Scaled Agile · Free Practice Questions · Last reviewed May 2026
24real exam-style questions organised by domain, each with the correct answer highlighted and a plain-English explanation of why it's right — and why the others are wrong.
During the first day of PI Planning, the team realizes their drafted plan requires dependencies from another Agile Release Train (ART) that have not been committed. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to facilitate?
Ignore the uncommitted dependencies and finalize the plan anyway to avoid delaying the PI Planning schedule.
Independently rewrite the other team's backlog items to ensure the required functionality is built locally.
Escalate the uncommitted cross-ART dependencies to the Management Review and Problem-Solving session at the end of Day 1.
The Management Review and Problem-Solving session exists precisely to resolve cross-team and cross-ART impediments surfaced during PI Planning. Escalating there lets the RTE and stakeholders address uncommitted dependencies before the plan is finalised, rather than leaving them unresolved.
Cancel the PI Planning event immediately and postpone it until the other ART finishes their own planning cycle.
Which Agile Release Train event provides the primary mechanism for synchronizing the work of all Agile Teams on the train?
The Daily Stand-up
Program Increment Planning
Program Increment Planning serves as the heartbeat of the Agile Release Train, bringing all teams together to coordinate dependencies, establish plan confidence, and commit to a unified set of program objectives for the upcoming increment.
The Scrum of Scrums
System Demo
During the first day of PI Planning, a team realizes that a critical architectural dependency will prevent them from completing their committed features. How should the Scrum Master coach the team for the Management Review and Problem-Solving session?
Wait until the second day to see if other teams can take over the work.
Summarize the dependency and its impact on the team's draft plan for the RTE.
Summarizing the specific dependency and its direct impact allows leadership to understand the bottleneck clearly. This enables the management team to negotiate scope, provide technical guidance, or reassign priorities during the evening review session, which is the primary purpose of this specific SAFe planning event.
Advise the team to mark the feature as uncommitted without informing management.
Instruct the team to ignore the dependency and plan as if it were resolved.
A Scrum Master notices that the System Demo is frequently delayed because teams are struggling to integrate their code at the end of the iteration. What is the best way to support this ART event?
Suggest moving the System Demo to every other iteration to allow more time.
Ask the Product Owner to demo only the features that are fully completed.
Encourage the team to adopt Continuous Integration and align on integration points.
Coaching the team on Continuous Integration ensures that code is merged and tested frequently throughout the iteration. By aligning on integration points with other teams, the ART reduces the 'integration debt' that typically causes delays, making the System Demo a smoother and more valuable event for stakeholders.
Request that the System Architect takes over the integration responsibilities.
Which TWO activities occur during the ART Sync event to ensure the train stays on track? (Choose two.)
Reviewing progress toward the PI Objectives and the ART predictability.
Monitoring progress toward PI Objectives is a core function of the ART Sync. By reviewing these goals, the RTE, Scrum Masters, and Product Owners can identify if the train is drifting and take corrective action to ensure the most important business value is delivered by the end.
Estimating new Features using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF).
Conducting individual team retrospectives to improve internal processes.
Discussing and resolving dependencies between teams on the ART.
Resolving dependencies is a critical component of the ART Sync. Since many features require collaboration across multiple teams, this event provides a formal venue for Scrum Masters to highlight blockers and coordinate the timing of work to ensure that the integrated system remains on schedule.
Assigning business value to the newly identified uncommitted objectives.
During the Problem-Solving Workshop of the Inspect and Adapt event, several teams identify 'lack of automated testing' as a root cause. What is the Scrum Master's role in the next step?
Assign the testing tasks to the most experienced developers immediately.
Create a new Feature for 'Automated Testing' and add it to the Funnel.
Escalate the issue to the System Architect to solve for the whole ART.
Help the team define a specific improvement story for the PI Planning backlog.
Turning the identified root cause into a concrete improvement story ensures it will be prioritized and planned during the upcoming PI. This is the ultimate goal of the Problem-Solving Workshop: to move from identifying a problem to planning a tangible solution that improves the team's performance.
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Practice this domainAn Agile Release Train (ART) is transitioning to SAFe. The Scrum Master notices that the team is struggling to align their local sprint goals with the overall Program Increment (PI) objectives. What is the most effective way for the Scrum Master to facilitate this alignment?
Mandate that the Product Owner dictates exactly how the team writes their iteration goals.
Encourage the team to prioritize their own local technical debt tasks over PI objectives.
Facilitate a session to map team stories and iteration goals directly to PI objectives.
