LeSS (Large Scale Scrum) Rules
from http://less.works as of April 2016

LeSS Structure

LeSS Sprint

The LeSS framework applies to products with 2-“8” teams.

Teams

There is one product-level Sprint, not a different Sprint for each Team.
Each Team starts and ends the Sprint at the same time. Each Sprint
results in an integrated whole product.

• Structure the organization using real teams as the basicorganizational building block.

Sprint Planning• Each team is (1) self-managing, (2) cross-functional, (3) co-located,and (4) long-lived.

• Sprint Planning consists of two parts: Sprint Planning One iscommon for all teams while Sprint Planning Two is usually done
separately for each team. Do multi-team Sprint Planning Two in ashared space for closely related items.

• The majority of the teams are customer-focused feature teams.

Scrum Masters• Scrum Masters are responsible for a well-working LeSS adoption.
Their focus is towards the Teams, Product Owner, organization, anddevelopment practices. A Scrum Master does not focus on just one
team but on the overall organizational system.

• Sprint Planning One is attended by the Product Owner and Teams orTeam representatives. They together tentatively select the items thateach team will work on the that Sprint. The Teams identify
opportunities to work together and final questions are clarified.
• Each Team has their own Sprint Backlog.

• One Scrum Master can serve 1-3 teams.

• Sprint Planning Two is for Teams to decide how they will do theselected items. This usually involves design and the creation of theirSprint Backlogs.

ManagersSprint Execution• In LeSS, managers are optional, but if managers do exist their role islikely to change. Their focus shifts from managing the day-to-day
product work to improving the value-delivering capability of theproduct development system.

• Each Team has their own Daily Scrum.

• A Scrum Master is a dedicated full-time role.

• Managers’ role is to improve the product development system bypracticing Go See, encouraging Stop & Fix, and “experiments overconformance.”

Adoption• For the product group, establish the complete LeSS structure “at thestart”; this is vital for a LeSS adoption.
• For the larger organization beyond the product group, adopt LeSSevolutionarily using Go and See to create an organization whereexperimentation and improvement is the norm.

• Cross-team coordination is decided by the teams. Prefer decentralized
and informal coordination over centralized coordination. Emphasize
Just Talk and informal networks via communicate in code, crossteam meetings, component mentors, travelers, scouts, and openspaces.

Backlog Refinement• Product Backlog Refinement (PBR) is done per team for the items
they are likely going to do in the future. Do multi-team and/or overall
PBR to increase shared understanding and exploiting coordination
opportunities when having closely related items or a need for broader
input/learning

Sprint Review• There is one product Sprint Review; it is common for all teams.
Ensure that suitable stakeholders join to contribute the informationneeded for effective inspection and adaptation.

LeSS ProductSprint Retrospective
There is one Product Owner and one Product Backlog for the complete
shippable product.
The Product Owner shouldn’t work alone on Product Backlog
refinement; he is supported by the multiple Teams working directlywith customers/users and other stakeholders.

• Each Team has their own Sprint Retrospective.
• An Overall Retrospective is held after the Team Retrospectives todiscuss cross-team and system-wide issues, and create improvementexperiments. This is attended by Product Owner, Scrum Masters,
Team representatives, and managers (if any).

All prioritization goes through the Product Owner, but clarification is as
much as possible directly between the Teams and customer/users andother stakeholders.
The definition of product should be as broad and end-user/customer
centric as is practical. Over time, the definition of product might
expand. Broader definitions are preferred.
One Definition of Done for the whole product common for all teams.
Each team can have their own stronger Definition of Done by
expanding the common one.
The perfection goal is to improve the Definition of Done so that it
results in a shippable product each Sprint (or even more frequently).

Copyright © 2014 ~ 2017 The LeSS Company B.V. All Rights Reserved

LeSS Huge Rules
from http://less.works as of April 2016

LeSS Huge Structure
LeSS Huge applies to products with “8+” teams. Avoid applying LeSS
Huge for smaller product groups as it will result in more overhead andlocal optimizations.
All LeSS rules apply to LeSS Huge, unless otherwise stated. EachRequirement Area acts like the basic LeSS framework.

Requirements Areas• Customer requirements that are strongly related from a customer
perspective are grouped in Requirement Areas.
• Each Team specializes in one Requirement Area. Teams stay in one
area for a long time. When there is more value in other areas, teams
might change Requirement Area
• Each Requirement Area has one Area Product Owner.
• Each Requirement Area has between “4-8” teams. Avoid violating thisrange.

Incremental Adoption• LeSS Huge adoptions, including the structural changes, are done withan evolutionary incremental approach.
• Remember each day: LeSS Huge adoptions take months or years,
infinite patience, and sense of humor.

LeSS Huge ProductProduct Owner• Each Requirement Area has one Area Product Owner.
• One (overall) Product Owner is responsible for product-wideprioritization and deciding which teams work in which Area. Heworks closely with Area Product Owners.
• Area Product Owners act as Product Owners towards their teams.

Product Backlog• There is one Product Backlog; every item in it belongs to exactly one
Requirement Area.
• There is one Area Product Backlog per Requirement Area. Thisbacklog is conceptually a more granular view onto the one ProductBacklog.

LeSS Huge Sprint
There is one product-level Sprint, not a different Sprint for each
Requirement Area. It ends in one integrated whole product.
The Product Owner and Area Product Owners synchronize frequently.
Before Sprint Planning they ensure the Teams work on the mostvaluable items. After the Sprint Review, they further enable productlevel adaptations.

Copyright © 2014 ~ 2017 The LeSS Company B.V. All Rights Reserved