Hosting a Review can be challenging when multiple Scrum Teams work on a single Product. When the number of developers and stakeholders grows, it will become increasingly complex to review the Sprint effectively. It will be harder to optimize transparency. Another challenge is that a Product Owner may find it hard to join all the various Sprint Reviews of the different Scrum Teams.
So, larger Scrum organizations require more careful event planning. When multiple Scrum Teams collaborate on a single large product, the Product Owner and Scrum Master can collaborate to host the Sprint Review as a shared *forum*. A forum provides a platform for addressing various simultaneous topics/areas. The Review Forum might also be called a Nexus Review, Bazaar Review, or Review Marketplace.
As a general rule of thumb, the forum begins with a shared keynote, generally by the Product Owner highlighting the overall vision and the current Product Goal. The Product Owner will emphasize that the purpose of the Sprint Review is to inspect the outcome of the Sprint and determine future adaptations. The Developers may then introduce what they accomplished. In breakouts, they invite stakeholders to inspect what has changed and collaborate on what to do next. The Product Owner may help delegate the attendance of Stakeholders so that each breakout enjoys a reasonable number of participants to allow for effective collaboration. Each breakout captures its feedback and potential changes.
Now that the developers have reviewed their Sprint, it’s time for the Product Owner and key stakeholders to share what has changed in their environment. They may share important information about developments in the market, user feedback, and other (product) telemetry.
The forum may also allow for other workshops. For example, Liberating Structures can be applied, such as a Fishbowl or Celebrity Interview. Also, Product Training sessions could be hosted during a Forum so that Stakeholders learn how to use the latest updates.
To conclude the Review Forum, the Product Owner will review the outcomes of the breakout sessions and input from the environment to determine what to do next. The Product Backlog may be adjusted to reflect changes. Once a Product Goal is achieved, a new Product Goal is communicated.
Positive appraisals are key to a psychologically safe Forum Review. Individuals may be anxious during large events. Consider positive feedback mechanisms such as “Glow and Grow”.
10 minutes: Invite participants to draw and visualize an agenda for a (fictional) Forum Review. They may use paper or a virtual board. They can be encouraged to use their creativity and may deviate from the format.
5 minutes: After 10 minutes participants can pair up. They may review each other’s agendas. They may give positive feedback: “what I like about it is ...” & “what might make it even better is...”