Hiro Takashimya

You are the Scrum Master for four teams working from the same Product Backlog. Several of the Developers come to you complaining that work identified for the upcoming two Sprints will require full time commitment from Stella, an external specialist who is not a member of any of the four Scrum Teams. What would you consider acceptable solutions for the problem?
(choose the best three answers)
A. Merge the Scrum Teams into one large Scrum Team for the next two Sprints. When the need for Stella’s expertise is over, the teams can separate again.
B. Investigate whether additional techniques or frameworks for scaling Scrum would be appropriate for these Scrum Teams.
C. Developers with an interest in Stella’s domain could volunteer to take on this work in their respective Scrum Teams.
D. 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.
E. Have the Developers re-order the Product Backlog so Stella can serve one team full-time in a Sprint.
F. 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.
G. Organize a release Sprint in which Stella can thoroughly check and complete all the work done in her domain before considering the work releasable.

At the ninth Sprint Retrospective, the Product Owner is very disappointed and angry. She has determined that the technical debt has increased, and the product is not meeting her expectations. The product will need a few more Sprints to meet the scalability requirements. Which of the following could be true? Select the best response.
(choose the best answer)
A. The Scrum Team has not used the past Sprint Retrospectives effectively to inspect and adapt.
B. The Developers have not been paying enough attention to quality.
C. The Scrum Team is not having conversations around technical debt.
D. The Scrum Master has not ensured that the Scrum Team is being transparent.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Which two of these situations best demonstrate that the Developers are self-managing?
(choose the best two answers)
A. The Developers are strictly working within the boundaries of their function description, and are handing off work in a timely fashion to the other roles within the team.
B. Management is invited to the Daily Scrum for a progress update and subsequently works with the Scrum Master to optimize the plan for the next day.
C. The Developers collaboratively select and re-plan their work during the Sprint.
D. The Developers invite the right external people to the Sprint Planning to help them create a complete and detailed Sprint Backlog before the meeting time-box expires.
E. The Developers create their own Sprint Backlog, reflecting all work that is part of the Definition of Done.

A Scrum Team consists of Developers working from globally distributed locations. Organizing the Scrum events requires conferencing tools that are not easily available within the organization. The Developers propose doing a Daily Scrum only on Tuesdays. Which are the most appropriate responses for their Scrum Master?
(choose the best two answers)
A. Coach the Developers on why a daily frequency is important as an opportunity to update the Sprint Plan and how it helps the team organize work toward achieving the Sprint Goal.
B. Have the Developers vote to make sure there is consensus within the team.
C. Help the Developers understand that lowering the frequency of communication will only increase the feeling of disconnect between the team members.
D. Acknowledge and support this self-managing team’s decision.

You are the Scrum Master of a Scrum Team that is new to Scrum. The Product Owner comes to you halfway through the Sprint and says, “I don’t feel like the Developers will be able to meet their commitment to deliver the Product Backlog items selected during Sprint Planning.” What should you do in this situation?
(choose the best answer)
A. Talk to the Developers. Challenge and inspire them to complete all of the work so that they meet their commitment to the Product Owner and have the forecasted velocity.
B. Coach the Product Owner that with complex software development, you cannot promise the entire scope that was forecast during Sprint Planning. As more is learned during the Sprint, work may emerge that affects the Sprint Backlog.
C. Advise the Product Owner that the Developers own the Sprint Backlog and it is up to them to meet their commitments. No one tells the Developers how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality.
D. Add more people to the Scrum Team to meet the Product Owner’s expectations.

Which four of the following risks to product development are addressed by Scrum?
(choose the best four answers)
A. The complexity and unpredictability of the requirements.
B. The stability and complexity of the technology.
C. The skills and working relationships of the people on the teams.
D. The timescale of the planned work.
E. The clear definitions of stages and gateways in the overall governance model.
F. The definition of incentive and bonus strategies by Human Resources for all team members.