Facilitation

Correct Answer: Clarify the milestones immediately, making sure the concept and goal are clear to everyone

In a project planning session, it's vital to ensure all team members have a clear understanding of the milestones and tasks. If a team member seems confused about certain milestones, the best approach is to 'Clarify the milestones immediately, making sure the concept and goal are clear to everyone'. This will not only clear up the confusion for that particular team member but will also ensure that everyone is on the same page. The other options do not promote effective communication and collaboration within the team. Ignoring the confusion and hoping the team member will 'self-correct' risks generating further confusion down the line. Asking the team member to come up with their definition of the milestones or to Google the definition, is an inefficient use of time and doesn’t guarantee that the confusion will be cleared up. Especially in the Agile project methodology, direct, clear and quick communication is a key to success.

Correct Answer: Use a round-robin technique to gather input

The best technique for ensuring all voices are heard in a product backlog refinement session, especially when there is a dominant participant, is to use a round-robin technique to gather input. This technique involves giving each participant an equal chance to contribute, thereby ensuring that all perspectives are considered, and reducing the likelihood that more reserved individuals will be overshadowed by more dominant ones. Allowing open discussion to naturally balance participation often results in dominant personalities continuing to overshadow quieter team members, making this approach less effective in the scenario described. Inviting only those who are usually more reserved does not solve the problem of ensuring all voices are heard during the session; instead, it could exclude valuable input from more outspoken participants. Focusing the session on written feedback only might not encourage the real-time collaboration and dynamic exchange of ideas that a face-to-face or verbal exchange would facilitate, making it a less suitable option in this context.

Correct Answer: Guide the team to rank the areas based on impact and effort, then facilitate a discussion to reach consensus on the top priorities.

In a retrospective, the goal is to identify areas for improvement and prioritize them based on their potential impact and the effort required to address them. The Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion among the team members to rank the areas based on these factors, guiding them to reach a consensus on the top priorities. This approach ensures that the team collectively decides on the most important issues to tackle, promoting collaboration and ownership. Voting without discussion may not lead to the best outcomes, as it doesn't allow for a thorough understanding of each area. Discussing every area in detail may be time-consuming and may not result in a clear prioritization. As a facilitator, the Scrum Master should not make unilateral decisions but rather enable the team to make informed choices together.