Planning Poker

Correct Answer: Explain to them the fundamentals of effort estimation and assist them in understanding the User Stories.

The role of the ScrumMaster is to coach the team members and enable them to perform their roles effectively. In this case, if a new team member is struggling to estimate User Stories, it would be best for the ScrumMaster to help them understand the process better. This can be done by explaining the fundamentals of effort estimation and assisting them in understanding the User Stories, as suggested in the correct answer. The other options propose solutions that could alienate the team member, create dependency, or inhibit learning, none of which are consistent with Scrum practices. The second answer suggests asking the team member to abstain from voting, which could potentially discourage their participation and conflict with the Agile principle of collective ownership. The third answer suggests that the team member simply matches their estimates with a more senior team member, which could potentially lead to dependency and lack of understanding. The fourth answer suggests letting the team member struggle, which doesn't align with the ScrumMaster's role as a facilitator and mentor.

Correct Answer: Pause the session and seek clarification from the Product Owner before continuing.

During a Planning Poker session in Scrum, clarity regarding User Stories is an essential factor. It allows team members to correctly assign stories their relative estimation and hence get a proper understanding of their effort required. If there's any ambiguity about a User Story's requirements, it's best to pause and resolve it immediately. The ScrumMaster should pause the session and seek clarification from the Product Owner, who represents the business and has a clear understanding of what each User Story should achieve. This approach ensures that all team members have the same clear and precise understanding of the story, thus granting a more accurate estimation. The other approaches suggested in the set of answers would either delay the clarification process or make assumptions - both of which are not best practices in a Scrum environment. Ignoring the unclear User Story or moving to the next one without seeking immediate clarification can lead to misunderstandings and inaccuracies in later development stages. Assigning the highest possible points assuming the story is highly complex would also not best practice as it could lead to overestimation.

Correct Answer: Introduce silent estimation to ensure that all team members submit their estimates simultaneously, minimizing the influence of others.

The correct approach to addressing anchoring bias during Planning Poker is to adopt silent estimation, where team members provide their estimates simultaneously without being influenced by others. Changing estimation techniques frequently or exclusively using story points does not directly tackle the issue of anchoring bias and might introduce additional complexities. Forcing consensus on every estimate could lead to inefficiency and does not guarantee bias mitigation. Silent estimation encourages independent thinking and helps in producing more accurate estimates by minimizing the risk of team members being influenced by the initially mentioned figures.