In what way does Scrum encourage ethical behaviour, doing "the right thing", in software development?

Scrum encourages ethical behaviour in software development by creating a framework that promotes transparency, accountability, quality, and respect for stakeholders, all of which are grounded in the Scrum Values. Rather than prescribing ethical rules, Scrum embeds ethical behaviour into the way work is organized and delivered.
First, Scrum promotes ethics through its focus ondelivering valuable, high-quality working products. The Scrum Guide emphasizes delivering usable Increments that meet a shared Definition of Done. By prioritizing quality and value for both the organization and end-users, Scrum discourages practices such as cutting corners, hiding technical debt, or delivering misleading progress, which are ethically questionable.
Second, Scrum strongly supportstransparency, a core pillar of empiricism. All significant aspects of the work-such as progress, impediments, risks, and uncertainties-are made visible through artifacts and events.
This transparency encourages honesty about what can and cannot be achieved and prevents unethical behaviour such as misreporting status or concealing problems until it is too late.
Third, Scrum encouragesaccountabilityat both individual and team levels. Clear accountabilities for the Product Owner, Developers, and Scrum Master ensure that responsibility is not diffused or avoided. Teams are accountable for delivering value, improving their way of working, and meeting their commitments. This accountability fosters ethical decision-making and ownership of outcomes.
Fourth, Scrum supports ethical behaviour throughcontinuous learning and improvement. Sprint Retrospectives create a structured opportunity to reflect on mistakes, share knowledge, and improve processes and practices. This openness to learning promotes humility, integrity, and a willingness to correct issues rather than ignoring or rationalizing them.
Finally, Scrum is explicitly guided by theScrum Values of Commitment, Courage, Focus, Respect, and Openness, which form its ethical foundation.
* Commitmentencourages teams to do what they say they will do.
* Courageenables individuals to raise concerns, admit problems, and challenge unethical practices.
* Focushelps teams concentrate on delivering real value rather than superficial outputs.
* Respectensures consideration for colleagues, stakeholders, and end-users.
* Opennesspromotes honesty about progress, challenges, and uncertainty.

A Scrum Team has been working on a product for nine Sprints. A new Product Owner comes in, understanding he is accountable for the Product Backlog. However, he is unsure about his responsibilities.
Which two activities are part of the Product Owner role according to Scrum?

According to Scrum, theProduct Owneris accountable formaximizing the value of the productand for effectiveProduct Backlog management. Two key activities that are explicitly part of this role are:
1. Ordering the Product Backlog to Maximize Value
The Product Owner is responsible forordering the Product Backlogso that the most valuable work is done first. This ordering reflects:
* Business and customer value,
* Risk and uncertainty,
* Strategic goals and learning from previous Sprints.
Through this activity, the Product Owner ensures that the Scrum Team is always working on what matters most.
2. Ensuring Product Backlog Items Are Transparent, Clear, and Understood The Product Owner ensures that Product Backlog Items are:
* Clearly expressed,
* Transparent to the Scrum Team and stakeholders,
* Understood well enough for Developers to select them during Sprint Planning.
This does not mean writing detailed requirements alone, butcollaboratingso that shared understanding exists.

Your team's Product Owner approaches you for a word in private. She expresses some concerns she has about the team'scommitment and productivity. She has noticed that comparable teams within the development organization have a higheraverage velocity. How would you handle this situation?

When a Product Owner raises concerns about the team's commitment and productivity based on comparisons ofvelocitywith other teams, this signals a need for coaching onempiricism, transparency, and appropriate use of Scrum metrics. As a Scrum Master, my response would focus on reframing the discussion fromoutput comparisontovalue delivery and continuous improvement.
First, I would explain thatvelocity is a team-specific, contextual measure. Velocity reflects how much work a specific team completes within a given context, using its own Definition of Done, skills, tooling, and domain complexity. The Scrum Guide does not define velocity as a performance or comparison metric.
Comparing velocity across teams is misleading and risks encouraging dysfunctional behavior, such as inflating estimates, cutting quality, or gaming the system. Therefore, a higher velocity does not automatically indicate higher productivity, commitment, or value delivery.
Second, I would explore the Product Owner's underlying concern rather than focusing on velocity itself.
Often, concerns about velocity are proxies for deeper issues such as:
* Missed Sprint Goals,
* Unmet stakeholder expectations,
* Slow value delivery,
* Quality problems or unpredictability.
As a Scrum Master, I would help the Product Owner articulatewhat outcome they are truly worried about, and then guide the discussion toward metrics and observations that better reflect those concerns, such as progress toward Product Goals, customer feedback, Increment quality, or predictability over time.
Third, I would reinforce the importance ofempiricism and transparency. If there are genuine concerns about commitment or effectiveness, these should be inspected using transparent evidence within the team's own context. The Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective provide structured opportunities to inspect outcomes and ways of working. Rather than privately judging the team based on external comparisons, these concerns should be addressed openly and constructively with the Scrum Team.
Fourth, I would coach the Product Owner onScrum Values, particularlyRespect and Openness. Assuming lower commitment based on velocity comparisons risks undermining trust and psychological safety. Scrum encourages respecting the team as capable professionals and being open to learning what is actually limiting their effectiveness. Blame-oriented comparisons reduce the likelihood of honest inspection and improvement.
Finally, if improvement is needed, the Scrum Master should support the Scrum Team inidentifying and addressing impediments. This may involve examining workload, technical debt, unclear backlog items, excessive dependencies, or organizational constraints. The focus should be on enabling the team to improve sustainably, not on pushing them to match another team's numbers.

Someone from the HR department approaches you. They regret to inform you that the Product Owner for your team isabsent starting today and will be unavailable for the rest of this sprint. The Product Owner might be back at work somewhereduring the next sprint, but it's all unknown at this point. What should the Scrum team do?

When the Product Owner becomes unexpectedly unavailable, the Scrum Team must respond in a way that preservescontinuity, transparency, and value delivery, while respecting Scrum accountabilities.
Short-Term Response
In theshort term, covering the current Sprint and possibly the next Sprint, the Scrum Team should be able to continueworking. Scrum is designed to be resilient to short-term disruptions. The team can proceed by relying on:
* TheProduct Visionpreviously communicated by the Product Owner,
* Thecurrent state and ordering of the Product Backlog, which should already reflect the Product Owner's value decisions.
During this period, the Developers continue to work toward the Sprint Goal, and the Scrum Master ensures that Scrum events take place and remain productive. No one should assume the Product Owner role informally, as this would undermine accountability.
Longer-Term Impact
If the Product Owner's absence extends beyond a short period, it becomes animpedimentto the Scrum Team.
The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing product value and managing the Product Backlog.
Prolonged absence prevents effective backlog ordering, stakeholder collaboration, and value-based decision- making.
In this case, theScrum Master must make the impediment visible to the organization. This includes explaining the impact on value delivery and helping leadership understand the need for a clear Product Owner accountability. The organization should thenappoint a new Product Ownerto ensure continuity of decision- making and accountability.