CAD Collaboration and Teamwork 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a 'working agreement' (team charter) in agile teams?
- To document individual performance expectations for HR
- To establish shared norms and expectations for how the team collaborates (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for a Scrum Master
- To define the product backlog prioritization criteria
Correct answer: To establish shared norms and expectations for how the team collaborates
Working agreements define shared behavioral norms that help teams collaborate effectively and resolve conflicts.
Question 2: A product owner frequently changes sprint goals mid-sprint, disrupting the team. What should the Scrum Master do?
- Allow all changes since the product owner has authority over the backlog
- Shield the team by educating the product owner on sprint commitment and scope protection (Correct answer)
- Remove the product owner from sprint planning meetings
- Have the team ignore the product owner's requests
Correct answer: Shield the team by educating the product owner on sprint commitment and scope protection
The Scrum Master protects the team from mid-sprint disruptions by coaching the product owner on agile boundaries.
Question 3: In mob programming, how does work get accomplished?
- Each developer works independently on separate features simultaneously
- The entire team works together on one task at one computer at a time (Correct answer)
- Developers are paired and rotate partners every hour
- A senior developer codes while others review asynchronously
Correct answer: The entire team works together on one task at one computer at a time
Mob programming has the whole team collaborating on a single task together, maximizing knowledge sharing and quality.
Question 4: Which communication channel is generally MOST effective for complex problem-solving in agile teams?
- Email threads with detailed attachments
- Face-to-face or video conversation (Correct answer)
- Comprehensive written documentation
- Ticketing system comments
Correct answer: Face-to-face or video conversation
Agile Manifesto principles favor face-to-face conversation as the most efficient and effective communication method.
Question 5: What does 'collective code ownership' mean in an agile context?
- Any team member can modify any part of the codebase (Correct answer)
- Only the original author can change their code sections
- Code is owned by the product owner and managed by the team
- The Scrum Master approves all code changes
Correct answer: Any team member can modify any part of the codebase
Collective code ownership means any developer can improve any part of the code, preventing silos and bus-factor risks.
Question 6: How should an agile team handle a conflict between a developer and the product owner over story acceptance criteria?
- The product owner's definition always wins with no discussion
- Escalate immediately to senior management for resolution
- Discuss openly during backlog refinement to reach shared understanding before the sprint (Correct answer)
- The developer implements what they believe is correct and explains later
Correct answer: Discuss openly during backlog refinement to reach shared understanding before the sprint
Backlog refinement is the ideal forum for clarifying and aligning on acceptance criteria before work begins.
Question 7: What is the benefit of co-locating agile team members in an open workspace?
- It reduces the need for any formal meetings
- It enables osmotic communication and faster informal collaboration (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for version control systems
- It ensures all team members work at identical speeds
Correct answer: It enables osmotic communication and faster informal collaboration
Co-location enables osmotic communication where team members naturally absorb context from nearby conversations.
CAD Collaboration and Teamwork 3
What is the primary purpose of a 'working agreement' (team charter) in agile teams?