A developer focused on a single story during an entire sprint. The story was underestimated and, therefore, was not completed. Which of the following steps should the Scrum team take NEXT?

Assigning more resources might seem like a solution, but it doesn't address the root cause of underestimation and can lead to inefficient resource allocation if stories are still too large.

The Agile principle dictates that stories should be small enough to be completed within a single sprint. If a story was underestimated and not completed, the Scrum team should learn from this and ensure that future stories, especially similar ones, are broken down into smaller, more manageable workable items that can realistically be finished within the sprint's fixed timebox. This improves predictability and deliverability.

Extending the sprint duration violates the core Agile principle of fixed-time sprints and should generally be avoided; unfinished work is carried over.

Releasing incomplete code into production is against best practices unless it's a partial feature with value, and the question states the story was not completed, implying it's not ready. The unfinished portion would be carried over, but the primary next step addresses preventing future occurrences.