CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS

What are the three pillars of Empiricisim

1. Transparency - everyone knows what we are doing 2. Inspection - We keep checking what we've done 3. Adaptation - if something e'redoing doesn't work well, we'll change it.

What is Commitment

Commitment is about committing ourselves to the team and the Sprint Goal. It means that we are prepared to help the team achieve the goal, even though we may not personally agree with the goal or any design or architectural decisions made in its pursuit. Once the team has agreed on the tasks to be completed in a Sprint, we commit ourselves to finishing those tasks. Commitment does not mean that we blindly accept any decision made by others and follow them unquestionably; it does mean however that once our questions have been answered and our doubts communicated to the team, we commit ourselves to the decided direction and goals.

What is Courage?

Courage means that we are willing to accept when we are wrong or when our opinion does not align with the direction the team is going in. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, and - as the saying goes - it takes a brave person to admit their mistakes. Courage also means that we are prepared to have difficult conversations " if need be. Courage does not mean being disparaging of other people's opinions, being argumentative, or pushing back against the consensus.

Empiricism

Empiricism is derived from the Greek word Empeiria, that is, experience. It is the theory that all knowledge should be based on, and justified by, practical experience. Learning is based on our observations, perception, and experience gained from practice

Empiricism vs. Rationalism

Empiricism:sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts and knowledge Rationalism: there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience

What is focus?

Focus is about keeping certain things in mind as high-importance items and finishing what we start. In the short term, our focus should be on achieving the Sprint Goal. In the longer term, our focus should be on delivering the product our customers need, while applying the Scrum values and supporting the pillars of Scrum.

What is Openness

Openness is about being upfront and honest about what we do. We all come across issues and challenges that prevent us from completing our tasks. Being open means that we let the team know about them. It's better for the team to know about such things early than the customer finding out about them later on. Being open means presenting new ideas to the team and discussing them, rather than keeping them to ourselves. Openness also means that when we present an idea or design, we talk about its drawbacks as well as its advantages. Openness does not mean that we keep reminding everyone about our achievements or brag about our skills.

What is Respect?

Respect is more about treating others with respect, rather than trying to earn it. Being respectful means that we consider other people's ideas and suggestions and if we disagree, we provide constructive criticism and reasoned arguments, instead of patronizingly dismissing them. Respect means recognizing that different people have different skillsets; some people will be better at something than us, while others will be worse. It means recognizing that people come from different backgrounds and will look at the same problem from different perspectives to our own. Last, but not least, we need to keep in mind that we are all human; we all make bad decisions, have bad days, and occasionally achieve great things.

Alice, a Scrum Team member working on a Sprint task, designs a new algorithm to help implement a task and presents it to the team. After careful consideration, other team members suggest the use of a different algorithm, better suited to the specific task. Alice uses the newly suggested algorithm and completes the task successfully. Which Scrum values did Alice demonstrate? a) Focus and respect b) Openness and commitment c) Courage and loyalty d) None of the above

The correct answer is b. Alice has been open to discussing alternative algorithms to the one she chose. She also showed courage in accepting a new algorithm, as suggested by the team, and implementing it.

During my development process, I constantly take actions, measure their effects, and adjust my next actions accordingly. Which theory-of-knowledge approach underpins my development process? a) Rationalism b) Realism c) Empiricism d) Pragmatism

The correct answer is c. Empiricism, the principle that underpins Scrum, is based on constant inspection and adaptation.

Which of the following statements best describes Scrum? a) Scrum is the most popular development process. b) Scrum is one of many Agile methodologies. c) Scrum is an Agile process framework. d) Scrum prescribes an Agile development process.

The correct answer is c. Scrum is a process framework, not a methodology or process.

During a Sprint, Carol - a Scrum Team member - is approached by the company CTO and asked"working on the Sprint and completes her tasks successfully. Which statement best describes Carol's action? a) A heroic action that managed to help a senior company member, while still achieving the Sprint commitment. Carol should be rewarded. b) Carol should have asked her manager's permission before helping the CTO. c) Carol should have let the team know that she would stop working on Sprint tasks for a day. Still, the Sprint tasks were completed in the end, so no harm was done. d) Carol did not live by the Scrum value of focus."

The correct answer is d. By accepting to work on a non-Sprint item, Carol lost focus of the task she was working on and of the Sprint goal.

Bob, a Scrum Team member, has presented a new design to the team, however, he neglected to mention that the new design will not work under certain conditions. Which Scrum value has Bob not adhered to? a) Commitment b) Courage c) Focus d) Openness e) Respect

The correct answer is d. Openness means that we share both good and bad things with our team. By failing to mention the weaknesses of his design, Bob hasn't been open with the team.

non-deterministic process

What that means is that following the same process, techniques, and standards will not necessarily produce the same results every single time

rationalism

another theory of knowledge that regards reason as the chief source and standard of knowledge. In other words, rationalism determines truth based on the adoption of and adherence to intellectual templates and standards. Empiricism, on the other hand, determines truth based on the results of experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and its alignment with a perceived useful outcome.