T-shaped Skills

5 minutes 5 Questions

T-shaped skills refer to the ability of a team member to contribute to the project with their core competences(black depth of the T), but also able to cover other tasks outside of their field of expertise (horizontal bar of the T). This ability allows teams to adapt to new requirements and changes …

Guide: T-Shaped Skills in Scrum - Importance, Understanding, and Examination Tips

What are T-shaped skills?

T-shaped skills refer to the depth and breadth of a person's skillset. The vertical bar of the 'T' represents specialist, deep knowledge in one or two areas while the horizontal bar represents a broad understanding of several areas.

Why are T-Shaped Skills Important?

T-Shaped Skills are vital in a Scrum framework as they promote a more efficient, flexible and collaborative working environment. With T-shaped skills, team members can understand and participate in various aspects of project implementation while also being a specialist in their area. This leads to better problem solving, innovation and flexibility in team assignments.

How it works:

Cross-functional teams in Scrum make use of T-Shaped Skills by assigning specialist work to the 'experts' and at the same time distributing tasks among the team to ensure everyone participates. A team member with a T-shaped skillset can contribute to multiple stages of the project, reducing bottlenecks.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on T-shaped Skills

When answering questions on T-shaped skills during an exam, make sure you understand that it is a balance between specialization and generalization. Show understanding of the benefits such as improved team collaboration, better flexibility and project management. Also, you may be asked about its application in a Scrum team. Describing a scenario can help demonstrate your understanding. Remember that a T-Shaped individual not only has specialist skills but also has sufficient knowledge in other related disciplines to perform those tasks if necessary.

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PSM I - T-shaped Skills Example Questions

Test your knowledge of T-shaped Skills

Question 1

When a team struggles with communication issues, how can T-shaped skills help solve the problem?

T-shaped professionals, by their knowledge breadth, facilitate better understanding across different areas, improving communication. T-shaped skills can create more confusion as people interfere in other's work. T-shaped skills can't solve communication issues, it only promotes skill diversity. By taking the communication responsibility away from the scrum master and making everyone responsible.

Correct Answer: T-shaped professionals, by their knowledge breadth, facilitate better understanding across different areas, improving communication.

T-shaped skills refer to the ability of a professional to have deep expertise in one field (represented by the vertical stem of the T) along with the capability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own (represented by the horizontal bar of the T). The first answer is correct because in teams where communication issues are present, having T-shaped professionals can greatly aid in solving the problem. Their broad knowledge facilitates better understanding across different areas. This means they are better suited to communicate a variety of concepts, which improve overall team communication. On the other hand, the second answer is incorrect because while T-shaped skills do promote skill diversity, they can also help resolve communication problems by building understanding and encouraging cross-disciplinary communication. The third answer is not correct because although T-shaped skills encourage breadth of knowledge, it doesn't necessarily mean professionals interfere in others' work. It rather means they have the capability to understand and communicate function of other's work. The fourth answer misinterprets the role of the scrum master and T-shaped skills. While T-shaped professionals are more collaborative, it doesn't imply the communication responsibility is taken away from the scrum master; it simply means that they can contribute to more effective communication due to their broad knowledge.

Question 2

A Scrum meeting is in progress and Alex, possessing T-shaped skills, is dealing with a problem that has halted the development. What should be his approach?

Recommend pausing current sprints and organizing a series of workshops to upskill the team in areas lacking expertise, even though this might delay the project. Suggest a separate session with the Product Owner to redefine the backlog items causing the issue. Propose to temporarily work outside the Scrum framework until a solution is found. Leverage cross-functional team dynamics to collaboratively find a solution.

Correct Answer: Leverage cross-functional team dynamics to collaboratively find a solution.

In Scrum, leveraging cross-functional team dynamics is crucial to problem-solving, as it utilizes the diverse skills and knowledge of the team. Suggesting separate sessions with the Product Owner might divert from addressing the immediate problem collaboratively. Proposing to work outside the Scrum framework or pausing sprints for upskilling ignores the Scrum principle of transparency and the iterative, incremental approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Question 3

Your team has recognized the importance of T-shaped skills and wants to cultivate them further. What training methodology should be implemented?

Participating in unrelated workshops and conferences Training only in team members' areas of expertise Assigning formal training for non-related skills to each person Taking a break from the project to master new skill sets Completely abandoning existing roles and picking up new ones Cross-functional training and learning through collaboration

Correct Answer: Cross-functional training and learning through collaboration

To cultivate T-shaped skills, teams should focus on cross-functional training and learning from one another, allowing team members to maintain expertise in their primary area while developing proficiency across other task areas.

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