Mapping team-level activities to PI objectives creates explicit visibility into the 'why' behind the work. This helps the team understand their specific contribution to the ART's success, reduces ambiguity, and ensures that every sprint increment is intentionally designed to support the broader program goals agreed upon during planning.
Advise the team to ignore the PI objectives and focus solely on velocity metrics.
Which TWO of the following are primary responsibilities of a Scrum Master within a SAFe context when acting as a servant leader?
Making all technical decisions for the team to ensure standard compliance.
Removing impediments to the team's progress.
The Scrum Master is responsible for identifying and clearing obstacles that block the team's ability to complete their committed work. By proactively addressing systemic issues, the Scrum Master ensures the team maintains a steady flow, which is essential for meeting iteration goals and supporting the ART's overall cadence.
Facilitating team events and ceremonies.
Facilitation is a core competency that ensures Scrum events are productive, focused, and respectful of time. By managing the flow of these meetings, the Scrum Master helps the team reach consensus, improve their processes, and align with the ART's cadence and synchronization patterns defined in the SAFe framework.
Writing all user stories for the team to save time during the iteration.
Acting as the primary manager of the team members' personal careers.
Refer to the exhibit. Based on the performance report, what should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve the team's effectiveness?
Increase the frequency of status report meetings for stakeholders.
Focus on clearing impediments and facilitating flow.
The high impediment resolution time is the primary indicator of why iteration goals are not being met. By shifting focus to clearing these blocks, the Scrum Master directly supports the team's productivity. This allows the team to focus on their work, resulting in better goal attainment and team morale.
Request that management increase the team's velocity targets.
Change the team members to improve skill levels.
During a PI Planning session, a team discovers that a key dependency on another team will not be met within the proposed timeline. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?
Ask the team to ignore the dependency and hope it resolves itself.
Inform the Release Train Engineer (RTE) so they can address the dependency.
Facilitate a discussion between the teams to negotiate a solution.
Facilitating a direct negotiation allows teams to find creative solutions, such as adjusting the sequence of work or finding an alternative approach. This is the most effective way to handle dependencies, as it maintains team autonomy and keeps the planning process moving forward efficiently without relying on external intervention.
Remove the dependent feature from the team's plan entirely.
What is the primary purpose of the Iteration Review in a SAFe Scrum team?
To review the team's velocity and discuss team member performance.
To demonstrate the team's work and receive feedback from stakeholders.
The primary intent of the Iteration Review is to showcase the increment to stakeholders to ensure alignment and obtain feedback. This enables the team to pivot if necessary, confirming that the work delivered meets the expectations of the business and contributes directly to the overall goals of the ART.
To plan the tasks for the next iteration.
To resolve conflicts between team members.
A team has recently transitioned to SAFe and is struggling with excessive 'work in progress' (WIP). What should the Scrum Master recommend to address this issue?
Increase the team size to handle the higher volume of work.
Implement WIP limits at the team level to ensure focus.
WIP limits are a core Lean-Agile practice that directly manages flow. By restricting the number of active items, the team is forced to collaborate and complete work, which reduces context switching and leads to faster delivery times. This shift in focus is essential for improving team performance and quality.
Extend the iteration length to allow more time for tasks.
Start all planned tasks on the first day to maximize utilization.
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Practice this domainAn Agile Team is struggling to complete their Stories within the Iteration due to persistent external dependencies on a separate subsystem team. How should the Scrum Master coach the team to address this systemic impediment?
Escalate the blocked Stories directly to the Release Train Engineer to force the subsystem team to reallocate their capacity immediately.
Advise the Product Owner to remove all dependent Stories from the Team Backlog until the external subsystem team completes their required work.
Facilitate direct conversations and alignment sessions with the dependent team's Scrum Master and relevant stakeholders to map out interface dependencies.
Establishing direct communication channels between teams enables proactive dependency management and aligns delivery schedules across the Agile Release Train. Scrum Masters act as servant leaders who remove impediments by connecting interdependent teams to foster shared ownership.
Instruct the developers to build temporary stubs and bypass the subsystem team entirely to ensure their local iteration metrics remain green.
During Iteration Planning, an Agile Team attempts to commit to a scope of work that significantly exceeds their historical velocity. What is the primary responsibility of the Scrum Master in this situation?
Override the team's concerns and mandate the acceptance of the complete backlog scope to satisfy stakeholder expectations for the Program Increment.
Facilitate a transparent capacity discussion, helping the team negotiate a realistic scope based on historical velocity and upcoming time off.
