A. To empower knowledge workers
B. To reduce delay
C. To resolve dependencies
D. To minimize WIP
The correct answer is
A. To empower knowledge workers
The primary goal of decentralized decision-making is to empower knowledge workers.
Why this is correct
- Empowering Knowledge Workers: Decentralized decision-making shifts the authority and responsibility for decisions closer to those with the relevant knowledge and expertise—the knowledge workers. This empowerment enables individuals and teams to make decisions that affect their work directly, fostering a sense of ownership, faster response times to challenges, and a more engaged workforce. Empowering knowledge workers encourages innovation, improves job satisfaction, and leverages the specialized knowledge and skills of the workforce.
Why the others are not as correct
- To reduce delay: While decentralized decision-making can indeed lead to reduced delays in decision-making processes since decisions are made closer to the work and by those with the best information, reducing delay is more of a beneficial outcome rather than the primary goal. The essential aim is to empower those doing the work to make decisions that impact their work directly.
- To resolve dependencies: Decentralized decision-making can help in identifying and resolving dependencies more efficiently, as the individuals or teams closest to the work have the authority to make decisions. However, this is a secondary benefit of the process. The primary aim remains the empowerment of knowledge workers to make informed decisions.
- To minimize WIP (Work in Progress): Minimizing WIP is an important Lean principle aimed at improving flow and efficiency. While decentralized decision-making can contribute to better management of WIP by allowing teams to adjust their work based on current capacity and priorities, it is not the primary goal. The main objective is to enable those closest to the work to make decisions that influence their immediate tasks and projects.
Other SAFe Scrum Master Question – What are two purposes of the scrum of scrums meeting? (Choose two.)