CSM Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Scrum Team's Product Owner is frequently pulled into long, unplanned meetings with a key stakeholder who wants to discuss future features. This is preventing the Product Owner from collaborating with the Developers on refining the Product Backlog. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

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

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on techniques for managing stakeholder engagement, such as setting up regular office hours or delegating discussions.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping them manage stakeholder engagement effectively. Coaching on techniques such as setting boundaries, scheduling dedicated time, or delegating can empower the Product Owner to balance stakeholder needs with Product Backlog refinement. This approach respects the Product Owner's accountability while fostering a productive environment.

Answer

Advise the Product Owner to ignore the stakeholder's requests until the end of the Sprint.

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Escalate the issue to the stakeholder's manager to stop the interruptions.

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Take over the stakeholder communication so the Product Owner can focus on the Product Backlog.

Question 2

A Scrum Team has just started using Scrum. During the first few Daily Scrums, the Scrum Master notices that the Developers are reporting status to the Scrum Master rather than coordinating with each other. The Scrum Master wants to help the team self-manage. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers on the purpose of the Daily Scrum and help them refocus on inspecting progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapting their plan together.. The correct action is to coach the Developers on the purpose of the Daily Scrum and help them refocus on the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by fostering self-management and helping the team improve its practices. By guiding the Developers to coordinate with each other rather than report status, the Scrum Master enables the team to take ownership of the event and its outcomes, which is central to the Scrum Master's role.

Answer

Facilitate the Daily Scrum by asking each Developer three standard questions to ensure everyone speaks.

Answer

Take notes during the Daily Scrum and send a summary to the Product Owner so that stakeholders are informed of progress.

Answer

Cancel the Daily Scrum for a few Sprints until the team is ready to self-organize without the Scrum Master's involvement.

Question 3

During a Sprint Review, the Product Owner presents the Increment but struggles to articulate how the completed work aligns with the product vision, leading to confusion among stakeholders. After the event, the Scrum Master wants to help the Product Owner improve future Sprint Reviews. What is the best way for the Scrum Master to serve the Product Owner?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on preparing a clear narrative that connects each Product Backlog item to the product vision and stakeholder needs before the next Sprint Review.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by coaching them to effectively communicate the product vision and value during the Sprint Review. Preparing a clear narrative that links backlog items to vision helps stakeholders understand progress and fosters collaboration. This approach builds the Product Owner's skills and respects their accountability.

Answer

Recommend that the Scrum Master take over the presentation of the Increment during future Sprint Reviews to ensure clarity.

Answer

Suggest that the Product Owner skip the Sprint Review for the next Sprint and instead send a written report to stakeholders.

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Advise the Product Owner to limit stakeholder questions during the Sprint Review to avoid confusion and keep the event on track.

Question 4

A Scrum Master joins a team that has been using Scrum for a year. The team's Sprint Retrospectives have become a recurring complaint session about a single difficult stakeholder, and no improvement actions are ever produced. The Scrum Master wants to help the team get more value from the event. Which action best reflects the Scrum Master's accountability?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team on the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective, help them focus on inspect-and-adapt of their own process, and let them choose improvement actions they own.. The Sprint Retrospective is where the Scrum Team inspects itself and creates a plan for improvements it owns. When the event produces complaints but no action, the Scrum Master's accountability for the team's effectiveness calls for coaching on the event's purpose and helping the team take ownership of concrete improvements, not for taking over or replacing the event.

Answer

Escalate the difficult stakeholder to management and ask that the Retrospective be paused until the stakeholder issue is resolved.

Answer

Replace the Retrospective with a survey so Developers can submit anonymous feedback and the Scrum Master can summarize the results for management.

Answer

Take over facilitation of the Retrospective and personally assign improvement tasks to each Developer to ensure follow-through.

Question 5

Midway through a Sprint, the Developers tell the Scrum Master they have discovered that one Product Backlog item is far more complex than estimated and that finishing it as originally scoped would jeopardize the Sprint Goal. They want to renegotiate with the Product Owner. What is the most appropriate way for the Scrum Master to serve the Scrum Team here?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the Developers and the Product Owner so scope can be adjusted while protecting the Sprint Goal.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by facilitating collaboration and helping remove impediments, and here the impediment is a mismatch between new learning and the original plan. The Developers own the Sprint Backlog and may adapt it, while the Product Owner owns value and scope negotiation. Facilitating that conversation protects the Sprint Goal without overriding either role's authority.

Answer

Instruct the Developers to keep the original scope because the Sprint Backlog was committed to at Sprint Planning.

