Scrum Roles - Homework

You are developing a software application for a local community in Balkh province to manage their agricultural data. The team is unclear about the acceptance criteria for a particular feature that is critical for the success of the application. The feature involves complex user authentication processes. As the Product Owner, what should you do to clarify these criteria and ensure the feature meets the stakeholders' needs?

• Set the acceptance criteria independently and inform the team of your decisions.

• Facilitate a meeting with the team and stakeholders to define and communicate the acceptance criteria clearly.

• Have the development team set the criteria based on their technical expertise and past experiences.

• Delegate the task of defining the criteria to the project sponsor to ensure alignment with organizational goals.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Product Owner facilitates a meeting with the team and stakeholders to define and communicate the acceptance criteria clearly, ensuring the feature meets the stakeholders' needs. This practice aligns with the Scrum value of openness, as it encourages transparent communication about what is required for the feature to be considered complete. It also supports the Scrum pillar of inspection by ensuring that the criteria are well-defined and understood by all parties.

You are developing a new digital banking platform for a bank in Badakhshan province. The team needs to ensure that the product backlog is always up-to-date and reflects the latest priorities set by the stakeholders. As the Product Owner, how should you manage the product backlog effectively?

• Have the development team update the backlog based on their understanding and current tasks.

• Ensure the backlog is prioritized and maintained regularly, incorporating stakeholder feedback and changing priorities.

• Facilitate communication and ensure the team follows Scrum practices to manage the backlog.

• Review the backlog periodically and adjust priorities based on the original project plan.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Product Owner ensures that the product backlog is prioritized and maintained regularly, incorporating stakeholder feedback and changing priorities. This practice aligns with the Scrum pillar of transparency, as it makes the backlog visible and understandable to all stakeholders. It also supports the Scrum value of commitment by ensuring that the team is working on the most important tasks.

You are developing a critical healthcare management system for a hospital in Khost province. The development team is consistently missing their sprint goals, leading to frustration and declining team morale. As the Scrum Master, how should you address these issues to improve team dynamics and performance?

• Address team morale and performance issues directly by setting new targets and monitoring progress closely.

• Work with the team to identify the root causes of their challenges, improve their dynamics, and support them in achieving their sprint goals.

• Resolve performance issues independently without involving the team and then set new goals.

• Motivate the team through additional incentives and enforce stricter deadlines to enhance performance.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master works with the team to identify the root causes of their challenges, improve team dynamics, and support them in achieving their sprint goals. This approach supports the Scrum value of respect by acknowledging the team's challenges and helping them overcome obstacles. It also aligns with the Scrum pillar of adaptation, as the team must inspect their current situation and adapt to improve performance.

You are developing a software application for a local community in Kunar province to manage their agricultural data. The development team encounters a complex technical issue that blocks their progress on a key component of the software. The issue is causing significant delays, and the team is unsure how to proceed. As the Scrum Master, what steps should you take to help the team overcome this impediment and continue their work?

• Prioritize the technical issue and reallocate resources to resolve it.

• Remove the impediment by coordinating with technical experts and providing the necessary support to the team.

• Facilitate a team discussion to brainstorm solutions and then involve external experts if necessary.

• Stop work on the blocked component and focus on other tasks until the issue is resolved.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master is responsible for removing impediments that block the team's progress by coordinating with technical experts and providing the necessary support. This action supports the Scrum value of focus by allowing the team to concentrate on their tasks without being hindered by obstacles. It also aligns with the Scrum pillar of adaptation, as it involves identifying issues through regular inspection and adapting to resolve them promptly.

You are building a new school for an NGO in Jawzjan province. The project involves multiple stakeholders, including local community leaders and educational experts, who have specific requirements that need to be met to ensure the school's success. As the Product Owner, what action should you take to ensure that the delivered project meets the needs of the stakeholders?

• Oversee the project vision and delegate the requirement gathering to the development team.

• Ensure the requirements are clear and communicated to the team, and continuously engage with stakeholders to validate the requirements.

• Define the project vision and ensure that the requirements meet the stakeholders' needs without involving the team.

• Gather all requirements at the start and prevent further changes to avoid scope creep.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Product Owner is responsible for defining the project vision, ensuring the requirements are clear and communicated to the team, and continuously engaging with stakeholders to validate the requirements. This approach supports the Scrum value of commitment by ensuring that the team is aligned with the stakeholders' needs and working towards delivering a valuable product. It also aligns with the Scrum pillar of transparency by making the requirements visible and understandable to all stakeholders.

