A distributed agile team spans three time zones. During a retrospective, members report that they often start work from conflicting assumptions about what "done" means for a user story, because the definition lives only in one person's notes. What is the BEST way for the project manager to reinforce shared understanding across the virtual team?
- AAppoint the most experienced developer to decide the definition of done and answer questions when other members are unsure.
- BSchedule a single overlapping call each day so members can ask about the definition of done in real time.
- CHave the team co-create a definition of done and post it in the shared workspace so every member can reference and refine it. Correct
- DRecord each story's acceptance details in the tracking tool as work is completed, so the meaning of done emerges from finished examples.
Why A is wrong: Routing every clarification through one gatekeeper is tempting for consistency, but it hides the definition in an individual and creates delays across time zones instead of a shared, self-serve reference.
Why B is wrong: More synchronous contact can help virtual teams, but a daily call does not persist the definition anywhere and members in the tightest time zones still work from memory between calls.
Why C is correct: A collaboratively created, visible definition of done gives the whole virtual team one reference point, which is how shared understanding is sustained when members cannot rely on informal hallway alignment.
Why D is wrong: Inferring the standard from past items is inconsistent and reactive; it leaves members guessing at the start of a story, which is exactly when the shared definition is needed.