Mid-Sprint, the Developers discover that a third-party API rate-limits far below what they assumed, which makes the current plan unworkable. One of them suggests carrying on as planned and raising it at the Sprint Retrospective, so the Sprint is not disrupted. What should happen instead?
Professional Scrum Master I, objective 1. Understanding and applying the Scrum framework hard
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The options
Correct The Developers adapt the Sprint Backlog now, and collaborate with the Product Owner on scope if the Sprint Goal is at risk
Correct. A Scrum Team is expected to adapt the moment it learns something new, and the Sprint Backlog is updated throughout the Sprint as more is learned — it is not a decision that waits for an event.
Not correct Wait for the Sprint Retrospective, which is the event for adapting how the team works
Wrong, and it confuses two kinds of adaptation. The Retrospective adapts the way the team works, and it happens after the Sprint whose plan is failing is already over. Deviation left unaddressed for a week is deviation compounded for a week.
Not correct The Scrum Master re-plans the remaining work, since causing the removal of impediments is their accountability
Wrong. Causing the removal of impediments is indeed the Scrum Master's, but the plan for the Sprint belongs to the Developers. A Scrum Master who takes over the plan has removed an impediment by removing self-management.
Not correct Ask the Product Owner to cancel the Sprint, since the plan can no longer be delivered as written
Wrong. A Sprint is cancelled only when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. A plan that needs rewriting mid-Sprint is not an emergency, it is the normal consequence of learning something.
Why
Adaptation in Scrum is immediate, not scheduled: the adjustment is made as soon as possible to minimise further deviation. Keep the three adaptation points apart — the Daily Scrum adapts the Sprint Backlog as a matter of daily cadence, the Sprint Review adapts the Product Backlog, and the Sprint Retrospective adapts how the team works. None of them is a queue you must join before you may change today's plan.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- Scrum Guide section Adaptation
- What it says
- The adjustment must be made as soon as possible to minimize further deviation.
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a set from objective 1 and space the ones you get wrong.
Practise Professional Scrum Master I
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