After a bruising Planning Interval, the elections team is exhausted and snapping in team sync. What source should the Scrum Master / Team Coach consider first?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A crew that just ran three double shifts will snap over a stapler. That is load, not a new religion. Elections WIP and fatigue are conditions; fix the system before writing "attitude" on someone.
Full Explanation
After a bruising Planning Interval, when the elections team is exhausted and snapping in team sync, the Scrum Master / Team Coach should first consider overload and fatigue from excess WIP and load—system conditions—not merely bad attitude. Fatigue is a conflict source that looks interpersonal but is often environmental after intense election delivery. Diagnosing a sudden values conversion against elections work overfits attitude onto exhaustion and misses the load signal. Using the moment as proof elections teams cannot use Scrum and should be disbanded is an extreme non sequitur that destroys municipal capacity. Explaining every short remark as an interpersonal feud from a prior decade may be partially true for someone but should not crowd out load diagnosis. Exam caveat: SASM conflict analysis includes overload/fatigue as a system source; attitude-only and disbandment responses are distractors. Operational check: inspect WIP, overtime, and after-hours load on the elections team, facilitate shedding or sequencing work, restore sustainable agreements, and watch whether sniping decreases as load decreases. Protect recovery time in the IP iteration rather than filling it with heroic catch-up that recreates the fatigue.