Autonomous Decision-Making

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to break down the user story into smaller, manageable parts that can be completed within the sprint.

The correct approach involves empowering the Scrum team to tackle complex work by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable tasks, ensuring that high-value user stories are not deferred simply due to their perceived complexity. Prioritizing easier user stories over high-value ones can lead to a suboptimal product backlog prioritization. While a spike can be useful in some situations, it is not a direct solution for managing the inclusion of a complex story in a sprint. Relying on external consultants undermines the capability and autonomy of the Scrum Team to solve complex problems.

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to use a time-boxed period to experiment with the new sprint length, assessing its impact before making a permanent decision.

In the Scrum framework, adaptability and experimentation are key. The correct answer supports these principles by suggesting a trial period for the new sprint length, which allows the team to empirically assess its effects. This approach aligns with the empirical nature of Scrum, where decisions are made based on observation and experience. The wrong answers either go against the principles of Scrum by suggesting rigidity, increase workload without addressing the root cause, or undermine the team's autonomy and self-organization by suggesting external decision-making. The goal is to foster a self-managing team that learns and adapts based on its experiences.

Correct Answer: Assure the team member that their concerns are valid and encourage them to bring up their points in the retrospective for a constructive discussion on decision-making processes.

As a Scrum Master, it's important to promote open communication and address team concerns in a collaborative manner. Encouraging the team member to bring up their concerns during the sprint retrospective provides a structured opportunity for the whole team to reflect on the previous sprint and discuss improvements. This approach validates the team member's feelings, fosters transparency, and utilizes the appropriate Scrum event dedicated to process improvement. Other responses may not be suitable because they either avoid direct, collaborative communication, discourage team involvement in decision-making, or suggest addressing issues in forums not intended for in-depth problem-solving (like the daily scrum).