PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Two senior developers on your Scrum team have a disagreement about the technical approach for a user story. The disagreement is causing delays in sprint execution. As the Scrum Master, what should you do FIRST?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Facilitate a meeting between the developers to discuss and resolve the issue
The Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion to help the developers resolve the conflict constructively and reach a consensus.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the product owner
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner's primary responsibility is maximizing product value, managing the Product Backlog, and representing stakeholders. Technical disagreements between developers, such as differing approaches to implementing a story, typically fall outside the Product Owner's domain and expertise. Escalating such an issue to the Product Owner inappropriately burdens them with a technical decision, diverting their focus from strategic product management and undermining the self-organizing nature of the development team.
- ✗
Remove both developers from the story and assign it to someone else
Why it's wrong here
Removing the developers from the story avoids the immediate conflict but fails to address the root cause of the disagreement, which could resurface in future tasks. This action also disempowers the team, preventing them from developing crucial conflict resolution skills and fostering a culture of dependency rather than self-management. Furthermore, it can significantly demotivate the involved team members, signaling a lack of trust in their ability to collaborate and resolve challenges.
- ✗
Decide on the approach yourself to end the conflict quickly
Why it's wrong here
As a Scrum Master, imposing a solution on the development team directly contradicts the principles of self-organization and empowerment central to Scrum. The Scrum Master's role is to serve the team by removing impediments and facilitating their decision-making processes, not to dictate technical approaches. Such an action would undermine the team's autonomy, reduce their sense of ownership over the solution, and prevent them from learning to collaboratively resolve their own technical challenges.
- ✓
Facilitate a meeting between the developers to discuss and resolve the issue
Why this is correct
Facilitating a meeting directly aligns with the Scrum Master's role as a servant-leader and facilitator, empowering the development team to self-organize and resolve their own impediments. By providing a structured environment for discussion, the Scrum Master helps the developers articulate their perspectives, explore technical merits, and collaboratively arrive at a mutually agreeable solution. This approach strengthens team communication, fosters collective ownership, and enhances the team's problem-solving capabilities, upholding Scrum values.
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