SSM Practice Test 29 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During PI Planning, the Scrum Master / Team Coach for an Agile Team notices that the Product Owner is answering most of the team's questions about backlog priority, while developers remain silent and disengaged. The team is at risk of missing its Iteration Goals because they are not surfacing technical risks or dependencies. Which action should the Scrum Master / Team Coach take to improve the team's planning effectiveness?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the conversation so developers voice technical risks and dependencies, then help the team adjust its plan and objectives accordingly.. During PI Planning the Scrum Master / Team Coach facilitates so the whole team contributes, not just the Product Owner. Drawing out developers' technical risks and dependencies produces a more realistic plan and stronger Iteration Goals. Taking over prioritization, excluding the Product Owner, or escalating readiness all fail to improve the team's engagement and planning quality.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to leave the session so the developers can plan freely without influence.

Answer

Take over the discussion and reorder the team's Stories to ensure the most valuable work is planned first.

Answer

Escalate to the Release Train Engineer that the team is not ready to commit to PI Objectives this quarter.

Question 2

An Agile Team is in its second day of PI Planning. A developer repeatedly interrupts the Product Owner during the draft plan review, arguing that a planned feature is technically impossible within the Iteration. Other team members are becoming visibly frustrated, and the team is falling behind schedule. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Remind the team of the agreed working agreements and ask the developer to capture the technical concern as a risk or impediment on the team board for later discussion.. The Scrum Master facilitates team events by upholding working agreements and ensuring that concerns are captured as risks or impediments rather than debated endlessly. This keeps PI Planning productive while respecting the developer's technical input. Escalation, unmanaged debate, or shifting the decision to the Product Owner would all undermine self-management and the purpose of the event.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to make a final decision on the feature scope so the team can move on without further discussion.

Answer

Allow the debate to continue until the developer is satisfied, because technical feasibility must be fully resolved before the team can commit to the plan.

Answer

Immediately escalate the conflict to the Release Train Engineer and request that the developer be removed from the planning session.

Question 3

An organization is introducing Scrum at the team level within a SAFe Agile Release Train. A new Scrum Master is asked by a team member which artifact holds the work items that the team will build during an iteration, and who is accountable for its content. What is the correct answer in a SAFe context?

Accepted Answer

The Team Backlog, owned by the Product Owner.. The Team Backlog is the team-level artifact in SAFe that holds the user stories and enablers for upcoming iterations, and the Product Owner is accountable for its content and ordering. Confusing it with program, solution, or portfolio backlogs is a common mistake when teams are first introduced to the SAFe backlog hierarchy during training.

Answer

The Solution Backlog, owned by the Solution Train Engineer.

Answer

The Program Backlog, owned by the Release Train Engineer.

Answer

The Portfolio Backlog, owned by the Enterprise Architect.

Question 4

Two iterations into a PI, a Scrum Master learns that a dependency her team agreed with Team Echo during PI Planning has slipped because Team Echo reprioritized. Her team's next iteration work is now blocked. What is the most appropriate first action?

Accepted Answer

Raise the blocked dependency at the ART Sync so the train can help re-plan and restore flow across the affected teams.. When a cross-team dependency slips mid-PI, the Scrum Master should surface it in the train-level coordination event so the affected teams and the ART can re-plan and restore flow. The ART Sync exists for exactly this kind of dependency and impediment management. Acting transparently at the train level is faster and safer than unilateral workarounds, dropped objectives, or waiting until the next PI Planning.

Answer

Instruct her team to build a temporary workaround and deliver it without informing Team Echo or the train.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to remove the blocked features from the team's PI objectives and reallocate the team to unrelated work.

Answer

Wait until the next PI Planning to renegotiate the dependency, since dependencies are formally managed only at that event.

Question 5

During the first PI Planning event, a Scrum Master notices that teams are writing Iteration goals and PI Objectives, but no one has identified cross-team dependencies. The Scrum Master wants to help the ART surface and manage dependencies as SAFe intends. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Ask the teams to record dependencies on the program board and facilitate cross-team conversations to address them.. SAFe manages dependencies primarily by making them visible and addressing them collaboratively during PI Planning. The program board and facilitated cross-team conversations let teams see who depends on whom and adjust plans before committing. Hiding dependencies behind buffers, deferring them to the Scrum of Scrums, or reassigning work to force independence all fail to give the ART the transparency it needs to deliver the PI.

