Should Scrum Teams be Dedicated to a Single Product?

One of the most common questions in Agile transformations is:

➡️ Do Scrum teams have to be dedicated to a single product?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. However, there are clear scenarios where dedication makes sense and others where flexibility is the better approach. Here’s how to decide:

When Teams Can Work on Multiple Products:

✅ The team is small, and I don’t have enough people to create multiple teams.

✅ Each product requires minimal ongoing development and support.

✅ The products share similar technology stacks, reducing cognitive load.

✅ The work cadence allows for clear separation of priorities.

✅ Stakeholders can align Sprint focus to minimize disruptions.

💡 Tip: Even if your team supports multiple products, you can reduce context-switching costs by dedicating each Sprint to a single product. This prevents constant shifting between priorities.

When Teams Should Be Dedicated to a Single Product:

✅ The product requires deep focus, and context switching would hurt velocity.

✅ There’s a large backlog of work with tight deadlines.

✅ The product has a steep learning curve, requiring deep expertise.

✅ The team needs to be highly responsive to customer feedback and releases.

✅ Compliance, security, or regulatory constraints demand continuous attention.

Final Thoughts

Scrum thrives on focus, but flexibility is sometimes necessary. If you must split a team across multiple products, be intentional about minimizing distractions. Whether dedicating teams fully or partially, the key is optimizing for value delivery while reducing unnecessary friction.

How does your organization structure its teams? Let’s discuss! 👇