delivering a high-quality and valuable product Increment that meets the Definition of Done and the Product Goal. Reducing the amount of work also reduces the complexity and dependencies among the teams, which makes integration easier and faster.

The other options are not advisable for the following reasons:

• Asking the Nexus Integration Team to extend the Sprint to allow more time for integration is not consistent with the Scrum principles and values. The Sprint length should be fixed and consistent throughout the product development, and it should be less than a month. Extending the Sprint would compromise the feedback loop, the transparency, and the adaptability of the Nexus 11.
• Reducing the number of Scrum Teams to reduce complexity is not a viable solution, as it would also reduce the capacity and the productivity of the Nexus. The number of Scrum Teams in a Nexus should be based on the size and the scope of the product, and it should not exceed nine teams 11. Reducing the number of teams would also disrupt the existing team dynamics and collaboration.
• Adding another Scrum Team to the Nexus to increase capacity is not a good idea, as it would increase the complexity and the dependencies among the teams. Adding another team would also require more coordination and communication, which would consume more time and resources. Moreover, adding another team would not necessarily increase the value or the quality of the product Increment 22.

The best option for how Product Ownership might be structured in a company with five products is to have one Product Owner responsible for each product or one Product Owner responsible for all five products. Both of these options are consistent with the Scrum Guide, which states that the Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team 11. The Product Owner may delegate work as needed, but they remain accountable for the value delivered. The Product Owner also provides clarity to the team about the product vision, goal, and backlog 11.

The other options are not advisable for the following reasons:

• Assigning as many Product Owners as needed to communicate expectations and requirements to the Scrum Team is not a good idea, as it would create confusion, inconsistency, and conflict among the Product Owners and the Scrum Team. The Scrum Guide states that the Product Owner is one person, not a committee 11. Having multiple Product Owners for one product would compromise the transparency, the alignment, and the decision-making of the Scrum Team.
• Having one primary Product Owner and one Product Owner for each product is also not a good idea, as it would create a hierarchy and a dependency among the Product Owners. The primary Product Owner would have too much authority and responsibility, while the Product Owners for each product would have too little. This would undermine the accountability, the collaboration, and the empowerment of the Product Owners and the Scrum Teams.

The true statements regarding using Scrum for large-scale product delivery are:

• A. Splitting a team member’s time between multiple Scrum Teams is often less productive than focusing that team member on a single team’s Sprint Backlog. This statement is true because splitting a team member’s time between multiple teams can cause context switching, communication overhead, coordination challenges, and reduced commitment and accountability. It can also reduce the team’s ability to self-organize and deliver a potentially releasable product increment at the end of each Sprint. Therefore, it is recommended that team members focus on one team’s Sprint Backlog and work as a cross-functional and cohesive unit 1122.
• D. A well-structured and refined Product Backlog can minimize and often eliminate dependencies between multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product during a Sprint. This statement is true because a well-structured and refined Product Backlog can help the Product Owner and the Scrum Teams to identify and prioritize the most valuable and feasible work items, and to decompose them into smaller and independent pieces that can be delivered by one or more teams. This can reduce the complexity and risk of integration and dependency management, and increase the flow and quality of value delivery 3344.

The other statements are false for the following reasons:

• B. Scrum requires all team members work full time on a single team. This statement is false because Scrum does not prescribe how team members allocate their time or effort. Scrum only defines the roles, events, artifacts, and rules that guide the empirical process of product development. However, as mentioned above, it is often more productive and effective for team members to focus on one team’s Sprint Backlog and avoid splitting their time between multiple teams [5].
• C. Changes to the core Scrum framework are needed to be successful with Scrum at large-scale. This statement is false because Scrum is a lightweight and adaptable framework that can be applied to any complex product development context, regardless of the size or scale. Scrum does not need to be changed or modified to be successful at large-scale, but rather scaled up or down according to the needs and goals of the product organization. There are various frameworks and approaches that can help scale Scrum, such as Nexus, LeSS, SAFe, and Scrum@Scale, but they all adhere to the core principles and values of Scrum [6] [7].

According to the Nexus Guide1, the Nexus Sprint Review is an event where the Nexus presents the Done Integrated Increment that was built over the Sprint and collects feedback from the stakeholders. The Integrated Increment is the combined work of all the Scrum Teams in the Nexus that meets the Definition of Done. The Nexus Guide also states that the Nexus Integration Team is a specialized Scrum Team that provides services and guidance to the Scrum Teams in the Nexus to ensure that the Integrated Increment is produced every Sprint.

In the scenario, the teams are not using a shared environment, which implies that they are not integrating their work frequently and effectively. This means that there is no single Integrated Increment that can be inspected and adapted by the stakeholders. This also suggests that the Nexus Integration Team is lacking or nonexistent, or that it is not fulfilling its role of facilitating integration and resolving dependencies. Without a Nexus Integration Team and a shared environment, the Nexus cannot deliver a valuable product Increment that meets the Product Goal.

The Sprint length and the integration phase are not relevant to the scenario. The Sprint length is determined by the Nexus based on the complexity and uncertainty of the product, and it should be less than a month. The integration phase is not a separate phase in Nexus, but a continuous activity that happens throughout the Sprint. Therefore, A and B are not correct answers.

The purpose of Nexus Sprint Retrospective is all of the above, meaning that it aims to:

• Plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness across the whole Nexus. The Nexus Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for a Nexus to inspect and adapt itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint to ensure continuous improvement 11.
• To inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to individuals, teams, interactions, processes, tools, and its Definition of Done. The Nexus Sprint Retrospective follows the same format and principles as the Scrum Team Sprint Retrospective, but at a larger scale. The Nexus inspects the aspects of the product development that affect the Nexus as a whole, such as the collaboration, the integration, the dependencies, the quality, and the value 22.
• To complement the Scrum Teams’ Sprint Retrospectives by using bottom-up intelligence to focus on issues that affect the Nexus as a whole. The Nexus Sprint Retrospective does not replace the Scrum Teams’ Sprint Retrospectives, but rather enhances them by using the input and output from the individual teams to identify and address the shared challenges and opportunities 33.