CSM Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Scrum Team is midway through a Sprint when a Developer realizes that a new library would significantly simplify a feature. The library is not mentioned in the Sprint Backlog. What should the Developer do?

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

Accepted Answer

Add the library to the Sprint Backlog and proceed, since the Sprint Backlog is owned by the Developers.. The Developers are self-managing and own the Sprint Backlog, so they decide how to build the Increment. Adopting a simplifying library is an implementation choice within their authority, as long as the Sprint Goal and Definition of Done remain intact. No Product Owner approval or Scrum Master ruling is required for such a technical decision.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to add the library to the Product Backlog before using it.

Answer

Escalate to the Scrum Master so the Scrum Master can decide whether the library is allowed.

Answer

Wait until the Sprint Review to propose the library for the next Sprint.

Question 2

A Scrum Team has been delivering increments every Sprint, but the Product Owner is unsure whether the product is actually moving toward its business goals. The Scrum Master notices that the team never inspects progress toward the Product Goal during the Sprint Review. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner to use the Sprint Review to inspect progress toward the Product Goal and adapt the Product Backlog accordingly.. The Sprint Review is the inspect-and-adapt event for the product, and the Product Goal gives the Scrum Team a long-term objective to inspect against. When the Product Owner cannot tell whether the product is moving toward its goals, the missing element is often explicit inspection of the Product Goal during the review. Coaching the Product Owner to use that event for Product Backlog adaptation directly serves the Product Owner and strengthens empiricism.

Answer

Suggest that the Scrum Master take over facilitation of the Sprint Review and present the Product Goal status on behalf of the Product Owner.

Answer

Ask the Developers to add a velocity chart to the Sprint Review so progress can be measured against the Product Goal.

Answer

Recommend that the Product Owner create a separate steering committee to review the product roadmap every quarter.

Question 3

A Scrum Master notices that the Developers and the Product Owner have conflicting views on the priority of technical debt versus new features. The Developers want to allocate 30% of each Sprint to refactoring, but the Product Owner insists on delivering only customer-facing features. The Scrum Master wants to help resolve this conflict. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the Developers and the Product Owner to help them understand each other's perspectives and find a balanced approach.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by facilitating collaboration and helping members resolve conflicts. Facilitating a conversation allows the Developers and Product Owner to understand each other's concerns and jointly decide on an approach that balances feature delivery with technical health. This respects the Product Owner's accountability for value and the Developers' need for sustainable pace.

Answer

Advise the Developers to work on technical debt without informing the Product Owner to avoid conflict.

Answer

Escalate the conflict to senior management to decide the appropriate allocation of effort.

Answer

Instruct the Product Owner to allocate 30% of each Sprint to technical debt because it is essential for long-term quality.

Question 4

A Scrum Team is preparing for its first Sprint and the Scrum Master is explaining the timebox for Sprint Planning. The upcoming Sprint will last one month. According to the Scrum Guide, what is the maximum timebox for Sprint Planning in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Eight hours. Sprint Planning is timeboxed to a maximum of eight hours for a one-month Sprint. For shorter Sprints, the event is usually shorter. The timebox ensures the team focuses on creating a usable plan without over-investing in planning, while still allowing enough time to define the Sprint Goal and select the necessary Product Backlog items.

Answer

Two hours

Answer

Four hours

Answer

One day

Question 5

A Scrum Team finishes Sprint Planning with a clear Sprint Goal and a set of selected Product Backlog items. Two days into the Sprint, a Developer identifies a better technical approach that would change the composition of the Sprint Backlog while still achieving the Sprint Goal. What should the team do?

Accepted Answer

Update the Sprint Backlog to reflect the new approach, since the Sprint Backlog is owned by the Developers and may be adjusted as long as the Sprint Goal is not endangered.. The Sprint Backlog belongs to the Developers and is expected to change as they learn more during the Sprint. Because the Sprint Goal stays viable, the Developers can revise their plan without permission from the Product Owner or Scrum Master. Re-planning via a new Sprint Planning event or canceling the Sprint is unnecessary and not supported by Scrum.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint and start a new one so the revised plan can be properly planned and committed to from the beginning.

Answer

Continue with the original Sprint Backlog unchanged to preserve the Sprint's original forecast and avoid scope churn.

