Two Agile teams on the county elections systems ART deadlock over a data-contract dependency and have spent a week looping the same email thread. What should the RTE do?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Email ping-pong is not facilitation. Get the architects and Product Management at one table, timebox the decision, and stop pretending a 40-message thread will certify the ballot file.
Full Explanation
When two Agile teams deadlock on a data-contract dependency, another week of email rarely resolves it. The RTE should convene a structured working session with System Architect and Product Management in the room to decide interfaces for a county elections systems ART before civic deadlines slip further. Facilitation with the right roles present beats endless threads for time-sensitive election technology. Picking a winner by email so the thread can finally close often encodes a one-sided contract that breaks the other team's elections workflows and simply relocates the defect. Telling both Scrum Masters to keep debating until one team yields abdicates facilitation and prolongs the block while ballots, poll books, or results feeds stay at risk. Escalating the deadlock to the elections board as a political dispute prematurely elevates a solvable technical coordination issue into governance theater. Exam caveat: Escalate after a facilitated session fails or if policy truly requires board input—not as the first move instead of bringing the right people together with a timebox. Operational check: Schedule a working session within 48 hours, require both teams plus architect and Product Management, document the chosen data contract, and track follow-through in ART Sync until the dependency turns green.