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Tell the Developers to reduce quality on the complex item so the Sprint Goal is still met on time.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint and ask the Product Owner to re-plan the remaining work in a new Sprint Planning session.

Question 6

A Scrum Team is about to hold its Sprint Planning event. The Product Owner and Developers want to ensure the event fulfills its purpose. Which TWO of the following statements accurately describe Sprint Planning? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Sprint Planning addresses three topics: why the Sprint is valuable, what can be done in the Sprint, and how the chosen work will get done.. Sprint Planning is a collaborative event where the Scrum Team defines the Sprint Goal (Why), selects Product Backlog items (What), and plans how to deliver them (How). It is timeboxed to eight hours for a one-month Sprint and may be shorter for shorter Sprints. The Sprint Backlog produced is a living plan that the Developers update as they learn.

Answer

Only the Developers attend Sprint Planning, since they are the ones doing the work and estimating the effort.

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Sprint Planning produces a fixed, unchangeable Sprint Backlog that cannot be modified until the Sprint ends.

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The Scrum Master is solely responsible for creating the Sprint Goal and presenting it to the Developers for approval.

Question 7

A Scrum Master is working with a Product Owner who frequently changes the Sprint Goal mid-Sprint based on new stakeholder requests. The Developers are frustrated and feel their work is being undermined. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the Product Owner to understand the reasons for the changes and coach them on the purpose of the Sprint Goal and the impact of mid-Sprint alterations.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping them understand and apply Scrum practices. When a Product Owner frequently changes the Sprint Goal, the Scrum Master should first seek to understand the underlying reasons and then coach them on the purpose of the Sprint Goal and the negative impact of mid-Sprint changes on focus and value delivery. This approach respects the Product Owner's role while promoting Scrum principles.

Answer

Tell the Developers to ignore the Product Owner's changes and continue working on the original Sprint Goal.

Answer

Instruct the Product Owner to stop changing the Sprint Goal and to respect the Sprint's integrity.

Answer

Escalate the issue to management, since the Product Owner is not following Scrum.

Question 8

A Scrum Master is working with a team that has a Product Owner who frequently changes priorities mid-Sprint, causing the Developers to switch tasks and leave work unfinished. The Scrum Master wants to protect the Sprint Goal while maintaining a good relationship with the Product Owner. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on the importance of the Sprint Goal and help them understand that changes that endanger it should be deferred to the next Sprint.. The Scrum Master should coach the Product Owner on the value of the Sprint Goal and the negative impact of mid-Sprint priority changes. By helping the Product Owner understand that changes endangering the Sprint Goal should be deferred, the Scrum Master protects the team's focus while maintaining collaboration.

Answer

Suggest that the team abandon the Sprint Goal and instead respond to whatever the Product Owner requests each day.

Answer

Ask the Developers to work overtime to accommodate both the original Sprint Goal and the new priorities.

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Instruct the Developers to ignore any requests from the Product Owner that are not in the Sprint Backlog.

Question 9

A Scrum Master is working with a newly formed Scrum Team. During the first Sprint, the Developers repeatedly ask the Scrum Master to assign tasks to individuals and to decide who should pair with whom. The Scrum Master wants to foster self-management. Which two actions best serve this goal? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers to self-organize around the Sprint Goal and let them decide how to distribute and coordinate the work.. Self-management grows when the Developers are told clearly that they own the Sprint Backlog and its execution, and when they are coached to organize around the Sprint Goal and choose how to distribute work. Explaining the Scrum Master's non-managerial role and letting the team decide together remove the dependency the team is demonstrating.

Answer

Assign tasks for the first few Sprints to keep velocity predictable, then gradually hand over decisions once the team is stable.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to assign tasks based on business priority so the team can focus purely on technical execution.

Answer

Create a detailed RACI chart that specifies which individual is responsible for each task in the Sprint Backlog.

Question 10

An organization's finance department requires a fixed-scope, fixed-date commitment from a product team before approving budget for the next quarter. The team's Product Owner is under pressure to comply. As the Scrum Master serving the organization, what is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Help the finance department understand that Scrum teams forecast rather than commit to fixed scope and date, and explore alternative funding models that support empirical delivery.. The Scrum Master serves the organization by helping it understand that Scrum replaces fixed-scope commitments with empirical forecasting. Educating finance and co-creating funding approaches that tolerate uncertainty preserves the team's ability to deliver value iteratively. The other actions either force predictive contracts onto the team or abandon Scrum, both of which undermine the organization's agility.

Answer

Recommend that the team abandon Scrum and adopt a traditional predictive approach for this quarter to satisfy finance's requirements.