Answer

Call an emergency Sprint Planning session with the Product Owner to formally re-baseline the Sprint Backlog before any work changes.

Question 6

A Scrum Team's Daily Scrum has become a 30-minute problem-solving session where Developers dive into technical design debates. The Scrum Master wants to refocus the event on its intended purpose. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Teach the Developers that the Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for inspecting progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapting the Sprint Backlog as needed.. The Daily Scrum exists for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog. It is timeboxed to 15 minutes and is not a status report or a design workshop. The Scrum Master serves the team by coaching them on this purpose, helping them keep the event focused, and encouraging detailed discussions to happen outside the timebox.

Answer

Have the Scrum Master facilitate the Daily Scrum and assign each Developer a turn to report status to keep the meeting on track.

Answer

Extend the Daily Scrum to 30 minutes to accommodate the technical discussions so the team does not lose valuable problem-solving time.

Answer

Cancel the Daily Scrum and replace it with a weekly technical design meeting, since the Developers already communicate continuously.

Question 7

A Scrum Team is preparing for its first Sprint. The organization asks who is accountable for establishing the Scrum Team's Definition of Done if the organization has no existing standard. Who should create it?

Accepted Answer

The Developers, because they create the Increment and define the quality standard it must meet.. When no organizational standard exists, the Developers must create a Definition of Done suitable for the product. Because they build the Increment, they define the quality criteria it must meet, making the work transparent and verifiable. The Product Owner and Scrum Master participate as team members but do not own this artifact.

Answer

The stakeholders, because they determine what quality means for the product.

Answer

The Product Owner, because the Definition of Done affects product quality.

Answer

The Scrum Master, because the Scrum Master owns all Scrum processes.

Question 8

A Product Owner frequently changes the order of Product Backlog items mid-Sprint, causing the Developers to lose focus on the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master wants to help the Product Owner understand the impact of these changes. Which action best serves the Product Owner in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on how ordering decisions affect the Developers' ability to meet the Sprint Goal, and suggest they collaborate with the Developers before making significant changes.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by coaching them on how backlog ordering affects the Developers' focus and Sprint Goal. Encouraging collaboration with the Developers helps the Product Owner make better decisions without undermining their authority. This approach fosters understanding and self-management, aligning with Scrum values.

Answer

Instruct the Developers to ignore any changes to the Product Backlog during the Sprint and continue working on the original plan.

Answer

Escalate the issue to senior management so they can remind the Product Owner of the importance of a stable Sprint.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to stop changing the Product Backlog during the Sprint and only make changes between Sprints.

Question 9

A Scrum Team has grown to nine Developers, and the Scrum Master observes that the team is spending too much time coordinating and too little time delivering value. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team on self-management and help them find ways to reduce coordination overhead.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching on self-management and helping them improve their way of working. When coordination overhead increases, the Scrum Master should first help the team inspect and adapt their own practices, rather than imposing structural changes or adding management roles that conflict with Scrum principles.

Answer

Recommend splitting the team into two Scrum Teams, each with its own Product Owner and Scrum Master.

Answer

Add a project manager to coordinate the Developers' tasks and report progress.

Answer

Extend the Daily Scrum to 30 minutes to allow more coordination time.

Question 10

A Scrum Master joins a newly formed Scrum Team whose Developers come from three different departments. The Developers keep waiting for the Scrum Master to assign tasks, and two of them have begun reporting progress to their functional managers instead of the team. Which two actions best fulfil the Scrum Master's service to the Scrum Team? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers on self-management so they collectively decide how to turn Product Backlog items into valuable Increments.. A newly formed Scrum Team often carries habits from functional hierarchies, so the Scrum Master serves it by coaching self-management and by helping the surrounding organization understand Scrum accountabilities. Together these actions shift decision-making about how to build the Increment to the Developers while reducing the pull of outside reporting expectations that fragment their focus.

Answer

Recommend that the organization restructure so all Developers report to the Product Owner for the duration of the project.

Answer

Take over Sprint Backlog allocation for the first few Sprints until the Developers demonstrate they can work independently.

Answer

Ask the functional managers to attend Daily Scrums so they can track each Developer's individual progress directly.

