Four Questions per Team
A standard set of prompts used in each Scrum of Scrums to coordinate multiple teams. A representative from every Scrum Team shares progress, near-term plans, unmet commitments that others rely on, and upcoming work that could impact other teams by answering four specific questions.
Key Points
- What has my team been working on since the last meeting?
- What will my team do until the next meeting?
- What were other teams counting on our team to finish that remains undone?
- What is our team planning to do that might affect other teams?
Example
In a large product initiative with five Scrum Teams, the Scrum of Scrums meets three times a week. The delegate from Team A reports: since the last meeting they completed the authentication API; before the next meeting they will integrate with the billing service; a dependency remains open because the logging module is not finished, which Team C expected; and a planned change to the user profile schema may impact Team B. The group discusses mitigation and updates the cross-team plan accordingly.
PMP Example Question
What is the main purpose of the Four Questions per Team used in a Scrum of Scrums meeting?
- To collect detailed task estimates from every developer
- To align cross-team work by sharing progress, plans, unmet dependencies, and potential impacts
- To approve change requests to the product backlog
- To reassign resources among teams to balance workload
Correct Answer: B — Align cross-team work and surface dependencies
Explanation: The Four Questions per Team focus on interteam coordination: what was done, what is planned, what dependencies are unmet, and what may affect other teams.