Answer

Wait until the Scrum of Scrums to raise dependencies, since PI Planning is only for team-level planning.

Answer

Instruct each team to add a buffer of unplanned capacity so dependencies become irrelevant.

Answer

Have the Release Train Engineer reassign stories between teams so each team is fully independent.

Question 6

Which TWO of the following are responsibilities of the Scrum Master in a SAFe environment? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Facilitating the team's ceremonies and processes.. Scrum Masters in SAFe act as servant leaders who facilitate team events and remove impediments. They also play a crucial role in the ART, contributing to the Scrum of Scrums to surface dependencies and blockers. Their primary focus is to foster high-performing teams, coach them on SAFe practices, and ensure the team is continuously improving their processes to deliver value efficiently within the larger framework.

Answer

Defining the Program Vision and Roadmap.

Answer

Prioritizing the Team Backlog.

Answer

Assigning individual tasks to team members.

Question 7

A Scrum Master on an Agile Release Train learns that two team members frequently bypass the team and escalate technical disagreements directly to the System Architect. This causes duplicated design decisions and rework. What is the most effective action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to resolve technical disagreements internally first, escalating to the System Architect only when a train-level decision is needed.. Teams in SAFe own their local technical decisions and should resolve disagreements internally, escalating only train-level or cross-team concerns to the System Architect. Coaching this boundary strengthens self-management and preserves the architect's ability to guide intentional architecture across the Agile Release Train. It also reduces duplicated design decisions and the rework they cause.

Answer

Instruct the System Architect to stop responding to team members and route all questions through the Scrum Master.

Answer

Ask the Release Train Engineer to assign one team member as the sole technical decision maker for the team.

Answer

Document every escalation in the team's Retrospective board and review the list with the System Architect at the end of the PI.

Question 8

Who is the primary facilitator of the Scrum of Scrums (SoS) event during the Program Increment execution?

Accepted Answer

The Release Train Engineer (RTE).. The Scrum of Scrums is a synchronization event for Scrum Masters on the ART. It is facilitated by the Release Train Engineer (RTE), who acts as the 'Chief Scrum Master' for the train. The event focuses on progress, dependencies, and blockers that affect multiple teams.

Answer

The Product Management team.

Answer

The System Architect.

Answer

The Business Owner.

Question 9

During an early iteration in a SAFe ART, a Scrum team's Daily Stand-up has become a status report to the Scrum Master, lasting over 30 minutes while the Scrum Master takes notes and assigns follow-ups. The team is disengaged and members wait for direction. What should the Scrum Master do to introduce Scrum correctly?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to run the stand-up themselves, focusing on progress toward the Iteration Goal and plan for the next 24 hours.. In Scrum the Daily Stand-up belongs to the Development Team, who inspect progress toward the Iteration Goal and adapt their plan for the next 24 hours. The Scrum Master serves the team by teaching it to self-manage this event, not by acting as scribe or taskmaster. Stepping back and coaching the team to facilitate its own stand-up restores the intended purpose and builds ownership.

Answer

Cancel the Daily Stand-up and replace it with a weekly written status email to the Scrum Master.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to facilitate the stand-up and prioritize each member's tasks for the day.

Answer

Continue facilitating the stand-up but keep detailed notes and send action items to the team afterward.

Question 10

Which TWO activities occur during the ART Sync event to ensure the train stays on track? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Reviewing progress toward the PI Objectives and the ART predictability.. The ART Sync combines the visibility of the Scrum of Scrums and the PO Sync. It is designed to provide a holistic view of the progress toward PI Objectives while addressing dependencies and risks that cross team boundaries. It ensures that both the technical execution and the product vision remain aligned.

Answer

Estimating new Features using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF).

Answer

Conducting individual team retrospectives to improve internal processes.

Answer

Assigning business value to the newly identified uncommitted objectives.

