Facilitation Techniques & Agile Ceremonies Flashcards

Which of the following best describes the 'Fist of Five' technique used in agile facilitation?

Answer: A consensus-checking tool where team members show 0-5 fingers to indicate their level of support for a decision

Fist of Five is a voting technique where zero fingers (fist) signals strong opposition and five fingers signals enthusiastic agreement, helping facilitators quickly gauge consensus.

When facilitating a retrospective using the 'Start, Stop, Continue' format, what category captures practices that are currently working well and should be maintained?

Answer: Continue

The 'Continue' category is for identifying current practices that are delivering value and should be deliberately maintained in the next sprint.

An agile coach facilitating a PI Planning event notices that two teams are arguing over a shared dependency. What is the most appropriate facilitation response?

Answer: Use a structured conflict resolution conversation to help both teams surface interests and co-create a solution

Structured conflict resolution that surfaces each team's underlying interests enables a mutually agreed solution and builds team problem-solving capacity.

What is 'diverge before converge' as a facilitation principle?

Answer: Generating a wide variety of ideas before narrowing down and selecting the best options

Diverging (exploring many possibilities) before converging (making decisions) prevents premature convergence on the first idea and leads to more creative and thorough solutions.

A team's retrospective consistently produces action items that are never completed before the next retrospective. As an agile coach, what facilitation change addresses this most effectively?

Answer: Limit retrospective action items to one or two, assign owners, and review them at the start of the next retrospective

Limiting action items to a manageable number with clear owners and reviewing them at the next retrospective creates accountability and a sustainable improvement cadence.

In agile facilitation, what is the purpose of using 'open questions' rather than 'closed questions'?

Answer: Open questions invite exploration and diverse thinking rather than yes/no responses, promoting deeper team reflection

Open questions beginning with 'what,' 'how,' or 'why' invite narrative and reflection, generating richer insights than closed questions that elicit only yes or no answers.

Which of the following best describes the agile coach's stance when facilitating versus when coaching during a team session?

Answer: As a facilitator the coach is process-neutral and guides the group; as a coach the coach engages to develop the team's capability

Facilitation requires process neutrality to guide the group's work, while coaching involves purposeful engagement to build the team's long-term skills and self-sufficiency.