Handling a Scrum team of 20 members can be challenging, as it goes beyond the recommended team size (which is typically 5-9 members). However, there are strategies you can use to manage a large Scrum team effectively while still adhering to Agile principles. Here’s how you can handle a large Scrum team of 20 members:

1. Split the Team into Smaller Scrum Teams

Why: Scrum works best with small, cross-functional teams. A large team can slow down communication, make decision-making more complex, and reduce agility. Splitting the team into smaller Scrum teams (e.g., two teams of 10 or even three teams of 6-7) will help improve collaboration and efficiency.
How to Do It: Organize teams based on shared goals or features. Each smaller team should have a balanced mix of skills (developers, testers, designers, etc.) to ensure they can work independently. Make sure each team has its own Scrum ceremonies (Daily Standup, Sprint Planning, Retrospective, etc.).

2. Establish Clear Roles and Responsibilities

Why: With 20 people, role overlap and confusion can happen easily. It’s important to have clear roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, developers, QA, etc.) and ensure everyone knows their responsibilities.
How to Do It: Clearly define the role of each team member and ensure they are accountable for specific tasks or areas. Avoid having too many people involved in decision-making, which can slow things down.

3. Use Scrum-of-Scrums for Cross-Team Collaboration

Why: When you split the team, you still need communication between teams. A "Scrum of Scrums" meeting brings representatives from each team together to discuss progress, dependencies, and issues that affect the larger project.
How to Do It: Hold these Scrum-of-Scrums meetings regularly, where team representatives share updates and resolve cross-team dependencies. This helps keep all teams aligned on the overall goal without overwhelming daily standups.

4. Optimize Sprint Planning and Review Sessions

Why: Sprint Planning and Review sessions with 20 people can become time-consuming and inefficient. Splitting the team and staggering these sessions helps manage time better.
How to Do It: If the teams are working on different areas of the product, consider holding separate sprint planning sessions for each team. For sprint reviews, have each team present their progress independently, or hold a joint review with concise presentations.

5. Manage Dependencies Carefully

Why: Large teams often have more dependencies between members or sub-teams. Managing these dependencies is crucial to prevent bottlenecks and ensure smooth progress.
How to Do It: Use tools like dependency matrices or product roadmaps to identify and track dependencies. Ensure that teams communicate dependencies during Sprint Planning and Scrum-of-Scrums meetings to address them early.

6. Ensure Regular and Effective Communication

Why: In larger teams, there is a higher chance of miscommunication or silos forming. Regular, clear communication is key to avoiding these problems.
How to Do It: Encourage open channels of communication across teams using tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. Set clear expectations for how and when teams should communicate to ensure transparency and collaboration.

7. Focus on Continuous Improvement

Why: Large teams tend to have more challenges related to efficiency, collaboration, and alignment. Continuous improvement through retrospectives will help address these challenges.
How to Do It: Conduct separate retrospectives for each smaller team to ensure everyone has a voice, then bring common findings to the Scrum-of-Scrums or management. Make actionable plans to improve collaboration and solve any issues that arise.

8. Align with a Strong Product Owner

Why: A clear and focused Product Owner is essential for keeping 20 people aligned on priorities and ensuring that the team works on the most valuable features.
How to Do It: Make sure the Product Owner is empowered to make decisions quickly and communicates clearly with all sub-teams. They should manage the backlog effectively, ensuring it’s groomed and prioritized for each team.

9. Leverage Agile Tools for Transparency

Why: With a large team, it’s harder to maintain visibility into progress. Agile tools can help keep everyone on the same page.
How to Do It: Use tools like Jira, Trello, or Azure DevOps to track tasks, sprints, and progress. Ensure that all team members and stakeholders have access to these tools and that they are updated regularly.

Conclusion

Managing a Scrum team of 20 people can be complex, but by splitting the team into smaller, cross-functional Scrum teams, establishing clear roles, and using a Scrum-of-Scrums for coordination, you can maintain agility and productivity. Regular communication, dependency management, and continuous improvement will be key to ensuring that the teams work effectively toward their shared goals.

How Do You Handle A Scrum Team Of 20 Members

9 Proven ways you can apply when you have team as big as 20 members

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