HKSM

A documented roster of the Scrum Team for the initiative, listing the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers with their skills and availability. It is created when forming the team and serves as an input to planning, estimation, and execution processes throughout the project.

Key Points

• Output of Form Scrum Team and an input to many downstream Scrum processes.
• Captures names, roles, skills, capacity per sprint, location, and availability constraints.
• Enables realistic release planning, estimation, and Sprint commitments.
• Supports cross-functional, self-organizing behavior with stable membership.
• Updated when team composition or availability changes, with impacts communicated.
• Essential for scaling, mapping team to Scrum of Scrums participation if applicable.

Purpose

The purpose is to ensure the right people, skills, and capacity are known before planning and delivery begin. A clear roster reduces uncertainty, improves estimation accuracy, and allows the team to self-organize around the product backlog.

It also clarifies accountability across Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers and signals when staffing gaps or dependencies must be addressed.

Key Terms & Clauses

• Cross-functional: The team collectively has all skills to deliver Done increments without outside handoffs.
• Self-organizing: Members select how to do the work; management does not assign tasks.
• Capacity per sprint: The team’s available effort for a sprint, considering holidays, PTO, and other commitments.
• Dedication percentage: The portion of each member’s time committed to the Scrum Team.
• Co-located vs distributed: Notes on time zone overlap and collaboration tools if remote.
• Scrum of Scrums link: Identification of representative(s) if operating with multiple teams.

How to Develop/Evaluate

Develop the roster during team formation by reviewing high-level backlog items and needed skills, confirming roles, and securing availability with functional managers or HR. Capture names, primary and secondary skills, dedication, time zones, and any constraints.

Evaluate completeness by checking cross-functional coverage, team size appropriateness, stability of membership, capacity realism, and overlap for collaboration. Validate that the Product Owner and Scrum Master have enough availability to fulfill their responsibilities.

How to Use

Use the artifact as an input to release planning, user story estimation, and sprint planning to ground velocity and capacity assumptions. Reference it when negotiating scope, sequencing work, or identifying dependency and skill gaps.

Update it when people join, leave, or change availability, and communicate impacts to forecasts and commitments. In scaled settings, use it to coordinate across teams and assign Scrum of Scrums participation.

Example Snippet

• Product Owner: Priya S. — Availability 0.7 FTE — Location: UTC+1.
• Scrum Master: Luis M. — Availability 1.0 FTE — Location: UTC-5.
• Developers (5): Backend (2), Frontend (2), QA/Automation (1) — Total capacity: ~60 points per 2-week sprint.
• Notes: Two members 50% dedicated for first sprint; 3-hour time zone overlap; QA automation in place.

Risks & Tips

• Risk: Part-time Product Owner or Scrum Master causing delays in decisions and impediment removal.
• Risk: Narrow specialization leading to bottlenecks and uneven workload.
• Risk: High churn or late staffing undermining estimates and team cohesion.
• Tip: Aim for stable, small, cross-functional teams and protect dedicated time.
• Tip: Make the roster visible, keep it current, and reflect capacity changes in plans immediately.
• Tip: Encourage cross-skilling to reduce single points of failure and improve flow.

PMP/SCRUM Example Question

During release planning, the Product Owner asks for a velocity forecast, but the team roster and capacities are not yet confirmed. What should the Scrum Master do first?

1. Ask Developers to provide rough velocity based on best-case assumptions.
2. Complete team formation to produce the Identified Scrum Team and confirm availability.
3. Increase the sprint length to offset the uncertainty in capacity.
4. Break epics into tasks to get detailed hour estimates.

Correct Answer: B — Complete team formation to produce the Identified Scrum Team and confirm availability.

Explanation: Reliable forecasting depends on known team composition and capacity. The Identified Scrum Team is a prerequisite input for release planning and estimation.