Answering: “A Scrum Master is introducing Scrum to a new Team. The Team has decided that a Sprint Retrospective is unnecessary. What action should the Scrum Master take?”

The Scrum Master should start facilitating Sprint Retrospectives that the team finds productive and useful. Self-management does not allow a team to drop a Scrum event.

Exam Question

A Scrum Master is introducing Scrum to a new Team. The Team has decided that a Sprint Retrospective is unnecessary. What action should the Scrum Master take? (choose the best answer)

• A. Begin facilitating productive and useful Sprint Retrospectives.
• B. Consult with the Product Owner to see how they feel about the situation.
• C. Call a meeting between the Scrum Team and senior management.
• D. Comply with the decision of the self-managing team.

Correct Answer

A. Begin facilitating productive and useful Sprint Retrospectives.

Why This Is the Correct Answer

The Scrum Guide says the Scrum Master “is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide.” The Sprint Retrospective is a required event, and its purpose is to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness. A new team often feels it is unnecessary because it has not yet seen one done well. The best response is to show the value: run Retrospectives that surface real problems and lead to improvements the team notices. The Guide also lists ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive and productive among the Scrum Master’s services. Once the team sees results, it will rarely want to skip the event again.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

B. Consult with the Product Owner. The Product Owner has no authority to remove events either. This delays action and shifts the issue away from the Scrum Master.

C. Call a meeting with senior management. Escalating is premature. The Scrum Master can address this directly through coaching and facilitation.

D. Comply with the decision of the self-managing team. Self-management covers how the team does its work within Scrum. Dropping an event means the team is no longer using Scrum.

Exam Tip

When a team wants to skip an event, the Scrum Master answer that teaches by making the event valuable usually beats answers that comply or escalate.

Key Takeaways

• The Sprint Retrospective is mandatory in Scrum.
• Show value by running good events rather than lecturing.
• Self-management works inside the Scrum framework.