Fluid Scrum Teams vs Fixed Scrum Teams — A comparison
Using the 6 conditions of successful teams
Using the 6 conditions of successful teams
Some weeks ago, I introduced the concept of fluid Scrum Teams. Fluid Scrum Teams organize themselves based on the work at hand. Every time new topics need to be addressed, the people of the fluid teams organize themselves to optimize the chances to succeed with their challenges. The team of 20 is stable and cohesive. They form smaller teams each Sprint to maximize their effectiveness.
In this article, I will compare the fluid Scrum Team with a situation involving fixed Scrum Teams in a multi-team setting.
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Setting the stage
Fluid Scrum Teams exist to allow a larger group of people to work on their mutual goals. Fluid Scrum Teams exceed the recommended size of a Scrum Team. They split into multiple temporary teams to achieve a Sprint Goal each. I will do the comparison with three fixed Scrum teams.
I will use two extremes. In reality, there are several variations between these extremes. The fluid Scrum Team has maximum flexibility in forming multiple teams for each Sprint. The fixed teams are unchanged for a longer period.
While a Fluid Scrum Team could be larger, I will work with a total of 20 people working on the product. The fluid Scrum Team has 20 people in this one team. The fixed Scrum Teams are all about 6 to 7 people in size.
Success conditions of a team — an introduction
I will compare fluid Scrum Teams and fixed Scrum Teams using the work of Ruth Wageman and Richard Hackman (with the help of many other people). They spent many years exploring this question by doing a lot of research. This work resulted in the 6 conditions of successful teams.
They identified the following three essentials:
Real team
The elements of a real team are the following:
A team should be bounded. This means team members know each other well. They hold each other mutually accountable. This separates them from members of a group.
A team should work together. Yes, some of these are open doors. But that doesn’t make it untrue!
The team should be stable in membership long enough to establish something meaningful.
Right people
A team should be cross-functional, having all the required skills within the team to be successful.
Compelling purpose
Teams need a purpose that brings guidance and a shared commitment.
Wageman and Hackman also identified three enablers:
Sound structure
The team should be small to enable working together. 4 or 5 per team is the sweet spot.
They should tackle tasks together that make sense to be done as a team.
They should have explicit norms about how to behave within the team.
Team coaching
Successful teams benefit from an expert coach who can help them to be effective as a team.
Supportive context
As teams operate in a larger context, structures and systems in that context can be a catalyst for successful teamwork. However, they can also be impediments to success.
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Now that I have discussed the 6 conditions, I will compare fluid and fixed Scrum Teams using these conditions as a frame of reference.
Fluid vs Fixed — Real team
Fixed Scrum Teams are bounded by definition. In the scenario I am discussing here, the three teams will be unchanged for a long period. Fluid Scrum Teams, however, work as one stable group of — in this case — 20 people. This group of 20 people is bounded as well. They have all the opportunities to know each other. As with the fixed teams.
Fixed Scrum Teams are in a position to work together all the time. Fluid Scrum Teams work together on many fronts too. They plan together, they do the Sprint Review together, and they do (a part of) the Sprint Retrospective together.
There’s one area of collaboration where fluid Scrum Teams outshine fixed Scrum Teams. It is how the fluid team self-organizes around the work at hand at the Sprint Planning. Together they decide how they are going to divide themselves into temporary teams to achieve the goals. This strengthens the common sense of purpose.
Fluid teams have the traits of a real team, just like the fixed teams have.
Fluid vs Fixed — Right people
Scrum states teams should be cross-functional to be able to create value with each Sprint. This applies to all fixed teams that together work on the product. For this to work though, the type of work each team will take on should be stable for a longer period. It assumes little variability in the type of work and the team’s skill demand from Sprint to Sprint.
But what happens when a team needs to address a problem that is partly out of their combined skills? Fixed teams need to manage anyway, with the people they have in the team. This can lead to below-par results.
In the case of one fluid team with 20 people, there’s the opportunity to have a group of people that together have more skills than one fixed Scrum Team can ever have. When they organize around the problems at hand they have a higher chance of getting the people with the required skills together.
Fluid Scrum Teams have a higher chance of getting the right people working on the product Increments.
Fluid vs Fixed — Compelling purpose
Both fixed Scrum Teams and Fluid Scrum Teams work towards one common Product Goal. They also both work with Sprint Goals which brings additional focus and cohesion. After all, Scrum is all about defining a goal and working towards this goal.
But fluid teams have an advantage. They organize themselves to optimize the chances to meet the Sprint Goals. By doing so, fluid Scrum Teams allow everyone to be more engaged with the goals.
Fluid Scrum Teams have more opportunities to own the fulfilment of a purpose than fixed Scrum Teams.
Fluid vs Fixed — Sound structure
Fixed Scrum Teams are small. This is a prerequisite for Scrum Teams. In contrast, the size of a fluid Scrum Team appears to be its Achilles heel. However, fluid teams organize themselves into smaller teams. These temporary teams, existing for the Sprint to achieve their goal, should be small too. Only then will they be able to collaborate effectively and be able to work as a true team.
The size of a team matters to be able to work as a team on the tasks at hand. Temporary teams formed from the one fluid Scrum Team are focused on their Sprint Goal, their commitment to the Sprint. They organize in small teams when it matters to be a small team.
In fact, fluid Scrum Teams have more options to organize themselves in teams of 4 to 5 people being able to have the right mix of competencies per goal. It gives them more options to have teams of the ideal size.
Fixed Scrum Teams and the temporary teams from the Fluid Scrum Team both have the same opportunities to achieve their goals. I don’t see a clear difference in the mechanics here.
This also applies to the norms about how to behave within the team. It doesn’t matter here if the team is fixed or fluid.
Fixed Scrum Teams can easily apply a sound structure. Fluid Scrum Teams can achieve this too, but it requires more work. This is especially true for the size of the temporary teams formed for one Sprint only.
Fluid Scrum Teams should be mindful of potential issues and opportunities when organizing into small temporary teams.
Fluid vs Fixed — Team coaching and supportive context
The two remaining enabling conditions, team coaching and supportive context apply to fixed and fluid Scrum Teams in a similar way. These proved to enable teams to be successful regardless of the composition of the teams.
Fluid and fixed teams have the same benefit from team coaching and supportive context.
Fluid Teams and fixed teams both have their merits
After comparing Fluid Scrum Teams with Fixed Scrum Teams using the 6 conditions of successful teams, there is one important conclusion: Scrum is a framework that embraces all these conditions for successful teams.
Scrum embraces all 6 conditions of successful teams.
This means that (traditionally) fixed Scrum Teams, teams that are unchanged for a longer period, tick the boxes of successful teams. After all, these teams use Scrum as it is intended.
And fluid Scrum Teams can also meet all these six conditions. In some cases, they have more options than fixed teams. This is especially true with the topic of organizing around a compelling purpose. In other cases, it requires additional attention. A prime example is a need to have an eye on the size of the temporary subteams. If not managed properly, it can negatively impact the essential condition of a real team.
Fluid Scrum Teams are an alternative for fixed Scrum Teams in a multiple-team setting. This is especially true when the type of work changes often, requiring different combinations of people with different skill sets to achieve the goals every Sprint.
Fluid Scrum Teams are an alternative for fixed Scrum Teams in a multiple team setting.
Here’s some further reading on the topics of fluid Scrum Teams and the 6 conditions of successful teams.
Ruth Wageman | 6 Team Conditions
Have you noticed that we always seem to celebrate "great" individuals? Harvard Business Review names the best 100 CEOs…6teamconditions.com