C. Timeboxes encourage the people who are closest to the problem to create the best possible result in the time allotted, given the current context.

• This is true because timeboxes limit the amount of time that can be spent on an activity, which forces the Scrum Team to focus on the most valuable and feasible outcomes. Timeboxes also empower the Scrum Team to make decisions based on their own expertise and experience, rather than relying on external authorities or instructions12. D. Timeboxes help everyone focus on the same problem at the same time.
• This is true because timeboxes create a shared sense of urgency and alignment among the Scrum Team and the stakeholders. Timeboxes also enable frequent feedback and inspection, which help the Scrum Team adapt to changing requirements and expectations12.

References: 1: What Is Timeboxing in Scrum? - Visual Paradigm 2: What Is Timeboxing in Scrum and What Are the Benefits? Scrum Alliance

The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the Developers. The Product Owner is also accountable for managing the Product Backlog, which is an ordered list of what is needed in the product. The Product Owner should collaborate with the Developers and the stakeholders to create and refine the Product Backlog, as well as to define and communicate the product vision and goals. Therefore, as a Scrum Master, you should direct the new Product Owner towards focusing on:

• Building a good relationship with the stakeholders of the product (A), which is a valid option as it helps the Product Owner to understand and align with the changing organizational or market expectations, as well as to invite and receive feedback from the appropriate stakeholders during the Sprint Review, which is an event that inspects the outcome of the Sprint and determines future adaptations.
• Relying on others in the Scrum Team and the stakeholders to formulate the Product Backlog (D), which is another valid option as it helps the Product Owner to leverage the functional and business insights of the Developers and the stakeholders, who are more familiar with the product and the customer needs. By questioning them and working with them, the Product Owner will quickly become more productive and effective.

The other options are not correct because they:

• Inform the Product Owner that it is important that the Developers are updated on changing business priorities on a daily basis at the Daily Scrum (B), which is not a good option as it shows a misunderstanding of the purpose and format of the Daily Scrum, which is an event for the Developers to inspect their progress and plan their work for the next 24 hours, not a status report or a meeting for changing requirements or scope. The Product Owner should respect and support the Developers’ commitment to their Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog, and only introduce changes that do not endanger them.
• Tell the Product Owner to make sure that there are no ambiguities or possible misunderstandings in the items on the Product Backlog by capturing the functional requirements during an analysis phase ©, which is not a good option as it shows a misunderstanding of the nature and process of the Product Backlog, which is a dynamic and emergent artifact that can change as more is learned about the product, users, market, and technology. The Product Owner should collaborate with the Developers to refine and clarify the Product Backlog items throughout the product development, not create detailed documents that are considered as final outputs of analysis Sprints.

References: : [Scrum Guide], The Product Owner : [Scrum Guide], The Product Backlog : [Scrum Guide], The Sprint Review : [Scrum Guide], The Scrum Master : [Scrum Guide], The Developers : [Scrum Guide], The Daily Scrum

• B: Developers can artificially increase velocity by incurring technical debt. This is a true statement, as some Developers may choose to take shortcuts or compromise on quality in order to deliver more work in a Sprint. However, this is not a sustainable or ethical practice, as it will create more problems and costs in the future. The Scrum Master can help the Developers to avoid this temptation and focus on delivering value and quality instead.
• D: Velocity may unexpectedly drop when the Developers run into technical debt while attempting to complete new Product Backlog items. This is a true statement, as technical debt can act as a drag on the productivity and progress of the Developers. Technical debt can make the work more difficult, complex, or risky, and may require more time and effort to fix or refactor. The Scrum Master can help the Developers to identify and manage technical debt, and communicate its impact to the Product Owner and the stakeholders.

References:

• How Technical Debt Affects Your Velocity1
• Understanding the impact of technical debt on the capacity and velocity2

The best two answers are A and C.

A. Timeboxing work to allow for frequent inspection. This is a relevant boundary for self-management provided by the Scrum framework, as it helps the Scrum Team to organize their work into fixed-length Sprints and other events, such as the Daily Scrum, the Sprint Planning, the Sprint Review, and the Sprint Retrospective. Timeboxing enables the Scrum Team to inspect their progress, adapt their plan, and deliver value regularly and predictably.

