Scrum PSM-I - Professional Scrum Master I

The Scrum Master should talk to the IT manager and explain that progress in Scrum comes from inspecting an Increment at the Sprint Review, as stated in [5]: “The Scrum Master should educate the IT manager about how Scrum works and how progress is measured. The Scrum Master should invite the IT manager to attend the Sprint Review where the Development Team demonstrates what was accomplished during the Sprint. The Scrum Master should also explain that status reports are not necessary in Scrum, as transparency is ensured by using artifacts such as Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.”

 According to the Scrum Guide1, when multiple Scrum Teams are working together on the same product, they must mutually define and comply with the same definition of “Done”, which includes creating an integrated Increment at least by the end of each Sprint. The Scrum Master should teach and coach the Developers that it is their responsibility to work with other Scrum Teams to create an integrated Increment that meets the definition of “Done”. The other options are not aligned with Scrum values and principles.

References: Scrum Guide

According to the Scrum Guide, a Development Team is cross-functional if it has all the skills to create a potentially releasable Increment by the end of every Sprint. The other options are not indicators of cross-functionality, as they are either specific practices (such as pair programming or test driven development) or irrelevant factors (such as conflicts within the team or ability to perform every task).

Two techniques that the Scrum Master could use when the Scrum Team gets caught in an internal disagreement about which agile practices to apply are to involve the complete Scrum Team in making a decision, and to use coaching techniques such as open questions and active listening, as stated in [3]: “The Scrum Master should facilitate a constructive dialogue among the team members and help them reach a consensus on which agile practices to use. The Scrum Master should also use coaching techniques such as open questions and active listening to understand the underlying needs and motivations of each team member and to help them find common ground.”

The best answer is C. Ensure every Increment meets them. Non-functional requirements (NFRs) are system qualities that guide the design of the solution and often serve as constraints across the relevant backlogs1. NFRs are persistent qualities and constraints typically revisited as part of the definition of done (DoD) for each Iteration, PI, or release1. The Scrum Team should ensure that every Increment meets the NFRs, as they are part of the product requirements and affect the value delivery and customer satisfaction.

According to the Scrum Guide, three behaviors that demonstrate that a team is self-organizing are creating their own sprint backlog, having all the skills needed to create a releasable Increment, and collaboratively selecting their own work during the Sprint. The other options are not behaviors that demonstrate self-organization, as they are either contrary to Scrum values and principles (such as stakeholders walking in at the Daily Scrum or working within functional boundaries) or unnecessary for self-organization (such as the Product Owner not being at Sprint Retrospectives or the Development Team inviting external people to the Sprint Planning).

According to the Scrum Guide1, Scrum promotes self-organization by giving autonomy and empowerment to the Developers who decide how to do their work within a Sprint. The Developers have no titles other than Developer, regardless of their specialization or skills. Scrum is a lightweight framework that minimizes prescription and maximizes flexibility and adaptability.

References: Scrum Guide

According to the Scrum Guide, the action that the Scrum Master should take when the Team decides that a Sprint Retrospective is unnecessary is to begin facilitating productive and useful Sprint Retrospectives. The Sprint Retrospective is an essential event for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring that this event takes place and that positive outcomes are achieved. The other options are not valid actions, as they either imply that the Scrum Master complies with or ignores the decision of the Team (such as complying with it, calling a meeting with senior management, or consulting with the Product Owner), which is not consistent with Scrum values and principles.

Architecture and infrastructure are handled in Scrum by implementing them along with functional development of the product, and by adding them to the Product Backlog and addressing them in early Sprints, while always requiring at least some business functionality, no matter how small, as stated in [2]: “Scrum does not distinguish between developing functionality or architecture. They are developed together, as they are both important and support each other. Architecture is not a separate phase; it is part of the product development. Architecture is added to the Product Backlog as any other feature or functionality.”