Nexus Framework for Scaling Scrum, The

Kurt Bittner has more than 35 years of experience helping teams to deliver software in short feedback-driven cycles, as a developer, as a product manager, and product owner; as an industry analyst; and as an organizational change agent. He is the author of three other books on software engineering, many blogs and articles, and is a frequent speaker at conferences. Patricia Kong is a key contributor to the Nexus framework and the Evidence-Based Management framework. She led product development, product management, and marketing for several early-stage companies in the US and Europe, and worked in business development and engagement management for Forrester Research. She is fluent in four languages. Dave West is the CEO and Product Owner at Scrum.org. He is a frequent keynote at major industry conferences and is a widely read author of books, blogs, articles, and research reports. He has led both product development and consulting organizations for multi-national organizations.

• Foreword xiPreface xiiiAcknowledgments xviiAbout the Authors xix  Chapter 1: Introduction to Scaling Agile 1Why Agile? 2Why Scrum? 2Why Nexus? 5Simplicity Is the Key to Scaling 6  Chapter 2: Introducing Nexus 7What Is Nexus? 7Nexus Extends Scrum 8The Nexus Integration Team 10Nexus Events 12Nexus Artifacts 17What Do You Need to Get Started with Nexus? 19Closing 20  Chapter 3: Forming a Nexus 21Evolving a Cross-functional Team 24Growing a Nexus 29Forming the Nexus Integration Team 32How Does a Nexus Work? 34  Chapter 4: Planning in Nexus 35Consolidating and Validating the Product Backlog 35Planning a Sprint in a Nexus 47Closing 55  Chapter 5: Running a Sprint in Nexus 57The Nexus Daily Scrum 58Providing Transparency Inside and Outside the Nexus 61Nexus Sprint Retrospective 68Closing 73  Chapter 6: Evolving the Nexus 75Optional Practice: Organizing Scrum Teams around Features 77Optional Practice: Managing Code Like an Open-Source Project 78Optional Practice: Organizing Teams around Personas 81Expanding the Nexus Integration Team 83Updating and Refining the Product Backlog 83Nexus Sprint Planning, Revisited 85The Nexus Daily Scrum, Take Two 86The Nexus Sprint Review, Take Two 88The Nexus Sprint Retrospective, Take Two 89Closing 96  Chapter 7: The Nexus in Emergency Mode 97Product Backlog Refinement, Take Three 99Nexus Sprint Planning, Take Three 102The Nexus Daily Scrum, Take Three 108What to Do When the Nexus Starts to Struggle 110The Nexus (Pseudo) Sprint Review and Retrospective 118Closing 119  Chapter 8: Retrospective on the Nexus Journey 121What Worked Well 122Areas for Improvement 126What’s Next? 132Closing 133   Glossary 135Index 143