Who assigns ownership of the Sprint Backlog items during the Sprint? (Choose the best answer)

According to the official Scrum Guide, the Sprint Backlog is a plan created "by and for the Developers." The Developers are a self-managing entity within the Scrum Team. This means they collectively own the Sprint Backlog and determine how to accomplish the work. Work is not assigned to individuals by an external party; rather, team members pull tasks from the Sprint Backlog as they have the capacity. This fosters collective ownership, shared responsibility, and a unified commitment to achieving the Sprint Goal. The entire group of Developers is accountable for the Sprint Backlog, not any single individual.

A. While skills influence which member pulls a task, it is not a mechanism for assigning ownership; ownership remains collective with the Developers.
B. Individuals work on items, but the accountability for the entire Sprint Backlog rests with the Developers as a unit, not with individuals for specific items.
D. The Product Owner is accountable for the Product Backlog and maximizing product value, not for managing or owning the Sprint Backlog.

1. Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. Scrum.org. In the "Sprint Backlog" section, it is defined as "a plan by and for the Developers." The "Developers" section states, "They are self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how." This establishes collective ownership and internal work allocation.

2. Sutherland, J., & Schwaber, K. (2013). Software in 30 Days: How Agile Managers Beat the Odds, Delight Their Customers, And Leave Competitors in the Dust. Wiley. Chapter 3, "The Team," emphasizes that the team as a whole commits to the work in a Sprint, reinforcing the principle of shared accountability over individual assignment.

3. Rising, L., & Janoff, N. S. (2000). The Scrum software development process for small teams. IEEE Software, 17(4), 26-32. https://doi.org/10.1109/52.854065. On page 30, the authors note, "The team signs up for the work, not individuals," which directly supports the concept of collective ownership of the Sprint Backlog.