Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)People & TeamsEasy
A Scrum Master notices that during Daily Scrums, the Developers primarily report their individual status to the Scrum Master, rather than discussing their progress toward the Sprint Goal with each other. This leads to missed dependencies and unaddressed impediments. What should the Scrum Master do to improve the effectiveness of the Daily Scrum?
- ARemind the Developers that the Daily Scrum is their meeting and they should address each other.
- BIntroduce a strict time-box for each Developer's update to encourage brevity and focus.
- CStand outside the circle or remain silent during the Daily Scrum to shift focus to the Developers.
- DFacilitate a discussion in the next Sprint Retrospective about the purpose of the Daily Scrum and team accountability.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Stand outside the circle or remain silent during the Daily Scrum to shift focus to the Developers.
The Daily Scrum is for the Developers. By physically removing themselves or remaining silent, the Scrum Master subtly encourages the Developers to self-organize and communicate with each other about their progress toward the Sprint Goal, rather than reporting to an authority figure.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. While true, merely reminding them might not change behavior if the underlying dynamic of reporting to the Scrum Master persists. A more active facilitation technique is needed.
- B. A time-box is already part of the Daily Scrum and while brevity is good, it doesn't directly address the reporting dynamic or foster peer-to-peer communication.
- D. While a Retrospective discussion is good for long-term improvement, the Scrum Master can take immediate action during the Daily Scrum to shift the dynamic and foster better self-management and peer communication.
Daily Scrum (Self-Managing)
A 15-minute event for the Developers to plan work for the next 24 hours, inspecting progress towards the Sprint Goal and adapting the Sprint Backlog. It is for the Developers, by the Developers.
- Promotes self-management and peer-to-peer communication.
- Focuses on the Sprint Goal, not individual status reports.
- The Scrum Master ensures it stays within the time-box and facilitates if needed, but is not an active participant in the discussion unless acting as a Developer.
Memory trick: Developers talk, Goal is the rock.