Facilitating a transparent capacity discussion grounded in historical velocity and upcoming time off lets the team itself recognise the overcommitment and renegotiate scope, which is the Scrum Master's servant-leadership responsibility rather than dictating the commitment.
Redefine the acceptance criteria for all selected Stories to make the implementation faster without consulting the Product Owner.
Cancel the Iteration Planning event immediately and refer the prioritization conflict to the Release Train Engineer for final resolution.
An Agile Team in a SAFe portfolio is experiencing severe friction between developers and testers, leading to delayed story completions at the end of every Iteration. What is the primary responsibility of the Scrum Master / Team Coach in addressing this specific team dynamic?
Escalate the personnel conflict directly to the Release Train Engineer to initiate formal corrective action plans for the resistant team members.
Reassign the testing tasks to senior developers temporarily to bypass the bottleneck and ensure the current iteration stories meet the Definition of Done.
Facilitate targeted problem-solving discussions and retrospectives to help the team co-create working agreements that foster cross-functional collaboration and built-in quality.
Facilitating targeted retrospectives empowers the team to analyze root causes of friction and establish robust working agreements. This direct engagement builds trust, aligns the group around shared delivery goals, and addresses the systemic behavioral patterns hindering predictable value delivery across functional boundaries.
Adjust the Team Backlog priorities to isolate developers from testing dependencies until the next Program Increment planning event occurs.
During Iteration Planning, an Agile Team is struggling to commit to a realistic set of Stories because team members want to pad their estimates to account for unpredictable interruptions. How should the Scrum Master coach the team?
Mandate that all story estimates be reduced by fifty percent to force the team into accepting a higher workload during the upcoming iteration.
Coach the team to calculate true available capacity by subtracting routine overhead and meetings, ensuring commitments reflect realistic throughput.
Calculating true available capacity ensures that team commitments are grounded in realistic operational realities. The Scrum Master guides the team to account for interruptions transparently, fostering predictable execution and accurate forecasting for the broader Agile Release Train.
Take over the estimation process directly to eliminate emotional debates and ensure the velocity metrics remain consistent for management reporting.
Advise the Product Owner to remove all uncertain backlog items so the team only works on trivial tasks with zero risk of interruption.
An Agile Team has consistently missed their Iteration Goals for the past three iterations because the Product Owner frequently introduces urgent new stories mid-iteration. What is the most effective way for the Scrum Master to coach the team and Product Owner?
Instruct the developers to ignore all requests from the Product Owner and proceed with their original iteration backlog items without communication.
Realign expectations by coaching the Product Owner on the cost of context switching, establishing that iteration commitments remain stable once accepted.
Coaching the Product Owner on the negative impacts of context switching protects team focus and stability. The Scrum Master helps the Product Owner understand that mid-iteration disruptions destroy predictability, ensuring that urgent requests are properly handled in future planning sessions.
Extend the iteration duration by three days whenever unplanned stories are introduced to accommodate the extra work without penalty.
Assume the role of Product Owner temporarily to filter incoming requests and make executive decisions on scope adjustments during execution.
A Scrum Master is helping an Agile Team transition to SAFe. Which THREE behaviors characterize an effective servant leader in this role? (Choose three.)
Using active listening to understand team perspectives and encouraging collaborative decision-making rather than dictating solutions.
Active listening lets the Scrum Master surface the team's own perspectives, and collaborative decision-making keeps ownership with the team rather than the leader. This directly satisfies the servant leadership behaviours sought during the SAFe transition, where the Scrum Master guides without commanding.
Assigning specific tasks to individual team members every morning to ensure accountability and track individual productivity metrics.
Removing systemic impediments that hinder the team's progress both internally and across external value stream boundaries.
Removing systemic impediments directly satisfies SAFe's servant-leadership expectation that the Scrum Master shields the team from organisational friction. Unlike task-level unblocking, this addresses cross-team dependencies within the value stream, which is precisely the constraint the stem's transition to SAFe introduces.
Coaching the team toward continuous improvement by facilitating root-cause analysis during regular retrospective ceremonies.
Facilitating root-cause analysis in retrospectives builds the team's own capability to inspect and adapt, which is the essence of coaching toward continuous improvement. This satisfies the servant leadership requirement by developing people rather than directing their work during the SAFe transition.
Retaining final authority over all technical design choices and coding standards implemented within the software codebase.
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Practice this domainDuring a Team Increment Planning event, a Agile Team realizes their draft plan relies heavily on an external supplier team that has not committed to providing the needed API by iteration two. What should the SAFe Scrum Master facilitate?
Ignore the dependency and assume the supplier will magically deliver on time.