Question 11

A Scrum Master is preparing to facilitate the team's Daily Stand-up. The team has recently grown and the meeting is running long because members give detailed status updates to the Scrum Master. What should the Scrum Master do to keep the event effective?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to focus on progress toward the Iteration Goals and to collaborate directly on impediments, keeping the event within its timebox.. The Daily Stand-up is a team synchronization event focused on progress toward the Iteration Goals and the plan for the next day. When members report to the Scrum Master, the event becomes a status meeting and expands. Coaching the team to talk to each other, raise impediments, and move detailed discussions offline preserves the timebox and restores the event's value.

Answer

Allow the meeting to run longer so every technical detail can be discussed thoroughly each day.

Answer

Ask each member to report only to the Scrum Master so the information is captured consistently.

Answer

Convert the Daily Stand-up into a written status update in the team's chat tool to save time.

Question 12

During an Iteration Retrospective, the team identifies that their Daily Stand-up consistently runs 30 minutes because members dive into technical problem-solving. The Scrum Master wants to help the team improve self-management of this event. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Ask the team what purpose the Daily Stand-up serves and facilitate a discussion on how to keep it focused on progress toward the Iteration Goals.. The correct approach is to coach the team to self-manage by reconnecting the Daily Stand-up to its purpose: inspecting progress toward the Iteration Goals and adapting the plan. The Scrum Master should ask powerful questions and facilitate team ownership of the solution. Imposing rules, replacing the event, or escalating to the RTE all undermine self-management and fail to address the root cause.

Answer

Institute a strict 15-minute timebox and cut off any discussion that goes beyond status updates.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the Release Train Engineer and ask them to attend and enforce the timebox.

Answer

Recommend that the team replace the Daily Stand-up with a written status report to save time.

Question 13

A Scrum Master is helping a newly formed team on an Agile Release Train adopt Scrum within SAFe. The team has been running two-week iterations for three sprints, but the Scrum Master notices that the team is still using a traditional project manager to assign tasks and approve work. Which action best supports the Scrum Master's role in introducing Scrum in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team and the project manager on Scrum principles, helping them understand self-management and the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader.. The Scrum Master in SAFe is a servant leader and coach who helps teams and stakeholders understand Scrum. When a traditional project manager still assigns tasks, the Scrum Master should coach both parties on self-management and the evolving role of management. This fosters a supportive environment for Scrum to take root within the ART.

Answer

Allow the project manager to continue assigning tasks until the team feels ready to self-organize, then gradually phase out the practice.

Answer

Instruct the project manager to stop assigning tasks immediately and tell the team to self-organize.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the Release Train Engineer and request that the project manager be removed from the team.

Question 14

You are the Scrum Master for Team Delta on an ART. During Iteration 4, Team Delta's Product Owner tells you that a critical API dependency from Team Gamma is not available, putting the Iteration goal at risk. The teams are not co-located. What should you do first to address this impediment?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the two teams' representatives at the next Scrum of Scrums or in a separate huddle to understand the blocker and agree on a resolution.. The Scrum Master serves the team by removing impediments. When a cross-team dependency threatens the Iteration, the first step is to facilitate direct communication between the affected teams, often through the Scrum of Scrums or a focused huddle. This empowers the teams to resolve the issue at the lowest level. Escalation to the RTE or waiting for the next PI Planning are later options if team-level resolution fails.

Answer

Log the dependency in the Program Board and wait for the RTE to address it during the next PI Planning.

Answer

Instruct Team Delta to re-plan the Iteration and drop the dependent feature to protect the Iteration goal.

Answer

Escalate the dependency to the Release Train Engineer (RTE) and ask them to resolve it.

Question 15

Refer to the exhibit. What observation should the Scrum Master share with the team during the next Retrospective?

Accepted Answer

The team should focus on reducing mid-iteration changes to stabilize velocity.. The data shows that volatility in velocity correlates with the introduction of mid-iteration scope changes. The Scrum Master should point this out to help the team understand how scope instability impacts their ability to maintain a consistent cadence. Understanding this relationship is vital for the team to advocate for better scope management and to protect their capacity, which is essential for delivering value consistently within the SAFe framework.

Answer

The team needs to increase their velocity to match the highest point.

Answer

Iteration 5 proves that the team is now over-performing.

Answer

The team should ignore the variation as it is within a normal range.