Yes, it’s possible, and sometimes necessary, or more than one role to be responsible or even accountable for certain tasks in Scrum, especially in complex or cross-functional activities. Here are some scenarios where multiple roles might share responsibility or accountability:
1. Backlog Refinement
Who is Responsible: Both the Product Owner and the Development Team can be responsible for backlog refinement.
Why: While the Product Owner drives the prioritization and content of the backlog, the Development Team is responsible for ensuring the stories are clear, feasible, and well-defined for upcoming sprints. They collaborate to refine and break down user stories, discuss requirements, and estimate effort.
Accountability: In some teams, the Product Owner and Development Team might both be seen as accountable to ensure the backlog is ready for sprints, as an unclear backlog impacts the team's ability to commit effectively in Sprint Planning.
2. Release Planning
Who is Responsible: The Product Owner (for prioritization) and the Development Team (for technical feasibility and delivery).
Why: Release planning requires alignment between business priorities (Product Owner) and technical considerations (Development Team). Both roles work together to determine the feasible scope of a release and assess dependencies and risk.
Accountability: Here, the Product Owner is often ultimately accountable for defining the release scope based on business needs, but the Development Team may also share accountability, especially if the release scope or quality directly impacts user satisfaction.
3. Sprint Goals and Commitments
Who is Responsible: Both the Scrum Master (to ensure process adherence) and the Development Team (to achieve the goals).
Why: The Development Team is responsible for delivering the work, but the Scrum Master ensures they are equipped, not distracted, and focused on the sprint goals. They both share the responsibility of achieving the sprint’s commitment.
Accountability: The Development Team is accountable for achieving the sprint goal, while the Scrum Master is accountable for the team’s adherence to Scrum practices that support goal achievement.
4. Stakeholder Communication
Who is Responsible: Both the Product Owner and Scrum Master can be responsible for stakeholder communication.
Why: The Product Owner typically communicates priorities and business updates to stakeholders, while the Scrum Master may provide updates related to team dynamics, process improvements, or technical impediments impacting delivery.
Accountability: The Product Owner might be accountable for content that influences business decisions, but the Scrum Master could also be accountable if process-related updates (like impediments) affect project timelines or stakeholder expectations.
5. User Story Definition and Acceptance Criteria
Who is Responsible: Both the Product Owner (for writing and prioritizing) and the Development Team (for validating feasibility and completeness).
Why: Writing user stories and defining acceptance criteria require a strong collaboration between the Product Owner and Development Team to ensure stories are both valuable and implementable.
Accountability: Although the Product Owner may be primarily accountable for well-defined stories, the Development Team shares accountability in verifying the stories are technically achievable.
When Shared Accountability Works Well
Shared accountability and responsibility work best in Scrum when:
Clear Communication: Roles know their shared accountability limits to prevent confusion.
Collaborative Culture: The team respects each other’s expertise and works towards a common goal.
Defined Ownership: While multiple roles may collaborate, having a single final decision-maker per task reduces ambiguity.
Using shared responsibilities strategically can bring balance and collaborative strength to the team’s workflow, fostering ownership while maintaining Agile’s flexibility and adaptability.
Food for your Thoughts
We’d love to hear your insights in the comments below!
If you’re already using RACI or planning to implement it, what’s your approach? How have you put RACI into practice in your organization, or how are you envisioning it? What lessons have you learned (or do you anticipate learning) along the way?
When responsibility is defined but things still go sideways… what then? What does your escalation path look like when unexpected issues arise, and how do you tackle these moments of uncertainty?
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