C. Creating a valuable and useful Increment by the end of each Sprint. This is also a relevant boundary for self-management provided by the Scrum framework, as it guides the Scrum Team to focus on delivering a product Increment that meets the Sprint Goal and the Definition of Done. Creating a valuable and useful Increment requires the Scrum Team to collaborate, communicate, and coordinate effectively, and to apply their skills and creativity to solve complex problems.

References:

• The Scrum Guide, section 2.3 (The Scrum Team), page 7
• The Scrum Guide, section 3.1 (The Sprint), page 8
• The Scrum Guide, section 3.4 (The Increment), page 10
• The Scrum Master Learning Path, module 2 (The Scrum Framework), lesson 2 (The Sprint), lesson 3 (The Sprint Goal), lesson 4 (Sprint Planning) and lesson 5 (The Sprint Review)
• The Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II) Assessment, question 40

A. The stakeholders have not been using the Sprint Reviews to actively engage, and inspect and evaluate progress. This is a possible factor that may have led to the disappointment and anger of the stakeholders. The Sprint Review is an event where the Scrum Team and the stakeholders collaborate to inspect the product Increment and adapt the Product Backlog based on feedback and new insights. If the stakeholders do not participate actively in the Sprint Review, they may miss the opportunity to provide input, voice their concerns, and influence the direction of the product development.

D. The Scrum Master has not ensured transparency. This is another possible factor that may have led to the disappointment and anger of the stakeholders. The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing and promoting transparency among the Scrum Team and the stakeholders, by ensuring that everyone has a clear and common understanding of the product vision, the Product Goal, the Product Backlog, the Sprint Goal, the Sprint Backlog, and the Definition of Done. Without transparency, there may be misalignment, confusion, or unrealistic expectations among the stakeholders regarding the product being built.

E. The Product Owner has not been interacting frequently with the stakeholders and kept them aware of the progress of the project. This is also a possible factor that may have led to the disappointment and anger of the stakeholders. The Product Owner is responsible for engaging with the stakeholders regularly and communicating the value, scope, and status of the product development. The Product Owner should also seek feedback from the stakeholders and incorporate it into the Product Backlog refinement and ordering. If the Product Owner does not interact frequently with the stakeholders, they may feel disconnected, ignored, or dissatisfied with the product being built.

References:

• The Scrum Guide, section 2.3 (The Scrum Team), page 7
• The Scrum Guide, section 3.6 (The Sprint Review), page 11
• The Scrum Guide, section 4.1 (The Product Backlog), page 11
• The Scrum Master Learning Path, module 2 (The Scrum Framework), lesson 5 (The Sprint Review) and lesson 6 (The Sprint Retrospective)

A “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprint” is not a Scrum concept, but a sign of poor engineering practices and weak adherence to the Scrum values and principles. It indicates that the Scrum Team is not delivering a potentially releasable product Increment every Sprint, which is one of the core commitments of Scrum. This could be due to a weak or incomplete Definition of Done, which allows technical debt to accumulate and compromises the quality and usability of the product. It could also be due to the Developers finding it nearly impossible to create a valuable, useful product Increment in a Sprint, which could be caused by various factors such as lack of skills, tools, collaboration, feedback, or empowerment. The Definition of Done is not being met every Sprint, which means that the Scrum Team is not fulfilling its accountability for the Increment and is not transparent about the state of the product.

References:

• Scrum Guide 2020, section “Commitments”, “Definition of Done”, “The Sprint”, “The Increment”.
• Advanced Knowledge of Scrum, section “Definition of Done”, “Technical Debt”.
• Scrum Master Accountabilities, section “Accountability for Effectiveness”.

The Definition of Done is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality standards required for the product. The purpose of the Definition of Done is to:

• During the Sprint, it helps the Developers identify the work remaining for an Increment to be ready for release by the end of a Sprint (B), by providing a clear and shared understanding of what “Done” means for each Product Backlog item and the Increment as a whole.
• It creates transparency into the state of the Increment when it is inspected at the Sprint Review ©, by ensuring that everyone involved in the product development has the same expectations and criteria for evaluating the value, usability, and quality of the Increment.
• It guides the Developers when creating a forecast at the Sprint Planning (D), by enabling them to estimate how much work they can realistically complete within a Sprint, based on their capacity, skills, and Definition of Done.

