Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)People & TeamsHard
A Scrum Team is highly effective and self-managing, consistently delivering valuable Increments. However, the Scrum Master notices that the team has grown complacent, rarely experimenting with new techniques or challenging their existing ways of working, even when minor inefficiencies arise. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take to address this complacency?
- ARemind the team of their past successes to reinforce their current effective practices.
- BFacilitate a Retrospective activity focused on exploring new tools or processes to optimize their workflow.
- CIntroduce a mandatory 'innovation day' every Sprint where Developers must explore new technologies.
- DDelegate the responsibility of identifying process improvements to the Product Owner.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Facilitate a Retrospective activity focused on exploring new tools or processes to optimize their workflow.
The Scrum Master fosters continuous improvement. Complacency indicates a lack of inspection and adaptation regarding processes. Facilitating a Retrospective specifically designed to explore new ideas encourages the team to identify and implement improvements themselves, fostering self-management and continuous learning.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. While positive reinforcement is good, focusing only on past successes reinforces complacency rather than encouraging continuous improvement.
- C. Mandating activities can feel prescriptive and doesn't necessarily foster intrinsic motivation for continuous improvement.
- D. Identifying process improvements is a responsibility of the entire Scrum Team, not solely the Product Owner.
Facilitating Continuous Improvement
The Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum Team's continuous improvement by encouraging inspection and adaptation of their processes, tools, and relationships, preventing complacency and fostering ongoing growth.
- Promotes a culture of learning and experimentation.
- Leverages the Sprint Retrospective for process improvements.
- Challenges the status quo for better outcomes.
Memory trick: Complacency is a quiet killer; the Retrospective is its thrill-seeker.