Which statement best reflects the common misinterpretation about Scrum Team size?

• A. Many people misinterpret the Scrum Guide as stating the Scrum Team size is limited to 10 members, which is not. As the number of members increases, the lines of communication also increase. This can be calculated using the Group intercommunication formula: n(n − 1) / 2 where n is the number of members. Some teams are able to handle the risk and "synergize" whereas others might struggle. Saying that the relationship between defining a Sprint Goal and Development Team size is unclear.
• B. Scrum teams must be exactly 10 members
• C. The larger the team, the easier it is to coordinate
• D. The Scrum Guide requires a fixed Sprint length depending on team size

Answer: (A)

A common misinterpretation is thinking the Scrum Guide sets a hard cap of 10 members for the Scrum Team. In reality, Scrum favors small, nimble teams and suggests a practical range for developers, with complexity and communication growing as the team gets larger. The idea that lines of communication increase roughly as n(n−1)/2 helps explain why a larger team becomes harder to coordinate. This misinterpretation also tends to surface because people try to apply a simple rule to a complex social system, and it’s easy to overgeneralize from a heuristic about communication. The statement reflects that misconception and ties it to the practical consequence that more people add communication overhead and risk, rather than stating a strict rule.

The other options don’t fit because Scrum does not mandate an exact size of ten, larger teams do not inherently coordinate more easily, and the Sprint length is not fixed by team size.