You are developing an interactive online learning platform for schools in Baghlan province. The team is experiencing frequent interruptions that are impacting their productivity and delaying the project. As the Scrum Master, what steps should you take to minimize these interruptions and protect the team's focus?

• Manage stakeholder expectations and shield the team from unnecessary interruptions.

• Allow the team to handle interruptions independently and intervene only when necessary.

• Address the interruptions personally and provide additional resources to compensate for lost time.

• Facilitate more frequent sprint planning meetings to adjust to the interruptions and manage workload.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master manages stakeholder expectations and shields the team from unnecessary interruptions to protect their focus and improve productivity. This practice supports the Scrum value of focus by allowing the team to concentrate on their tasks without being distracted by external factors. It also aligns with the Scrum pillar of transparency by managing stakeholder expectations and clearly communicating the team's need for uninterrupted work time.

You are developing a software for a healthcare NGO to manage patient records in Logar province. Halfway through the project, stakeholders request a significant change in the application's features, emphasizing the need for additional data analytics capabilities. As the Product Owner, you must decide how to handle this request without derailing the project timeline. What is the best course of action?

• Facilitate a meeting to ensure the team stays focused on the original plan.

• Evaluate the stakeholders' requests, assess the impact on the project timeline, and re-prioritize the backlog accordingly.

• Add the new requests to the backlog without changing the current priorities.

• Communicate to stakeholders that changes will be considered in the next phase.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Product Owner must evaluate and prioritize changes based on their impact on the project. This action aligns with the Scrum value of focus and the pillar of transparency. By re-prioritizing the backlog, the Product Owner ensures that the most valuable features are developed first, which helps manage stakeholder expectations and maintain project momentum. This approach also supports the Scrum value of commitment by ensuring the team remains focused on delivering the highest priority features.

You are working on a WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) project in Ghor province, distributing non-food items to flood-affected communities. The development team is approaching the end of a sprint and needs to review the completed work to ensure it meets the project goals. Stakeholders are keen to provide feedback to enhance the project's impact. As the Scrum Master, what should you do to facilitate this review effectively?

• Facilitate the sprint review meeting, ensure all relevant feedback is collected from stakeholders, and incorporate this feedback into the future sprints.

• Collect feedback independently and adjust the backlog accordingly.

• Have the development team review their work without stakeholder involvement and provide a summary report.

• Lead the review meeting and make decisions on the next steps without stakeholder input.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master facilitates the sprint review meeting, ensuring that all relevant feedback is collected from stakeholders and incorporated into future sprints. This practice supports the Scrum value of openness by encouraging transparent communication and feedback. It also aligns with the Scrum pillar of inspection, as the team reviews the completed work to identify improvements and adapt their approach based on stakeholder input.

You are working on an agriculture project for an international NGO in Nimroz province, aiming to improve irrigation systems. The Scrum team, working remotely, struggles with maintaining effective communication and collaboration. The team members often miss deadlines due to misunderstandings about task assignments and progress. As the Scrum Master, how should you address this issue to improve team performance and ensure adherence to Scrum practices?

• Enforce strict communication protocols and ensure everyone follows them.

• Facilitate communication, set up regular virtual meetings, and ensure the team follows Scrum practices.

• Implement new tools for task tracking and set up occasional virtual check-ins.

• Allow the team to resolve communication issues independently, offering help when asked.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating effective communication and ensuring the team adheres to Scrum practices. This includes setting up regular virtual meetings to improve transparency and collaboration, which are essential for successful Scrum implementation. The Scrum pillar of transparency is crucial here to ensure all team members have access to the same information and can collaborate effectively. Regular virtual meetings support the Scrum value of openness by allowing team members to share their progress, challenges, and feedback openly.

You are constructing a new hospital for a healthcare NGO in Helmand province. The team needs to create a detailed plan for the upcoming sprint, including selecting backlog items to work on. The tasks are complex and interdependent. As the Scrum Master, what role should you play in this planning process to ensure a realistic workload is committed to?

• Create the sprint plan and assign tasks to the team members.

• Select the backlog items and set the sprint goals without team input.

• Guide the team through the sprint planning process, facilitating discussions on task selection and workload commitment.

• Set the sprint goals and priorities independently and inform the team of their tasks.

Answer explanation

Explanation: The Scrum Master guides the team through the sprint planning process, facilitating discussions on task selection and ensuring the team commits to a realistic workload. This practice aligns with the Scrum pillar of adaptation, as it involves planning based on the current state of the project and adjusting the approach as needed. It also supports the Scrum value of courage, as the team must commit to achieving challenging goals within the sprint.