Scrum Event Facilitation

5 minutes 5 Questions

Although already mentioned earlier, it deserves a deeper understanding as it covers more than just meeting management. Beyond setting up scrum events such as daily scrum, sprint review, sprint planning, and sprint retrospective, the role of the Scrum Master in facilitating these events is fundament…

Guide: Scrum Event Facilitation

Importance:
Scrum Event Facilitation is crucial for an effective scrum team as it ensures that the team meets its objectives and adheres to the predefined timeline. It is the Scrum Master's responsibility to facilitate these events, promoting communication, transparency, and focused effort.

Definition:
Scrum Event Facilitation is a procedure where the Scrum Master supports the team in organizing and conducting Scrum events. These include the Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

How it works:
The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum events, but does not manage them. They ensure each event serves its purpose, occurs within its time-box, and that the team understands and follows Scrum's rules and principles.

Exam Tips:
1. Understanding Scrum Event Facilitation: Most questions demand a solid understanding of the role of the Scrum Master in event facilitation and the purposes of each Scrum event.
2. Practical Application: Questions often require applying knowledge in given scenarios; remembering that the Scrum Master's role is to serve the team and organization, not to command, can be key.
3. Terminology: Know the definitions and purposes of the Scrum events, as well as commonly used terms in Scrum.
4. Values: The Scrum values of commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect must be considered in the answers.

Answering Questions:
Remember that even if the Scrum Master is facilitating, it's up to the team to make most decisions. Use this underlying principle when answering questions, demonstrating the Scrum Master's role as a servant-leader.

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PSM I - Scrum Event Facilitation Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Scrum Event Facilitation

Question 1

During a Sprint Retrospective, the team members are not actively participating and the event is not leading to any significant improvements. As a Scrum Master, what is your approach?

Encourage the development team to solely focus on technical improvements, thereby narrowing the scope of discussion which might make it easier for them to contribute. Advise the team to skip the retrospective if the previous sprint was successful to save time. Implement a strict rule mandating that each team member must contribute at least one improvement suggestion per retrospective. Rotate the role of the facilitator among team members to encourage ownership and active participation.

Correct Answer: Rotate the role of the facilitator among team members to encourage ownership and active participation.

Rotating the role of the facilitator can help engage different perspectives and encourage all team members to participate more actively in the process, thereby uncovering different areas for improvement. Advising the team to skip retrospectives overlooks the continuous improvement aspect of Scrum, suggesting mandatory contribution might create a forced and less genuine environment, and focusing only on technical improvements ignores other important aspects like process, tools, and human interactions.

Question 2

During the Sprint Retrospective, the team feels the retrospective is running too long and they are getting overwhelmed with too much information. As a Scrum Master, what would you suggest?

Suggest splitting the retrospective into multiple sessions, dedicating each session to a specific area of discussion. Encourage the team to prioritize the retrospective topics and focus the discussion on the top few items. Propose the team to document all issues without discussing them and decide on actions via email after the meeting. Advise the team to increase the time of the retrospective to cover all items extensively.

Correct Answer: Encourage the team to prioritize the retrospective topics and focus the discussion on the top few items.

The correct approach in Scrum is to maximize the value of the time spent in a retrospective by encouraging the team to prioritize and focus on the most critical topics for improvement. Increasing the time, avoiding active discussion, or splitting the meeting into too many sessions could dilute the effectiveness of the retrospective and decrease team engagement. Prioritization ensures that the team can take actionable steps without feeling overwhelmed.

Question 3

The Product Owner has added tasks to the Sprint backlog while the team is already in the middle of the Sprint. As the Scrum Master, what should you do?

Coordinate a meeting between the Product Owner and stakeholders to prioritize the new tasks without involving the Development Team. Encourage the Product Owner to discuss the changes with the Development Team and determine the impact on the Sprint Goal. Suggest pausing the current Sprint to plan a new Sprint including the additional tasks, ensuring all current work aligns with the product vision. Recommend that the Product Owner waits until the Sprint Review to present the new tasks and gather feedback before adding them to the next Sprint Backlog.

Correct Answer: Encourage the Product Owner to discuss the changes with the Development Team and determine the impact on the Sprint Goal.

The Scrum Guide emphasizes the self-organizing nature of Scrum Teams, meaning changes to the Sprint Backlog should be negotiated between the Product Owner and the Development Team, as they are the ones committing to the work. The Sprint Backlog is owned by the Development Team, and any changes that may impact the Sprint Goal should be addressed collaboratively. The correct answer upholds the Scrum principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation, within the team's established processes. The wrong answers either bypass the Development Team's autonomy, suggest impractical approaches against Scrum values, or delay essential communication and adaptation until the Sprint Review.

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