Nexus Guide Change History

Changes between 2018 and 2021 Nexus Guide

Find the latest version of the Nexus Guide here.
Listen to a podcast discussing the changes here.

1. 2021 Nexus Guide changes reflect updates made to the latest version of the Scrum Guide.
   1. The 2020 Scrum Guide introduces the Product Goal and commitments. It describes the cross-functional and self-managing Scrum Team who chooses who, how and what to work on. The 2021 Nexus Guide mirrors these changes.
2. What is the goal of the Nexus framework?
   1. A new Nexus Theory section states that the goal of Nexus is to scale the value that a group of Scrum Teams, working on a single product, is able to deliver. It does this by focusing on increasing transparency in order to reduce the complexity that those teams will encounter as they work together. This means, as mentioned in the updated Nexus Guide, that scaling-down, can be an important practice in delivering more value.
   2. Cross-team dependencies, team self-management, transparency, and accountability are common scaling challenges. In the software domain, these dependencies are related to Requirements, Domain Knowledge, and Software and Test Artifacts. These categories have been removed to make the Nexus Guide more generally applicable to domains outside software development.
   3. From a product development perspective, cross-team dependencies are often caused by mismatches in Product Structure and Communication Structure. This description has been added.
3. Purpose-driven Nexus Events
   1. The Sprint is explicitly labeled as an event where the Scrum Teams in a Nexus produce a single Integrated Increment. It is the same as in Scrum.
   2. Refinement is now renamed Cross-Team Refinement. Cross-Team Refinement of the Product Backlog reduces or eliminates cross-team dependencies within a Nexus.
   3. Nexus Sprint Planning and Nexus Sprint Retrospectives Events are less prescriptive with the removal of the steps to conduct them. Instead, the purposes of each event are stated.
      1. Nexus framework diagram with changes to Nexus Sprint Planning and Nexus Sprint Retrospective updated accordingly.
   4. Improved clarity and conciseness
      1. The 2021 Nexus Guide, like the 2020 Scrum Guide, removes prescriptive language and also simplifies language for a wider audience.

Changes between 2015 and 2018 Nexus Guide

Find the latest version of the Nexus Guide here.

1. Updated description of the Nexus Guide from “The exoskeleton of scaled Scrum development” to “The Definitive Guide to scaling Scrum with Nexus: The Rules of the Game.”
   1. Nexus defined as “a relationship or connection between people or things.”
2. In Nexus Process Flow, language change to focus on the teams rather than individual members, “A Nexus consists of multiple cross-functional Scrum Teams working together to deliver a potentially releasable Integrated Increment at least by the end of each Sprint.” Have also added that based on dependencies, the teams may self-organize and select the most appropriate members to do specific work.
3. Clarity around the Nexus Integration Team role
   1. The Nexus Integration Team are often members of the individual Scrum Teams of the Nexus. This composition supports the necessity of bottom-up intelligence from the individual Scrum Teams within the Nexus.
   2. The Nexus Integration Team is not actually doing the integration.  The individual Scrum Teams perform the integration work.
   3. Removed definition that the Nexus Integration Team is a Scrum Team as this has caused confusion that they are permanently a separate Scrum Team within the Nexus
4. Refinement moved in Nexus Events to before Nexus Sprint Planning.
   1. Refinement is no longer prescribed as two parts.  Language focuses on transparency rather than visualization.
   2. Removed reference to Refinement as “meetings” and rather just “Refinement.”
   3. Stress on Refinement being continuous throughout the Sprint as necessary and appropriate.
5. The Nexus Goal is not specified as an input or output of Nexus Sprint Planning as this may vary, but rather as a goal that the Product Owner discusses during Nexus Sprint Planning.  Removed language about the necessity of being in a collocated space.
   1. Nexus Goal is now Nexus Sprint Goal and is no longer listed as a new artifact to be consistent with the Scrum Framework.
   2. Removed from Table of Contents
6. Nexus Daily Scrum is an opportunity for teams to look at cross-team impacts in addition to cross-team dependencies.
   1. The Nexus Daily Scrum is not the only time the Nexus Sprint Backlog should be adjusted.  It is the minimum time when the teams should come together to adjust the Nexus Sprint Backlog to reflect their understanding of the work and dependencies between the teams.
   2. The Nexus Daily Scrum is when the Development Teams in the Nexus inspect progress toward the Nexus Sprint Goal.
7. Nexus Sprint Review is not a show and tell, as it is not in Scrum – added language that it is also an opportunity to adapt the Product Backlog if needed. Also, mentioned the need for feedback in the Nexus Sprint Review description in “Nexus Process Flow” on page 4
8. Added that the Nexus Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for the Nexus to inspect and adapt itself and create a plan for improvement to be enacted the next Sprint.
   1. Similar to the Scrum Guide update, the Nexus Sprint Retrospective exists to ensure continuous improvement for the Nexus.
9. The Integrated Increment represents the current state of the integrated work.
10. Definition of “Done” specifies that the Integrated Increment must be integrated.
11. In “Artifact Transparency,” removed the statement “the test of unacceptable technical debt is when integration occurs, and it remains unclear that all dependencies are resolved.” Replaced with “Software must be developed so that dependencies are detected and resolved before technical debt becomes unacceptable to the Nexus.”
12. Removed paragraph on software practices. While important and relevant, the topic would have to be further elaborated to add any value.
13. Creative commons added.