Answer

Instruct the Product Owner to sign the fixed-scope commitment and then manage scope changes through the Sprint Review so finance sees progress.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime during the quarter to ensure the fixed scope is delivered, and report progress weekly to finance.

Question 11

A Scrum Team's Developers have asked the Scrum Master to help them improve how they create and refine Product Backlog items. The Product Owner is supportive but busy. Which action best serves the Scrum Team in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Teach the Developers and Product Owner techniques for effective Product Backlog management, such as splitting items and defining acceptance criteria, and help them find a cadence for refinement.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching it in Product Backlog management and helping it arrange refinement. Teaching techniques and establishing a cadence builds the team's capability and improves shared understanding. The Scrum Master supports the Product Owner without assuming the Product Owner's accountabilities, keeping the Developers engaged in the conversations that matter.

Answer

Take ownership of the Product Backlog refinement sessions and write the acceptance criteria yourself so the Developers can focus on coding.

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Advise the Developers that Product Backlog refinement is optional and that they should simply ask the Product Owner for clarification during Sprint Planning.

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Ask the Product Owner to stop refining with the Developers and instead send detailed specifications by email so no meeting time is lost.

Question 12

During a Sprint Review, the Product Owner presents the Increment but struggles to explain how it aligns with the product vision and business goals. The stakeholders seem confused. What should the Scrum Master do to best support the Product Owner in this situation?

Accepted Answer

After the Sprint Review, coach the Product Owner on how to articulate the product vision and its connection to the Increment.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by coaching them to effectively communicate the product vision and value. Addressing the issue after the Sprint Review allows the Product Owner to reflect and improve without public embarrassment. This builds their capability and ensures future Sprint Reviews are more effective, fostering better stakeholder understanding and collaboration.

Answer

Suggest that the Developers present the Increment instead, since they built it.

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Recommend that the Product Owner skip future Sprint Reviews until they can clearly explain the vision.

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Interrupt the Product Owner and take over the presentation to clarify the alignment.

Question 13

A Scrum Master joins a company where teams are referred to as 'Scrum teams' but they have no Product Owner and report progress to a functional manager who assigns tasks daily. The Scrum Master wants to serve the organization by improving its understanding of Scrum. What is the most appropriate first step?

Accepted Answer

Educate leadership and teams on the Scrum framework, including the Product Owner accountability and the role of self-managing teams, and offer to coach them through incremental changes.. The Scrum Master serves the organization by helping it understand Scrum's theory, roles, and events. When teams are mislabeled and lack a Product Owner, the appropriate first step is education and coaching with leadership and teams, enabling incremental, transparent change rather than abrupt restructuring or silent noncompliance.

Answer

Accept the current setup as a valid Scrum variant and focus only on improving the teams' technical practices.

Answer

Replace the functional manager with a Product Owner immediately and inform the teams of the change.

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Tell the teams to stop reporting to the functional manager and start self-organizing without informing leadership.

Question 14

A Product Owner is preparing for a major release and wants to ensure the Product Backlog is transparent and understood by all stakeholders. They ask the Scrum Master for help. What is the most appropriate way for the Scrum Master to serve the Product Owner?

Accepted Answer

Teach the Product Owner techniques for creating and communicating a transparent Product Backlog that reflects the Product Goal.. Teaching the Product Owner techniques for a transparent, well-communicated Product Backlog directly serves their need for stakeholder understanding and alignment with the Product Goal. It preserves Product Owner accountability and promotes Scrum's transparency pillar, enabling better release preparation.

Answer

Advise the Product Owner to keep the backlog private until the release is complete to avoid scope creep.

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Take responsibility for presenting the Product Backlog at the next Sprint Review to ensure clarity.

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Create a detailed Gantt chart for the release and share it with stakeholders as the source of truth.

Question 15

A Scrum Master is serving a Scrum Team whose Developers frequently pull work that is not aligned with the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master wants to help the team strengthen its self-management. Which two actions best serve the Scrum Team? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers on how the Sprint Goal guides their daily decisions and ask them to reflect on whether their chosen work supports it.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching self-management and facilitating the team's own inspection and adaptation. Coaching the Developers on how the Sprint Goal guides daily decisions, and helping them choose an improvement in the Retrospective, both build the team's capability to manage its own work. Assigning work, policing via the Product Owner, or editing the Sprint Backlog all substitute external control for self-management.

Answer

Assign each Developer a specific set of Sprint Backlog items at the start of the Sprint so no one can pull unrelated work.

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Update the Sprint Backlog yourself each day to remove any items that do not match the Sprint Goal, and inform the Developers of the changes.

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Ask the Product Owner to attend every Daily Scrum and redirect any Developer who is working on something outside the Sprint Goal.