A team has completed the work in their iteration backlog earlier than expected. What should the team do now?

The most effective course of action when a team completes their iteration backlog earlier than expected is to work with the product owner to pull more work from the product backlog into their iteration backlog. This approach maximizes productivity and value delivery. It allows the team to continue utilizing their momentum and resources without idling or losing focus.

Engaging with the product owner is crucial because they have the authority and insight into the priorities of the product backlog. This collaborative decision-making ensures that the team is aligned with the overall goals of the project and is engaged in delivering the most valuable features or fixes. This aligns well with agile principles of adaptability and responsiveness to change, allowing the team to be productive and contribute to the project's success even when they finish tasks sooner than anticipated.

On the other hand, simply reporting the differences in completion time, while valuable for future planning, does not capitalize on the present opportunity to deliver more value right away. It does not actively engage the team in utilizing their current capacity and might lead to stagnation or a disconnection from the product's evolving needs.