Scrum Team

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to take on backlog items if appropriate, and discuss this pattern in the next Retrospective.

The best leverage for Agile growth when a team frequently completes tasks earlier than estimated is to use this unexpected time wisely. In Scrum, a possible solution suggested in the correct answer is to encourage the team to take on backlog items if appropriate, and to discuss this pattern in the next Retrospective. This benefits the Agile growth by increasing productivity, examining the efficiency, and making proper adjustments for future sprints The statement of informing the Product Owner to add more User Stories for the next sprints may not always be the best solution. More User Stories may not necessarily lead to greater productivity as the team might not be able to complete them due to their complexity, leading to unmet sprint goals Ignoring this pattern because the team is efficiently working is not a wise move either. A critical part of being a ScrumMaster is facilitating continuous improvement which includes making sure the team's velocity is correctly managed As for asking the team to slow down their pace to match the estimates, this is contrary to the principles of Agile that encourage teams to work at a sustainable pace. Slowing down could demotivate the team members and negatively impact their productivity and efficiency in the long run.

Correct Answer: Shield the development team from the external pressures and manage stakeholder's expectations

The role of a ScrumMaster in the Scrum framework is to act as a servant-leader for the Scrum team. One aspect of this servant-leadership is to shield the team from external interruptions or pressures so they can focus on their work. Answer - 'Shield the development team from the external pressures and manage stakeholder's expectations' aligns with this principle. On the other hand, asking the team to work faster might appease the stakeholders temporarily but it is not sustainable and could lead to poor quality work and team burnout. Taking all the pressure on himself and working longer hours doesn't help in distributing the workload effectively and is not a long-term solution. And, ignoring the stakeholders is not an option, as Stakeholder's input and feedback are important for the project success.

Correct Answer: Remind them of the importance of maintaining communication and avoiding silos within the team.

The correct answer is to remind the Scrum team of the importance of maintaining communication and avoiding silos within the team. It is very important in Scrum framework that there’s a constant communication and transparency within the Scrum team. If the team splits into smaller teams, there's a risk that each team could become isolated or a 'silo', focusing only on its own tasks and losing sight of the broader project objectives. It’s imperative that even when the team splits up to work on different aspects they still maintain a constant line of communication to be aligned with each other about the goals and progress. The options to encourage them to work separately for increased focus, advising against the decision, and allocating a team leader for each sub-team are incorrect. It's not about working separately, as Scrum is a framework that values collaboration, it is not advisable to discourage a decision that can increase productivity if conducted in a proper manner, and there is no need for a team leader in each sub-team in Scrum, as this contradicts the self-managing principle of Scrum teams.