Helping Hand Questions for PSPO-I

• Customer satisfaction is a measure of how well a product or service meets or exceeds the expectations and needs of the customers. It is an important indicator of the value and quality of a product or service, and it can affect the loyalty, retention, and profitability of the customers.
• Customer satisfaction should be measured frequently, as it can change over time depending on various factors, such as the market conditions, the customer feedback, the product updates, the competitor actions, and the customer behavior. Measuring customer satisfaction frequently can help the Product Owner and the Scrum Team to inspect and adapt their product vision, strategy, roadmap, backlog, and increments based on the customer needs and preferences. It can also help them to identify and resolve any issues or gaps that may affect the customer satisfaction and value delivery.
• Measuring customer satisfaction quarterly, daily, or annually is not optimal, as it may not reflect the current state of the customer satisfaction and may miss some opportunities or risks that may arise in between the measurement intervals. Quarterly measurement may be too slow to respond to the fast-changing market and customer demands. Daily measurement may be too noisy and costly to collect and analyze. Annual measurement may be too outdated and irrelevant to inform the product decisions.

References:

• Scrum Guide: https://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
• Customer Satisfaction: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/customer-satisfaction/

The Scrum Team is a self-managing unit that organizes its own work and delivers a valuable product1. The Scrum Team consists of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers2. The Scrum Team is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint[3][3]. If a Developer is having conflicts with other team members that affect the delivery of the Increment, the Scrum Team is responsible for resolving the issue and deciding whether to remove the Developer from the team or not. The Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the hiring manager do not have the authority to remove a Developer from the Scrum Team, as this would violate the principle of self-management4.

References:

1: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 5

2: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 6

[3][3]: The Scrum Guide, November 2020, p. 9

4: Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework, Scrum.org, accessed on December 16, 2023

 The timebox for the Sprint Review is four hours for a one-month Sprint. This is because:

• The Sprint Review is an event where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed. The purpose of the Sprint Review is to elicit feedback and foster collaboration.
• The timebox for each Scrum event is proportional to its frequency and duration. A one-month Sprint corresponds to a maximum calendar month.
• The timebox for a one-month Sprint Review is four hours. For shorter Sprints, it is usually shorter.
• The timebox ensures that there is enough time to inspect what has been done in relation to what could be done next and make any necessary adaptations to optimize value.

Other options, such as two hours for a one-month Sprint, one day, or as long as needed, are not valid answers as they do not reflect the correct timebox for the Sprint Review.

References:

• [Scrum Guide], page 17, section “Sprint Review”
• [Scrum Guide], page 9, section “Sprint”
• [Scrum Guide], page 9, section “Timeboxing Scrum Events”

• The “cone of uncertainty” is a graphical representation of the degree of uncertainty in a project estimate over time. It shows that the range of possible outcomes is wider at the beginning of the project and narrows down as the project progresses and more information becomes available.
• The “cone of uncertainty” can be used to illustrate that as a project forecast lengthens, it is increasingly less certain. This means that the longer the time horizon for a project, the more variability and risk there is in the estimate. This also implies that shorter iterations and frequent feedback can help reduce uncertainty and improve accuracy.
• The “cone of uncertainty” cannot be used to determine whether to cut quality, similar to the “Iron Triangle” of project management. The “Iron Triangle” is a model that shows the trade-offs between scope, time, and cost in a project. Quality is often considered as a fourth dimension that is affected by these three factors. Cutting quality is not a desirable option for any project, especially for Scrum projects that value delivering high-quality products that meet customer needs.
• The “cone of uncertainty” cannot be used to determine the cost of a project before it begins. The cost of a project depends on many factors, such as the scope, the resources, the complexity, the risks, and the market conditions. The “cone of uncertainty” only shows the range of possible outcomes based on the available information at a given point in time. It does not provide a definitive or accurate estimate of the cost before the project starts.
• The “cone of uncertainty” cannot be used to determine the length of the next Sprint. The length of the next Sprint is determined by the Scrum Team based on their empirical experience and their ability to deliver a potentially releasable Increment of value. The “cone of uncertainty” does not provide any guidance on how long a Sprint should be or how much work can be done in a Sprint.

References:

• Scrum Guide: https://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
• Cone of Uncertainty: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/cone-of-uncertainty/