Question 11

A Product Owner is new to the role and keeps making ordering decisions based on the loudest stakeholder in the room. The Scrum Master wants to help the Product Owner manage the Product Backlog more effectively. Which two actions best serve the Product Owner in this situation? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on techniques for ordering the Product Backlog by value, risk, dependencies, and stakeholder input.. Serving the Product Owner means helping them manage the Product Backlog effectively while preserving their accountability for ordering. Coaching on ordering techniques and facilitating transparent stakeholder input both strengthen the Product Owner's ability to decide based on value rather than volume. Actions that take over ordering or restrict who can contribute undermine the Product Owner's authority and reduce the quality of information available for decisions.

Answer

Take over the ordering of the Product Backlog until the Product Owner has gained enough experience to do it independently.

Answer

Establish a rule that only stakeholders with budget authority may submit new Product Backlog items.

Answer

Ask the Developers to prioritize the Product Backlog items during refinement because they understand the technical dependencies best.

Question 12

A Scrum Team is preparing for the Sprint Review. The Product Owner wants to know who is required to attend and what the event's primary output should be. Which statement correctly describes the Sprint Review?

Accepted Answer

It is a working session where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment and collaborate on what to do next, resulting in an adapted Product Backlog.. The Sprint Review is a collaborative working session in which the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment and progress toward the Product Goal, then adapt the Product Backlog. It is not a formal approval gate, not a status presentation, and not an internal-only meeting. Its output is an updated Product Backlog that shapes what comes next.

Answer

It is a formal sign-off meeting where stakeholders approve or reject the Increment before it can be released.

Answer

It is a presentation by the Developers to stakeholders, ending with a report of completed Story Points and velocity.

Answer

It is an internal meeting for the Scrum Team only, where the Developers decide which items to carry into the next Sprint.

Question 13

A Scrum Team is distributed across three time zones. The Scrum Master wants to ensure the Daily Scrum remains effective and within its time-box. Which TWO actions are appropriate? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Keep the Daily Scrum at the same time and place every working day to reduce complexity.. The Daily Scrum is owned by the Developers, who may choose any structure or technique that keeps the event focused on progress toward the Sprint Goal and within fifteen minutes. Holding it at the same time and place each working day reduces complexity and supports a reliable habit, which is especially valuable for distributed teams. Neither extending the time-box nor converting the event into a status report is consistent with Scrum.

Answer

Extend the time-box to thirty minutes when participants are joining remotely to accommodate connection delays.

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Have the Scrum Master collect written status updates from each Developer beforehand and read them aloud during the event.

Answer

Require every Developer to answer the three classic questions in strict order to guarantee consistent information flow.

Question 14

A Scrum Team is new to Scrum. The Product Owner is unsure how to effectively engage with stakeholders to gather feedback on the product. Which of the following is the most appropriate way for the Scrum Master to serve the Product Owner in this context?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a workshop to help the Product Owner identify key stakeholders and create a plan for regular engagement.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by facilitating workshops and coaching them on stakeholder engagement. Helping the Product Owner identify stakeholders and plan regular interactions enables effective product value maximization. This proactive support aligns with Scrum principles and builds the Product Owner's capability.

Answer

Take over the responsibility of communicating with stakeholders so the Product Owner can focus on backlog management.

Answer

Advise the Product Owner to wait until the Sprint Review to interact with stakeholders, as that is the only required event for feedback.

Answer

Suggest that the Product Owner delegate stakeholder communication to the Developers to save time.

Question 15

A Scrum Master at a software company observes that the Developers have started sending daily status reports to the Product Owner and waiting for approval before moving tasks on the Sprint Backlog. The Scrum Master wants to reinforce self-management without undermining the Product Owner's authority. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers to make decisions about their work and help the Product Owner understand that the Sprint Backlog is owned by the Developers.. The correct action is to coach the Developers to self-manage their Sprint Backlog and to help the Product Owner understand that the Developers own the 'how' of the work. This preserves the Product Owner's authority over product direction while restoring the team's autonomy, which is essential for Scrum to function.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the engineering manager and request that the reporting requirement be removed from the team's process.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to stop communicating with the Developers during the Sprint to eliminate the dependency.

Answer

Instruct the Developers to stop sending reports and ignore the Product Owner's feedback until the next Sprint Review.