Scrum PSM-II - Professional Scrum Master II

Splitting a team into two teams is a major decision that should not be taken lightly. It may have implications for the product vision, the product backlog, the sprint goal, the sprint backlog, the definition of done, and the team dynamics. It may also reduce the effectiveness of the Scrum Team by creating dependencies, communication overhead, and coordination challenges. Therefore, before considering such a drastic measure, it is advisable to explore other options to improve the quality and efficiency of the Daily Scrum. One option is to ask for help from another Scrum Master who can observe the Daily Scrum and provide feedback and suggestions.

References:

The Scrum Guide, section 3.2 (The Daily Scrum), page 9

The Scrum Master Learning Path, module 4 (The Daily Scrum), lesson 4 (Common Challenges) and lesson 5 (Tips for an Effective Daily Scrum)

A “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprint” is not a Scrum concept, but a sign of poor engineering practices and weak adherence to the Scrum values and principles. It indicates that the Scrum Team is not delivering a potentially releasable product Increment every Sprint, which is one of the core commitments of Scrum. This could be due to a weak or incomplete Definition of Done, which allows technical debt to accumulate and compromises the quality and usability of the product. It could also be due to the Developers finding it nearly impossible to create a valuable, useful product Increment in a Sprint, which could be caused by various factors such as lack of skills, tools, collaboration, feedback, or empowerment. The Definition of Done is not being met every Sprint, which means that the Scrum Team is not fulfilling its accountability for the Increment and is not transparent about the state of the product.

References:

Scrum Guide 2020, section “Commitments”, “Definition of Done”, “The Sprint”, “The Increment”.

Advanced Knowledge of Scrum, section “Definition of Done”, “Technical Debt”.

Scrum Master Accountabilities, section “Accountability for Effectiveness”.