Cross-functional Teams in Scrum

Correct Answer: Coach the team on the fundamentals of cross-functional collaboration and facilitate the process of integrating a temporary graphics designer to impart essential skills to the team.

A key responsibility of a Scrum Master is to promote and support Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. This includes coaching the Scrum Team in self-management and cross-functionality. Hiring a temporary graphic designer to train the team enhances their skills and adheres to the principle of building a cross-functional team without permanently altering the team composition based on a singular need. The wrong answers, while plausible in certain contexts, do not directly address the challenge of enhancing the team's capabilities to meet current and future requirements as effectively as the correct answer does.

Correct Answer: Promote a skill-swapping session where the team gets to share their current tasks and volunteer to take on tasks that might help broaden their skill set.

The best approach for a Scrum Master in this scenario is to encourage teamwork and self-organization by promoting a skill-swapping session. This allows for a balance in workload and fosters cross-functionality by encouraging team members to volunteer for tasks outside of their usual responsibilities, broadening their skill set. Forcing task delegation, setting strict task rotation without considering project needs, or implementing long training programs are less effective and can disrupt project progress and team morale.

Correct Answer: Encourage the team members to pair up - frontend with backend - promoting knowledge sharing and cooperation.

The correct approach in Scrum is to encourage cross-functionality and collaboration within the team. Pairing up team members with different skills (frontend with backend) promotes knowledge sharing and helps in building a versatile team over time. Creating separate sprints or consulting with external experts, while it might seem practical, does not foster team unity or skill enhancement for future projects. Reorganizing the team into specialized sub-teams contradicts the Scrum principle of having cross-functional teams that can self-organize to complete tasks. The aim is to encourage learning and adaptability within the team, ensuring they grow to handle diverse tasks collectively.