References: : [Scrum Guide], The Definition of Done : [Scrum Guide], The Increment : [Scrum Guide], The Sprint Review : [Scrum Guide], The Sprint Planning

Short Explanation: Scrum is a framework for delivering value to customers and stakeholders in an iterative and incremental way. Scrum does not prescribe how project budgeting and financial forecasting should be performed, but it does provide some principles and practices that can help with this process.

One of these principles is that each Sprint should produce a potentially releasable product Increment that delivers value and meets the Definition of Done. This means that several Sprints may be funded as a single release, with the result of each Sprint being releasable product12. This allows the Product Owner to decide when to release the product based on the feedback from the customers and stakeholders, and the market conditions.

Another principle is that Scrum promotes transparency, inspection, and adaptation. This means that the budgeting and forecasting process should be revisited as frequently as each Sprint to ensure value is being delivered for the investment spent13. This allows the Scrum Team to inspect the outcomes of the delivered Sprint Increments, compare them with the expected benefits and costs, and adapt the product backlog and the release plan accordingly.

Scrum does not align with traditional accounting practices that require fixed scope, cost, and time. However, this does not mean that Scrum Teams do not need a budgeting process or that they only need to cover the run cost (time and materials) of the Scrum Teams. Scrum Teams still need to estimate the size and value of the product backlog items, forecast the delivery date and cost of the product or release, and track the actual spending and revenue of the product or release43. The difference is that these estimates and forecasts are based on empirical data from previous Sprints, rather than on upfront assumptions or guesses. They are also subject to change as new information emerges or new requirements arise.

References:

• Scrum Guide 2020, section “The Sprint”, “The Increment”, “Empiricism”.
• Tips for Effective Agile Budgeting and Forecasting | Toptal®, section “Establish Context and Set Expectations”, “Budget for Value”.
• Project forecasts and budgets | Microsoft Learn, section “Project forecasting”.
• Planning and Budgeting in Scrum Projects - PMHut, section “Budgeting in Scrum Projects”.

The Sprint Review is an event that inspects the outcome of the Sprint and determines future adaptations. The Product Owner has the authority to release the Increment to production at any time, but this does not mean that the Sprint has to be stopped or changed. The stakeholders can provide feedback and suggestions for the product, but they cannot interfere with the Sprint Goal or the Sprint Backlog within the Sprint. The Scrum Team can decide to:

• Continue sprinting but shorten the Sprint length to allow for shorter feedback loops (A), which is a valid option if the Scrum Team agrees that this will improve their agility and value delivery. However, this should not be done frequently or arbitrarily, as it may disrupt the rhythm and focus of the team.
• Continue sprinting and include the customer feedback in the Product Backlog ©, which is the most appropriate option as it respects the empirical nature of Scrum and allows the Product Owner to prioritize and order the Product Backlog based on new insights and stakeholder needs.

References: : [Scrum Guide], The Sprint Review : [Scrum Guide], The Product Owner : [Scrum Guide], The Sprint : [Scrum Guide], The Product Backlog

A. Having one Product Owner will improve the clarity of accountability to the teams and to the product management department. This is a good suggestion, as it ensures that there is a single person who is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and managing the Product Backlog. Having one Product Owner also avoids confusion, duplication, or conflict among multiple Product Owners who may have different visions, priorities, or expectations for the product.

D. A single Product Backlog should be maintained holding all requirements for the new product. This is also a good suggestion, as it ensures that there is a single source of truth for the product requirements and that they are transparent and visible to all stakeholders. Having a single Product Backlog also enables the Product Owner to order the items based on their value, risk, dependency, and urgency, and to collaborate with the Scrum Teams to select and refine the items for each Sprint.

References:

• The Scrum Guide, section 2.3 (The Scrum Team), page 7
• The Scrum Guide, section 4.1 (The Product Backlog), page 11
• The Scrum Master Learning Path, module 2 (The Scrum Framework), lesson 4 (Sprint Planning) and lesson 5 (The Sprint Review)