Listening

Correct Answer: Engage in active listening, ask clarifying questions to understand his concerns and suggest a one-on-one meeting if needed.

Engaging in active listening and asking clarifying questions is the best course of action when dealing with a team member who is consistently vague about his tasks. This approach allows the Scrum Master to better understand the team member's concerns and the nature of the task. A one-on-one meeting may also prove helpful for clarifying anything that remains unclear after the Sprint planning meeting. Interrupting the team member or ignoring their concerns violates the core Agile principles of respect and open communication. Insisting that the team member clarifies his tasks in the meeting regardless of his comfort level may be aggressive and not conducive to open dialogue.

Correct Answer: Have a private discussion with the team member to understand what might be causing the disconnect, demonstrating patience and understanding.

The best approach in such a situation is to have a private discussion with the team member to understand what might be causing the disconnect, demonstrating patience and understanding. This approach respects the individual and works towards a proactive resolution. Publicly reprimanding the team member during the meeting can create a hostile environment, which is not good for team collaboration. Ignoring the situation, hoping it improves on its own, is an avoidance tactic and does not lead to effective resolution. Lastly, asking other team members to involve him more on the project does not particularly address the root cause of the issue. It may help in short-term engagement, but if there are underlying issues that are causing this distraction, they need to be addressed directly with the individual.

Correct Answer: Encourage clear and active listening amongst team members, and potentially introduce exercises or activities to practice effective communication.

The best approach to resolving miscommunication issues during team meetings, particularly in an agile setup, is to encourage clear and active listening among team members. Introducing exercises or activities to enhance effective communication could also prove beneficial. It involves everyone, boosts team-building, and results in a collective effort to overcome the problem, making it the best answer. The other suggested approaches have inherent flaws. Ignoring the problem or assuming conflict can lead to better results is a destructive attitude that can exacerbate the issue rather than resolve it. Micro-managing the team, on the other hand, contradicts the basic principles of Agile, which grants teams the autonomy to self-organize and make decisions on their own. Lastly, blaming individual team members for miscommunication is not a constructive solution. Instead of pinpointing the problem, it can result in defensiveness and fear within the team, affecting morale and productivity.