The Product Owner is invested to conclude the value that the USER story will deliver, enabling him or her to set the backlog as per the highest priority. When a user story is created, it carries some value (we have also LEARNED about it in the INVEST model where V STANDS for Value). When the sprint is being planned, the team pulls up the highest priority item from the pile for commitment. If the team members are picking up tasks as per their comfort, the scrum master has to come in picture and coach the team. Even the product owner might pick up stories which are not ADDING value to the customers.

Hence, the story time or the sprint PLANNING meeting should be addressed in the true sense, the scrum master should facilitate these meetings in a way that they stick to the intent of the meeting and come out with the valid outcomes. Both the team and the product owner has to focus on value delivery rather than ease of work. If the teams are involved early during the product discussion, these types of challenges can be minimized.