Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)Scrum Theory & PrinciplesHard
A new Scrum Team is frequently blocked by external dependencies and struggles to integrate their 'Done' Increment with other system components, leading to delays and rework. The organization's structure encourages teams to focus solely on their own component. Which Lean principle is being ignored?
- ADecide as Late as Possible
- BBuild Quality In
- COptimize the Whole
- DEliminate Waste
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Optimize the Whole
The team's struggles with external dependencies and integration, coupled with an organizational structure that promotes siloed component focus, directly contradicts the Lean principle of 'Optimize the Whole'. This principle advocates for considering the entire value stream and system, rather than just individual parts, to achieve overall efficiency and value delivery.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Decide as Late as Possible is about deferring irreversible decisions, not about systemic integration problems.
- B. Build Quality In focuses on preventing defects within the component, not cross-component integration issues.
- D. Eliminate Waste is relevant but the root cause here is systemic focus, not just wasteful activities.
Lean Principle: Optimize the Whole
Focus on optimizing the entire value stream and system to achieve the best overall results, rather than just optimizing individual parts in isolation.
- Prevents local optimizations that harm the global system.
- Encourages cross-team collaboration and integration.
- Essential for complex products with interdependencies.
Memory trick: Value Flow Pull Amplify Decide Optimize Build