Have the team commit to the original plan and blame the supplier if failure occurs later.
Facilitate a direct conversation with the supplier team, highlight the risk on the program board, and adjust team objectives accordingly.
Collaborating directly with suppliers and visualizing risks on the program board aligns with SAFe best practices for managing cross-team dependencies. Adjusting objectives ensures that team commitments remain realistic and achievable despite external constraints or delayed deliverables from third-party partners.
Cancel the PI Planning event immediately until the supplier signs a legally binding contract.
During the Iteration Retrospective, the team identifies that technical debt is accumulating rapidly due to rushed user stories. What is the primary role of the SAFe Scrum Master during this event?
Impose a mandatory strict coding standard without consulting the development team members.
Facilitate a root-cause analysis discussion to help the team create actionable improvement backlog items.
Facilitating root-cause analysis allows the team to pinpoint systemic issues like technical debt and generate actionable improvement stories. This directly supports continuous learning and continuous improvement, which are core pillars of the SAFe House of Lean framework.
Escalate the developers to upper management for poor code quality and demand disciplinary actions.
Cancel all future retrospectives and reallocate that time strictly to writing more user stories.
At the Iteration Review, a key stakeholder expresses deep dissatisfaction because a delivered feature does not function the way they envisioned, despite meeting all written acceptance criteria. What should the Scrum Master facilitate to prevent this in future iterations?
Bar the dissatisfied stakeholder from attending future Iteration Review meetings to avoid negative feedback.
Rewrite all future acceptance criteria yourself to ensure stakeholders never complain again.
Facilitate ongoing stakeholder engagement and encourage the Product Owner to involve stakeholders in refinement sessions.
Written acceptance criteria alone cannot capture tacit expectations, so stakeholders must see working increments and shape the backlog continuously. Involving them in refinement gives the Product Owner earlier feedback, closing the gap between documented criteria and actual vision.
File a formal complaint against the stakeholder with the Agile Program Management Office.
An Agile Team completes all their iteration backlog items two days before the end of the iteration. During the Iteration Planning meeting for the next cycle, the Product Owner asks why they didn't pull in extra work mid-iteration. How should the Scrum Master explain the team's action?
The team took an unauthorized vacation for the remaining two days of the iteration.
Pulling work mid-iteration risks the iteration goal, so the team focused on quality, testing, and technical debt.
Completing backlog items early does not justify pulling unplanned work; the iteration goal and its acceptance criteria remain the commitment. The team instead used the remaining time for testing, refinement and technical debt, preserving quality and protecting the sprint's forecast from scope creep mid-iteration.
The Scrum Master forbade the team from doing any work once the initial stories were completed.
The team should have pulled in 20 more user stories immediately without refinement.
Refer to the exhibit. Given these findings, which action should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve team flow?
Implement a strict rule that no new work can be added after the planning session.
Facilitate a discussion on how to protect the team from mid-iteration requests and pull testing earlier.
Protecting the team from interruptions ensures stable velocity and focus, while shifting testing earlier identifies defects sooner. This dual approach addresses the root cause of the testing bottleneck and the feeling of being overwhelmed, directly leading to higher quality outcomes and more predictable delivery cycles for the team.
Enforce a timebox of 15 minutes for the Daily Stand-up and cut off any long discussions.
Ask the team to move testing tasks to the start of the iteration to avoid delays.
Which behavior should the Scrum Master demonstrate during the Team Sync to ensure it remains effective?
Act as the primary speaker to ensure all status updates are delivered quickly.
Ensure that the discussion focuses on identifying and clearing impediments to progress.
The primary goal of the Team Sync is to uncover blockers and align on daily progress. By facilitating a focus on impediments, the Scrum Master helps the team maintain momentum, ensuring they can achieve their iteration goals while keeping the meeting efficient and relevant for all members involved.
Require each team member to provide a detailed report on every task they worked on yesterday.
Direct the discussion to only the technical architecture of the upcoming user stories.
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Practice this domainThe SSM exam has 60–90 questions and must be completed in 120 minutes. The passing score is 700/1000.
Scenario-based questions covering exam objectives with detailed answer explanations.
The exam covers 4 domains: Supporting ART Events, Introducing Scrum in SAFe, Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role, Supporting Team Events. Questions are weighted by domain — higher-weight domains appear more on your actual exam.
No. These are original exam-style practice questions written against the official Scaled Agile SSM exam objectives. They are not copied from the real exam. Courseiva focuses on genuine understanding, not memorisation of braindumps.
Courseiva tracks your accuracy per domain and routes you toward weak areas automatically. Free, no account required.