From multi-agent chaos to coordinated collaboration.
How SCRUM MCP evolved from basic coordination to verified compliance and real-time team collaboration. See the journey from "trust everyone" to "share to integrate".
No Coordination: The Wild West
You have a codebase. Multiple AI agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini, etc.) are working on it simultaneously. What could go wrong? Everything.
Agent A: "I'll add JWT auth to routes.ts" Agent B: "I'll restructure routes.ts for better organization" Agent C: "I'll fix the login function in auth.ts" [30 seconds later] Agent A commits: routes.ts with new auth middleware Agent B commits: routes.ts completely restructured (overwrites A) Agent C commits: auth.ts with bug fix (conflicts with A's changes) Final state: Broken. Agent A's auth is gone. Agent C's fix doesn't match the new auth system.
The Costs
Coordination Without Verification
SCRUM v0.3 introduced the intent-claim-evidence workflow: declare what you plan to do, lock the files, prove your work.
Agent A: scrum_intent_post(files: ["auth.ts", "routes.ts"])
Agent A: scrum_claim(files: ["auth.ts", "routes.ts"])
Agent B: scrum_overlap_check(files: ["routes.ts"])
→ "routes.ts claimed by Agent A"
Agent B: "I'll wait or work on something else"
Agent A finishes → evidence → release
Agent B can now proceed
Problems solved: No more overwriting each other's work. Clear audit trail. But there was still a gap...
Agent A says: "I'll modify auth.ts and routes.ts" Agent A actually modifies: auth.ts, routes.ts, AND config.ts, database.ts v0.3 response: "OK! Here's your release." But wait... - config.ts wasn't declared (scope creep) - database.ts might be critical for another agent - Nobody knows until a bug appears days later
Coordination With Verification
SCRUM v0.4 added compliance verification: agents can't proceed until their work matches their declared intent. From "trust but record" to "verify then trust".
The Compliance Check
{
score: 100, // 0-100 compliance score
canComplete: true, // All requirements met?
checks: {
intentPosted: ✓, // Did they declare intent?
evidenceAttached: ✓, // Did they prove it works?
filesMatch: {
declared: ["auth.ts", "routes.ts"],
modified: ["auth.ts", "routes.ts"],
undeclared: [], // Modified but not declared
},
boundariesRespected: {
violations: [], // Files touched that were off-limits
}
}
}
Self-Correction in Action
Agent A: scrum_compliance_check(taskId, agentId)
{
score: 50,
canComplete: false,
checks: {
filesMatch: { passed: false, undeclared: ["config.ts"] },
boundariesRespected: { passed: false, violations: ["config.ts"] }
},
nextSteps: [
"Revert changes to config.ts (boundary violation)",
"Or update your intent to include config.ts"
]
}
Agent A: "Oh! I didn't mean to touch config.ts. Let me revert."
[Agent A reverts config.ts]
Agent A: scrum_compliance_check → score: 100, canComplete: true
Agent A: scrum_claim_release() → Success!
Enforcement Results
Sprint: Multi-Agent Collaboration
v0.4 solved conflict prevention for solo agents. But what about when multiple agents need to work together on the same complex task?
Orchestrator: "3 sub-agents, implement auth system together" Sub-Agent 1 (Backend): "I'll create the JWT service" Sub-Agent 2 (Frontend): "I'll build the login form" Sub-Agent 3 (Tests): "I'll write integration tests" [All three work in isolation] Result: - Backend uses bcrypt, Frontend expects argon2 - Frontend calls /api/login, Backend exposes /auth/signin - Tests test the wrong API shape Total integration time: 4 hours of debugging mismatches
What Sprint Adds
Sprint is a shared context space where agents broadcast decisions, interfaces, and discoveries in real-time.
The Same Scenario, With Sprint
Orchestrator: scrum_sprint_create(taskId, goal: "Implement auth")
→ sprintId: "sprint-abc"
Sub-Agent 1 (Backend):
scrum_sprint_join(sprintId, workingOn: "JWT service", focusArea: "backend")
scrum_sprint_share(decision: "Using bcrypt for passwords")
scrum_sprint_share(interface: "POST /auth/signin → { token }")
Sub-Agent 2 (Frontend):
scrum_sprint_join(sprintId, workingOn: "Login form", focusArea: "frontend")
scrum_sprint_context(sprintId)
→ decisions: ["Using bcrypt"]
→ interfaces: ["POST /auth/signin specification"]
"Perfect! I'll call /auth/signin with the exact shape specified."
scrum_sprint_share(question: "Where to store refresh tokens?")
Sub-Agent 1 (Backend):
scrum_sprint_check(sprintId)
→ unansweredQuestions: ["Where to store refresh tokens?"]
scrum_sprint_share(answer: "Use httpOnly cookies for XSS protection")
Sub-Agent 3 (Tests):
scrum_sprint_context(sprintId)
→ All decisions, interfaces, and Q&A available
"I have everything I need to write accurate tests!"
Measured Impact
Evolution at a Glance
| Aspect | No SCRUM | v0.3 | v0.4 | v0.5 | v0.5.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conflict Prevention | None | Claims | Claims | Claims | Claims |
| Intent Declaration | None | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Scope Verification | None | Trusted | Enforced | Enforced | Enforced |
| Boundary Protection | None | Declared | Enforced | Enforced | Enforced |
| Multi-Agent Collab | None | None | None | Sprint | Sprint |
| Shared Decisions | None | None | None | Real-time | Real-time |
| Interface Contracts | None | None | None | Explicit | Explicit |
| Team Q&A | None | None | None | Self-service | Self-service |
| MCP Tool Count | N/A | ~30 | ~40 | 56 | 32 |
| Profile Discovery | None | None | None | None | Solo/Team/Full |
The Journey
Result: Chaos. Merge conflicts. Lost work.
Better coordination, but scope creep still possible.
Compliance verification. Agents self-correct before releasing.
Multi-agent teams understand each other's code. Best collaborative output.
56 tools → 32 tools. Action-based tools, profile discovery, better usability.
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