What is the tactic a Scrum Master should use to divide a group of 100 people into multiple Development Teams?

The most effective tactic, aligned with Scrum principles, is for the Scrum Master to facilitate a process where the developers organize themselves into teams. This approach respects the core Scrum value of self-management. The developers, who will be doing the work, are in the best position to determine team compositions that balance skills, foster collaboration, and ensure cross-functionality. The Scrum Master's role is not to dictate team structure but to guide and empower the developers to make these decisions, ensuring they understand the constraints and goals, such as team size and the need for all skills to produce a "Done" Increment.

A. Creating teams based on skills across multiple layers (e.g., a UI team, a database team) establishes component teams, which is an anti-pattern. This creates dependencies between teams and impedes the ability to deliver a fully integrated, valuable Increment each Sprint.
B. The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing product value by managing the Product Backlog. Assigning people to teams is a management function outside the Product Owner's defined responsibilities and undermines the developers' self-management.

1. Schwaber

K.

& Sutherland

J. (2020). The Scrum Guide.

Page 5: "Scrum Teams are self-managing

meaning they internally decide who does what

when

and how." This core principle directly supports the developers organizing themselves.

Page 6: The guide defines the Developers as "the people in the Scrum Team that are committed to creating any aspect of a usable Increment each Sprint." It does not state that an external party should organize them.

2. Scrum.org. (2021). The Nexus Guide.

Page 4: When scaling Scrum

the guide states

"The individual Scrum Teams in a Nexus are self-managing and cross-functional." This reinforces that the principle of self-management in team formation holds true even for large groups.

3. Verheyen

G. (2021). Scrum - A Pocket Guide (3rd edition). Van Haren Publishing.

Section 3.3

"Self-managing": "Scrum requires the people doing the work of creating product Increments to be in charge of how they organize and perform their work... A Scrum Master can help people understand and enact self-management." This highlights the Scrum Master's role as a facilitator

not a director

of team formation.