• Agile Leadership

How do you scale Scrum effectively within larger organizations?

Scrum works top at the team level: one team, one Product Owner, one backlog. But what if you have 10 Scrum teams? In larger organizations, the number of teams grows, and with it, often the complexity. Suddenly, alignment, dependencies and strategic alignment are daily challenges. Frameworks like SAFe or LeSS offer guidance. But truly successful scaling is about intentional organizing around collaboration, value and simplicity. At Scrum Academy, we often say, “You don’t need to manage your complexity, you need to reduce it. Here’s how to get started with that.

A common mistake when scaling Scrum is to literally copy the framework by team. Each team gets its own Scrum Master, Product Owner and rituals. On paper, it makes sense. But in practice, confusion quickly arises:

• Who is actually responsible for the final product?
• How do we prevent teams from working past each other?
• Who aligns priorities between different backlogs?

So effectively scaling does not immediately mean more Scrum, but rather smarter collaboration at scale. This is how you go from one team to a well-functioning ecosystem of teams.

Three principles for effective scaling

1. Maintain one shared goal and one common Roadmap
Once teams are working on the same product, service or domain, it is crucial to work with one common Roadmap. This prevents fragmentation of value and encourages collaboration. Get clear: What is the common “why” of these teams?

2. Choose a scaling framework that fits, but start with your context
They are tools, not guarantees. So don’t blindly choose a framework, but look at what you really need. Sometimes a simple solution is more effective than a scaling model. Our experience: start small, learn fast and don’t let the framework hinder your agility.

3. Minimize dependencies, maximize communication
The fewer dependencies between teams, the better. Organize teams around customer value and ensure short lines of communication. Structural coordination is necessary, but avoid meeting fatigue. Consider: visual overviews, async updates or communities of practice.

Scale only when the value demands it

Scrum scaling requires sharp choices in structure, communication and accountability. And whatever framework you choose: keep it simple, people-oriented and tailored to your context. But also remember this: scaling is certainly not necessary for every organization. Sometimes the best step is not to scale, but to simplify.

Sparring on how to effectively scale Scrum in your organization?

We like to think with you. From experience, without dogma. Contact me for an exploratory talk or short sparring session.