Scrum PSM II Practice Test - Questions Answers, Page 2

A Definition of Ready (DoR) is a set of agreements that lets everyone know when a product backlog item is ready to be taken into a sprint12.A DoR can help the Scrum Team ensure that the product backlog items are clear, feasible, valuable, and testable12. However, a DoR does not necessarily maximize the team's velocity, nor does it ensure that the sprint planning can end within its timebox.Velocity is a measure of how much work a team can complete in a sprint, and it depends on many factors, such as the team's capacity, skills, collaboration, and quality standards3. A DoR may help the team avoid wasting time on unclear or incomplete items, but it does not guarantee that the team can deliver more value or faster. Similarly, a DoR may help the team prepare for the sprint planning, but it does not guarantee that the team can finish the planning within its timebox. The sprint planning is an empirical and collaborative event, where the team inspects the product backlog, negotiates with the product owner, and crafts a sprint goal and a sprint backlog . A DoR may reduce some uncertainties and risks, but it does not eliminate them. The team still needs to adapt to changing requirements and expectations, and make realistic and meaningful commitments .

This is the best answer because it is consistent with the Scrum Master's accountability to educate and coach the Scrum Team and the organization on the Scrum framework and its principles12.By coaching the Product Owner and the Developers on the purpose of Scrum events, the Scrum Master can help them understand that the Daily Scrum is not a status report or a performance review, but a time to inspect and adapt their progress toward the Sprint Goal34.By letting them figure out how to deal with this situation, the Scrum Master can also respect and enable their self-organization and collaboration12.

When scaling Scrum, it is important to have multiple Scrum Teams working from one Product Backlog, because this ensures that they are aligned on the same product vision, goal, and value12.Having one Product Backlog also helps to reduce duplication, inconsistency, and waste, and to optimize the flow of work and feedback12.The Product Owner is accountable for managing the Product Backlog and ensuring that it is transparent, ordered, and refined for the multiple Scrum Teams3.The Scrum Teams collaborate with the Product Owner and each other to deliver a single integrated product Increment every Sprint3.

B) Developers with an interest in Stella's domain could volunteer to take on this work in their respective Scrum Teams.

This is a good solution because it is consistent with the Scrum value ofcommitment, which means that the Scrum Team members are willing to learn new skills and take on new challenges to deliver value12.By volunteering to take on this work, the Developers can reduce the dependency on Stella, increase their cross-functionality, and collaborate more effectively within and across the Scrum Teams34. F. Ask Stella for a plan to hire and train additional people in her domain, and in the meantime work with the Product Owner and Scrum Teams to re-prioritize the work so that tasks not depending on Stella can be done first

This is another good solution because it is consistent with the Scrum principle ofempiricism, which means that the Scrum Team learns and adapts based on the actual outcomes and feedback, rather than following a predefined plan12. By asking Stella for a plan to hire and train additional people, the Scrum Master can help address the root cause of the dependency and create more capacity and diversity in Stella's domain.By working with the Product Owner and Scrum Teams to re-prioritize the work, the Scrum Master can also help optimize the value and feasibility of the product backlog items, and enable the Scrum Teams to deliver valuable and functional increments every Sprint34. G. Create a team with Stella and identify people from the Scrum Teams to temporarily work in Stella's domain to learn to better serve the existing teams

This is also a good solution because it is consistent with the Scrum value ofrespect, which means that the Scrum Team members appreciate and value each other's skills and perspectives12. By creating a team with Stella, the Scrum Master can acknowledge and leverage Stella's expertise and experience in her domain.By identifying people from the Scrum Teams to temporarily work in Stella's domain, the Scrum Master can also facilitate knowledge transfer and skill development among the team members, which can improve their self-organization and collaboration34.

The Scrum values of courage, openness, and respect are touched in this situation. Courage means that the Scrum Team members have the courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems, and also to speak up when they have concerns or disagreements. Openness means that the Scrum Team members and stakeholders agree to be open about all the work and the challenges with performing the work. Respect means that the Scrum Team members respect each other to be capable, independent people, and also respect the opinions and ideas of others.

In this case, the newest developer showed courage by expressing his feelings during the Sprint Retrospective, which is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements. The rest of the Developers should have been more open to listening to his perspective and ideas throughout the Sprint, as they might have valuable insights or suggestions for improving the product or the process. The Developers should also have respected the newest developer as a member of the team, and given him a fair chance to contribute and collaborate with them.

The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 13-14

What are the 5 Scrum Values?, Visual Paradigm, accessed on September 30, 2023

Scrum Values Poster, Scrum.org, accessed on September 30, 2023

According to the Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) framework, one of the principles for scaling agile development is to descale the organization, which means simplifying the structure and reducing dependencies and handoffs. A well-structured Product Backlog can help achieve this by enabling feature teams, which are cross-functional and cross-component teams that can deliver a complete customer-centric feature. Feature teams minimize and often eliminate Developers working on multiple Scrum Teams during a Sprint, as they can focus on one Product Backlog item at a time. This also improves productivity, quality, and learning, as Developers can avoid context switching and multitasking, which are known to reduce efficiency and effectiveness. A person working on multiple Scrum Teams at the same time is often less productive than when that person can focus on the Sprint Backlog of a single Scrum Team.

The Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) framework also states that Scrum does not change when scaling up to multiple teams. The core Scrum framework remains intact, with one Product Owner, one Product Backlog, and potentially releasable Increments every Sprint. The only changes are adding a few coordination practices to cope with the increased complexity and interdependencies. Therefore, changes to the core Scrum framework are not needed to be successful with Scrum at large scale.

Scrum Team members do not have to be working full time on a team, as long as they are committed to the Sprint Goal and deliver a Done Increment every Sprint. However, it is recommended that they spend as much time as possible with their team, as this fosters collaboration, communication, and alignment.

The Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS) framework | Atlassian, accessed on September 30, 2023

Overview - Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), accessed on September 30, 2023

Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Large, Multisite, and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum, Craig Larman and Bas Vodde, 2010

Leading Large Scale Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), Kamlesh Ravlani, 2015

The best action for the Scrum Master to take in this situation is to conduct a session to help the Scrum Team resolve the conflict and create a uniform Definition of Done.This is because the Scrum Master is a servant-leader, a facilitator, and a coach to the team, who should have the skills to help resolve conflicts if called upon by the team1.The Scrum Master can employ various strategies to effectively resolve conflicts within the Scrum Team, such as promoting open communication, facilitating active listening, mediating disagreements, and fostering collaboration2.The Scrum Master can also remind the team members that conflicting ideas are natural and can be beneficial for innovation and learning, but making it personal does not help and violates the Scrum values of respect and openness3.The Scrum Master can guide the team to create a clear and shared Definition of Done that reflects their quality standards and expectations for the product4.

The other options are not the best actions for the Scrum Master to take, because they either undermine the self-organization and autonomy of the team, escalate the conflict, or avoid addressing the root cause of the problem.

https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-scrum-masterThe Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching them and the organization how to work empirically, which means using an evidence-based approach to inspect and adapt the product and the process1.The Scrum Master also facilitates Scrum events as requested or needed, such as the Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective2.The Scrum Master ensures that these events are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox2.

The Scrum Master does not resolve every impediment that the Developers run into, but rather helps them to remove or overcome those impediments themselves3. The Scrum Master also does not never intervene in matters of the Scrum Team, but rather balances between providing guidance and allowing autonomy. The Scrum Master is not a passive observer, but an active servant leader who supports the team in achieving their goals.

What is a Scrum Master? | Scrum.org, section ''The Accountabilities of the Scrum Master''

The Scrum Guide 2020, section ''The Scrum Master''

What is a scrum master? [+ Responsibilities] | Atlassian, section ''Scrum master responsibilities''

[The 8 Stances of a Scrum Master by Barry Overeem], section ''The Servant Leader''

[What Is a Scrum Master (and How Do I Become One)? - Coursera], section ''What is a scrum master?''

https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-product-backlogThe Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team1.One of the ways to do this is to order the Product Backlog in a way that reflects the flow of value to the stakeholders and customers2.The Product Owner can use various factors to order the Product Backlog, such as value, risk, dependencies, learning opportunities, and feedback loops3.

However, sometimes the Product Owner may face challenges or constraints that affect the ordering of the Product Backlog, such as external dependencies, market changes, technical issues, or stakeholder requests4. In such cases, the Product Owner needs to balance between delivering value and managing risks.The Product Owner may need to adjust the Product Backlog ordering to account for these factors, but not at the expense of compromising the value delivery5.

In this scenario, the Developers are waiting for an external supplier to deliver a specific product component that they need to integrate and use. Without that component there will not be enough work in the next Sprint to occupy the full team. They ask their Product Owner to re-order the Product Backlog. The Product Owner asks the Scrum Master for help. A good advice for the Product Owner would be to tell them that their primary concern is the flow of value reflected in the ordering of the Product Backlog. Timeline of the flow might be influenced by such dependencies and require some level of Product Backlog re-ordering.

This advice would help the Product Owner to focus on delivering value while also considering the impact of the external dependency. The Product Owner could work with the Developers and stakeholders to identify and prioritize other valuable work that can be done in the next Sprint without relying on the external component. The Product Owner could also communicate with the external supplier and try to minimize or eliminate the dependency as much as possible.

The other options are not good advice for the Product Owner. Telling them that they need to re-order the Product Backlog to maximize utilization of the Developers would imply that keeping productivity high is more important than delivering value. This would go against the Scrum values of focus and respect. Telling them to remove all work involving the external component from the Product Backlog and create a new backlog for it would imply that they are ignoring or avoiding the dependency rather than managing it. This would go against the Scrum values of courage and openness.

The Scrum Guide 2020, section ''The Product Owner''

What is a Product Backlog? | Scrum.org, section ''Ordering''

Product Backlog Ordering - Zen Ex Machina, section ''Ordering by Value''

Product Backlog Ordering - Zen Ex Machina, section ''Ordering by Risk''

Ordered Not Prioritized | Scrum.org, section ''Ordering by Dependencies''

[The Scrum Values | Scrum.org], section ''The Scrum Values''