Courage

Correct Answer: Courageously address the issue with the Product Owner and advocate for the team's involvement

As a ScrumMaster, you are expected to courageously address the issue with the Product Owner and advocate for the team's involvement. This is because Scrum values include courage and respect. The ScrumMaster has the responsibility to facilitate communication and cooperation between the Product Owner and the team. The other options are incorrect because staying silent and allowing the Product Owner to continue making decisions alone undermines the agile principle of collaboration and fails to protect the team. Bypassing the Product Owner and making the decisions yourself oversteps the boundary of the ScrumMaster role, as decision making should be a collaborative process involving the Product Owner and the team. Complaining about the Product Owner to the management team does not directly resolve the problem and risks creating a hostile environment.

Correct Answer: Take the team member aside and openly discuss the observed behavior

The correct approach as a ScrumMaster when observing a skilled team member shirking responsibilities is to 'Take the team member aside and openly discuss the observed behavior'. This allows both parties to understand the situation, possible reasons behind the behavior, and potential solutions while maintaining respect and open communication. The option to 'Ignore the behavior hoping it will improve on its own' is not productive, as it allows the problem to persist without addressing it. 'Publicly shaming the team member during a standup' is inappropriate and goes against principles of respect and transparency that underpin Scrum. 'Reassigning all their tasks to others until they bounce back' does not help the team member grow or improve, and instead may contribute to team imbalance and resentment.

Correct Answer: Guide the team by reminding them of the importance of the core Scrum values and principles, regardless of the short-term outcomes.

The most appropriate way to address the situation where a team is deviating from Scrum values, but still getting work done, is to guide them back to core Scrum values. This is because Scrum is essentially a mindset, and its effectiveness lies in its guiding principles, which ensure sustainable pace, high quality, and team collaboration. So, 'guide the team by reminding them of the importance of the core Scrum values and principles, regardless of the short-term outcomes' is the correct answer for the Certified ScrumMaster course. The other answers are not correct because: 1. 'Encourage the team to focus only on getting work done, regardless of the methods': This advice may lead to problems in the long run like technical debt or poor quality work. It contradicts the Scrum principle of 'building projects around motivated individuals'. 2. 'Threaten the team with consequences if they do not follow the Scrum values and principles': Scrum is about cultivating a safe and collaborative working environment. Punitive measures can harm trust and morale, and goes against Scrum values like 'respect' and 'courage' 3. 'Tell the team to follow the Scrum guide blindly without understanding its principles': This advice is restrictive and can stifle creativity and adaptation, both of which are central to Scrum's iterative philosophy.