Self Organizing Teams test - Coaching and Facilitation - Professional Scrum Master I questions

Question 1

A self-organizing team needs to choose a method for estimating effort on tasks in their project. What method is most suitable for this purpose?

Planning Poker or another relative sizing technique Predict the completion date for each task Ask team members to vote on task difficulty Estimate the amount of time spent on tasks, down to the minute Use a random number generator for estimating effort Delegate all estimation to the most experienced team member

Correct Answer: Planning Poker or another relative sizing technique

In Agile Project Management, Planning Poker and similar techniques help teams to estimate effort on tasks accurately by promoting discussions and considering different perspectives. These techniques reduce bias and improve overall estimation accuracy.

Question 2

The self-organizing team consistently delivers high-quality work and meets deadlines. However, the team finds that there are conflicts due to some members feeling overworked. What action should be considered?

Ignore the conflicts, believing that high-quality outcomes justify the means Delegate some team projects to an external agency Offer monetary incentives for team members to compensate for overwork Hold surprise audits and performance reviews to punish underperforming members Automatically grant vacations to the overworked team members Encourage open and honest communication during daily stand-ups and retrospectives to redistribute workload more fairly

Correct Answer: Encourage open and honest communication during daily stand-ups and retrospectives to redistribute workload more fairly

Agile Project Management emphasizes communication and collaboration. Encouraging open discussions ensures that the workload is better distributed among team members, which fosters team balance and a sustainable pace of work.

Question 3

The self-organizing team's decisions are consistently being overruled by the product owner, leading to conflicts and feelings of demotivation. What approach should be considered?

The Scrum Master should encourage the team to document all cases where the Product Owner overrules their decision, to discuss these in the Sprint Retrospective. The Scrum Master needs to host a separate meeting with the Product Owner to realign on the Scrum framework remembering that the Product Owner’s decisions are aimed at maximizing value. The Scrum Master should remind the team that the Product Owner has the final say on the product backlog and its priorities, suggesting compromise as a solution. The Scrum Master should support the Product Owner in understanding the importance of a self-organizing team and the impact of their decisions on the team's motivation.

Correct Answer: The Scrum Master should support the Product Owner in understanding the importance of a self-organizing team and the impact of their decisions on the team's motivation.

Though it's true the Product Owner has a significant say in the backlog and its priorities, the essence of the Scrum framework emphasizes the value and capability of a self-organizing team. The correct answer focuses on empowering the team through the Scrum Master’s support in reminding the Product Owner of this facet of the Scrum, thereby fostering a healthier, collaborative environment. The wrong answers either direct towards passive actions, encourage documentation of conflicts (which could be seen as confrontational or non-constructive), or reiterate the authority of the Product Owner without addressing the need for balance and mutual respect.

Self Organizing Teams

Guide: Self Organizing Teams

PSM I - Self Organizing Teams Example Questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

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