After a brainstorming session generates 20 improvement ideas on sticky notes, the Scrum Master gives each team member 5 coloured stickers to place on their preferred ideas. Ideas with the most stickers get prioritised. What technique is this?
Dot voting (also called multi-voting or sticker voting) is a participatory prioritisation technique where each participant has a limited number of votes (dots/stickers) to distribute across options. It quickly surfaces group preferences without lengthy debate. Rules: participants may put multiple dots on one item (if they feel strongly) or spread them across items. It works well for narrowing a large idea set to a manageable shortlist in retrospectives and workshops.
2 / 15
A Scrum Master asks all team members to independently write their ideas on sticky notes for 5 minutes before any discussion begins. What facilitation technique is being used and why?
Silent brainstorming (brainwriting) is a technique where participants generate ideas independently and silently before sharing. This prevents HiPPO effect (Highest-Paid Person's Opinion dominating), anchoring bias (first speaker influencing all subsequent ideas), and social loafing (people deferring when others are already talking). Studies show silent brainstorming generates more diverse and numerous ideas than open verbal brainstorming.
3 / 15
During a retrospective, a team member raises an important topic about the hiring process that is relevant but outside the scope of the current retro. The Scrum Master writes it on a separate board to discuss later. What is this facilitation practice called?
The parking lot (sometimes called 'bike rack' or 'car park') is a facilitation tool for capturing valuable topics that are off-topic for the current meeting. Writing them visibly on a separate board acknowledges the contributor's input (so they don't feel dismissed), keeps the current meeting focused, and ensures the topic isn't forgotten. At the end of the meeting, the facilitator reviews the parking lot and assigns owners or schedules time for each item.
4 / 15
After a retrospective generates 8 action items, the Scrum Master ensures each has a named owner and a completion date before closing. At the next retro, she reviews which were done. What practice describes managing retrospective outcomes this way?
Action item tracking is the practice of capturing each improvement commitment from a retrospective with: a clear description, a single named owner (not 'the team'), and a target completion date. At the following retrospective, the facilitator opens with an action item review before generating new items. Research (Derby & Larsen) shows teams that track and review action items implement 3–5x more improvements than teams that generate ideas but don't assign ownership.
5 / 15
A Scrum Master asks the team to vote on a technical decision by showing 0–5 fingers simultaneously. What does each number typically represent in this technique?
Fist of Five (or Fist to Five) is a consensus-gauging technique: 0 (fist) = veto/block — cannot support, must be resolved; 1 = serious concerns, need discussion; 2 = concerns but will not block; 3 = neutral/abstain; 4 = support; 5 = enthusiastic support. The facilitator looks for any 0s or 1s and addresses them before proceeding. Unlike a majority vote, it surfaces minority concerns that binary voting would hide — making it safer for decision quality in self-organising teams.
6 / 15
Sarah, the team lead, is running a code review for a new feature. A developer pushes a large change with numerous commits and extensive comments in the commit messages themselves. During the review, another developer asks, 'Could you elaborate on why this approach was chosen – specifically, what trade-offs were considered?' What facilitation technique is Sarah employing to encourage deeper discussion about the design decisions?
Sarah is using *probing questions*—specifically, asking 'what trade-offs were considered'—to encourage the developer to articulate their reasoning and explore the underlying rationale. This goes beyond a simple confirmation of understanding; it prompts critical thinking about the design choices. The other options present insufficient or irrelevant responses.
7 / 15
David, the engineering manager, notices that during a daily standup meeting, one team member consistently dominates the conversation. He wants to ensure everyone has an opportunity to share updates. What facilitation technique can David use to gently shift the balance of participation?
David should use *round-robin*, which involves systematically going around the room and asking each person to share their update. This ensures everyone gets a chance to speak and prevents one individual from monopolizing the conversation. It's a structured way to manage participation and encourage inclusivity.
8 / 15
Emily is leading a sprint planning meeting. The team is discussing user stories, and one member suggests adding a complex new feature that isn't explicitly defined in the product backlog. She wants to ensure this doesn't derail the sprint. What facilitation technique does Emily use to manage this situation?
Emily is employing *clarifying requirements and scope*. Before committing to adding new work, she needs to understand the full implications of the feature – its impact on timelines, resources, and overall sprint goals. This prevents scope creep and ensures the team remains focused on delivering what's planned.
9 / 15
John, a senior developer, is leading a discussion about refactoring the authentication service. Several team members offer suggestions, but the conversation quickly becomes bogged down in detailed technical debates and disagreements about specific implementation choices. To help move things forward, John decides to use the 'Parking Lot' technique. What is the primary purpose of this technique?
The 'Parking Lot' technique is used to temporarily capture tangential discussions or ideas that aren't directly relevant to the main objective. This prevents the conversation from derailing and allows the team to revisit these points later when time permits, ensuring a focused discussion on the primary goal of refactoring the authentication service. Options A and B suggest an issue with the overall project goals or a lack of exploration, while option D suggests direct instruction is needed.
10 / 15
Maria, a product owner, is facilitating a sprint review for a new mobile app feature. During the demo, one of the developers excitedly shows off a complex animation that isn't directly related to the user stories being discussed. Maria immediately interjects and gently redirects the focus back to the core functionality demonstrated in the sprint goals. What facilitation skill is she demonstrating?
Maria's actions illustrate 'scope management,' a critical facilitation skill where she maintains focus on the sprint goals and prevents tangents from derailing the discussion. This ensures that the review remains aligned with delivering value to the user stories and doesn't get sidetracked by technically impressive but irrelevant details. Options A and B describe negative outcomes, while option D suggests a lack of direction.
11 / 15
You're reviewing a pull request for a new user authentication module. The reviewer notices a potential XSS vulnerability in the form handling code. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate response to suggest to the developer?
Input validation and output encoding are fundamental defenses against XSS. Regular expressions alone aren't sufficient – they can be bypassed in certain scenarios. Refactoring is overkill for this specific issue; a simple comment won't mitigate the vulnerability. This response directly addresses the immediate risk.
12 / 15
During a daily standup, Sarah mentions she's blocked on getting feedback on a critical bug fix. She asks the team if anyone can help her prioritize this issue. Which of the following is the BEST way to facilitate this discussion?
Directly offering assistance to Sarah is crucial in this situation. Simply postponing it or asking her to send the code won't resolve her immediate block. Scheduling a specific time to address the issue demonstrates proactive support and prioritization.
13 / 15
You're leading a sprint planning meeting. A stakeholder requests a new feature that wasn't in the original product backlog. How should you handle this request during the planning session?
The stakeholder's request needs careful consideration. Simply accepting it without discussion is a recipe for scope creep. Asking how it aligns with existing goals allows you to assess its impact and potentially negotiate its inclusion or deferral.
14 / 15
A developer submits a pull request with a complex algorithm implemented in Python. The reviewer needs to understand the core logic but is unfamiliar with the specific algorithm used. What's the MOST effective way for the reviewer to get clarification?
The reviewer's primary concern is understanding the core logic. Asking for a high-level overview forces the developer to explain the concept in simpler terms, ensuring comprehension without getting bogged down in technical details. A detailed document isn't always necessary or immediately helpful.
15 / 15
During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that they spend too much time arguing about minor details instead of focusing on root causes. What facilitation technique would be MOST effective in shifting the focus?
The team's behavior requires intervention to prevent further derailment. Framing the discussion around root causes directs the conversation toward actionable insights. Simply ignoring the issue or continuing the unproductive debate will only exacerbate the problem.
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