What should Steven do in this situation?

Steven is a Scrum Master of a Scrum Team that is new to Scrum. At the halfway point of the Sprint, the Product Owner comes to Steven telling him that he is concerned the Development Team will not be able to complete the entire Sprint Backlog by the end of the Sprint.

What should Steven do in this situation?
A . Motivate the Development Team to meet their commitment to the Product Owner.
B . Coach the Product Owner that with complex software development, you cannot promise the entire scope that was forecast during Sprint Planning. As more is learned during the Sprint, work may emerge that affects the Sprint Backlog.
C . Advise the Product Owner that the Development Team owns the Sprint Backlog and it is up to them to meet their commitments. No one tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality.
D . Add more people to the Development Team to meet the Product Owner’s expectations.

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

Scrum is founded on empirical process control theory, or empiricism. Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known. The Sprint Backlog is a forecast by the Development Team about what functionality will be in the next Increment and the work needed to deliver that functionality into a ‘Done’ Increment. The Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal.

Why C is incorrect:

a) The Dev Team does not commit to finishing all items in the Sprint Backlog. Committing to completing all items would be fixed scope and fixed time leaving no room to adapt. They commit to the Sprint Goal and doing the right thing.

b) It’s also incorrect for the PO to focus on completing the entire Sprint Backlog. Finishing everything should not be his main focus. Having a shippable increment that meets the Sprint Goal is more important than trying to finish everything. The advice in option C is equivalent to “Don’t worry, they’ll get everything done.” but because of the complex domain, you cannot guarantee everything will get done.