CSM Practice Test 19 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An organization is transitioning to Scrum, and the middle managers are struggling to relinquish control over task assignment. How should the Scrum Master address this?

Accepted Answer

Coach the managers on the value of self-management and the Scrum framework.. The Scrum Master must act as an organizational change agent. By coaching managers on the benefits of self-managed teams and the dangers of micromanagement, the Scrum Master helps create an environment where the team can thrive. This is essential for the Scrum framework to work, as the team must have full autonomy to plan and execute their work to achieve the Sprint Goal.

Answer

Ignore the managers and continue working with the team.

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Escalate the issue to the CEO immediately.

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Ask the team to refuse all assignments from the managers.

Question 2

A Product Owner is struggling to manage a massive Product Backlog that has grown to over 500 items. What is the most effective way for the Scrum Master to assist the Product Owner in optimizing the Product Backlog?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on techniques for refinement, ordering, and transparency.. The Scrum Master facilitates the Product Owner's ability to maintain a healthy backlog. By teaching techniques for effective Product Backlog management, the Scrum Master ensures the Product Owner can focus on value delivery rather than administration. Reducing the backlog size through refinement and prioritization improves transparency and flow. This mastery of backlog hygiene is essential for the team to remain focused on delivering the highest priority increments during each Sprint.

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Advise the Product Owner to archive all items older than six months.

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Take over the responsibility of writing and splitting user stories.

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Instruct the Developers to prioritize the backlog items themselves.

Question 3

During the Daily Scrum, a Developer starts a deep technical discussion about a complex architectural design flaw discovered that morning. As the Scrum Master, what is your best immediate action?

Accepted Answer

Interrupt the discussion, remind the team of the Daily Scrum's purpose, and suggest a follow-up breakout session for interested parties.. The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event solely for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan. Detailed problem-solving sessions derail the focus of the event and should be deferred to a separate breakout discussion.

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Participate actively in the technical debate to help the Developers choose the correct architectural design pattern.

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Extend the Daily Scrum time-box beyond 15 minutes to ensure the architectural problem is fully resolved before people leave.

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Log the architectural problem as an impediment and take sole responsibility for researching a solution by tomorrow.

Question 4

A Scrum Team's Sprint Retrospective has become a recurring complaint session about the same issues, and no improvement actions are ever carried out. The Scrum Master wants the event to produce real change. What is the most appropriate approach?

Accepted Answer

Help the team focus on one or two high-impact improvements and add them to the Sprint Backlog for the next Sprint.. The Sprint Retrospective is where the Scrum Team inspects its way of working and identifies the most helpful changes. To produce real change, the team should select a small number of high-impact improvements and incorporate them into the next Sprint's work. This converts retrospective insight into concrete action and builds a habit of continuous improvement rather than repeated venting.

Answer

Have the Scrum Master document all complaints and present them to management so they can assign owners for each action.

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Shorten the Retrospective to 15 minutes so the team spends less time complaining and more time working.

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Replace the Retrospective with a monthly all-hands meeting so leadership can drive the improvement priorities directly.

Question 5

A Scrum Team's Daily Scrum consistently runs 25 minutes because team members dive into technical problem-solving and design debates. The Scrum Master wants to keep the event within its 15-minute timebox while still enabling the Developers to adapt their plan. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

End the Daily Scrum at 15 minutes and invite anyone with unresolved technical topics to stay for an optional follow-up discussion.. The Daily Scrum exists to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog, and it is timeboxed to 15 minutes. When technical debates consume the timebox, the Developers should end the event on schedule and continue detailed discussions afterward. This preserves both the timebox and the event's purpose without suppressing necessary technical collaboration.

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Ask the Scrum Master to facilitate the Daily Scrum strictly, cutting off any developer who raises a technical concern.

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Convert the Daily Scrum into a written status update in a chat channel so no meeting time is consumed by discussions.

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Extend the Daily Scrum to 30 minutes permanently so the team has enough time to resolve all technical issues that arise.

Question 6

What is the primary purpose of the Daily Scrum for the Development Team?

Accepted Answer

To inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and create an actionable plan for the next 24 hours.. The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Development Team to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog. It is not a status report for management, but a tactical coordination meeting allowing developers to synchronize activities and plan their next 24 hours.

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To report individual task completion percentages directly to the Scrum Master and functional managers.

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To negotiate new requirements and change requests directly with attending stakeholders and customers.

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To perform comprehensive code reviews and architectural design planning for complex features.

Question 7

Halfway through a two-week Sprint, key market conditions shift drastically, rendering the current Sprint Goal completely obsolete. What is the most appropriate course of action?

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint and start a new Sprint Planning event.. When a Sprint Goal loses its meaning due to drastic external changes, continuing the Sprint is pointless because the resulting work will not deliver value. The Product Owner holds the unique authority to cancel the Sprint and immediately initiate a new planning cycle based on updated priorities.

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The Development Team should continue executing the current Sprint Backlog until the two-week time-box expires.

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The Scrum Master must unilaterally decide whether to continue or terminate the current Sprint cycle.

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Developers should privately split their time between the old Sprint Backlog and the new market requirements.

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are ways the Scrum Master serves the organization by fostering a 'Scrum-friendly' culture?

Accepted Answer

Advocating for small, cross-functional, and stable teams.. A Scrum-friendly culture is built on transparency, trust, and the continuous pursuit of improvement. By facilitating events, challenging ineffective policies, and encouraging collaborative learning, the Scrum Master helps the organization dismantle command-and-control habits. These efforts are vital because they create an environment where teams feel safe to experiment, learn from failure, and deliver value, which is the foundational purpose of adopting the Scrum framework within any professional setting.

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Mandating that all teams use the same project management software tool.

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Ensuring all meetings have a formal agenda approved by management.

Question 9

A team finds that the Sprint Review often turns into a status report meeting where the Developers read through their Jira boards. How should the Scrum Master intervene?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to focus the event on demonstrating the increment and feedback.. The Sprint Review is a collaborative event focused on the product increment and feedback, not a status report. If the team is just reading boards, they miss the opportunity to demonstrate value and gather meaningful feedback. The Scrum Master must pivot the team's focus toward demonstrating the actual product increment and facilitating a conversation with stakeholders to ensure the product's direction remains aligned with user needs.

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Advise the team to use a project management tool that generates automated reports.

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Enforce a strict format where the team only talks about the Sprint Goal.

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Invite management to ensure the team feels pressured to show progress.

Question 10

A team member is consistently negative during meetings, which is impacting the team's morale. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Discuss the behavior with the individual privately.. The Scrum Master is responsible for the health of the team and must address disruptive behavior. By coaching the individual in a private setting, the Scrum Master maintains psychological safety while directly addressing the issue. This is crucial because a healthy team dynamic is necessary for open communication, effective collaboration, and the sustained high performance that defines a truly successful Scrum team.

Answer

Address the behavior in the next group meeting.

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Ask the team to vote on removing the member.

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Ignore the negativity if the team's velocity is high.

Question 11

A stakeholder asks the Scrum Master to add a high-priority feature to the current Sprint. What is the correct response?

Accepted Answer

Direct the stakeholder to the Product Owner.. The Scrum Master must uphold the integrity of the Sprint. Changes that jeopardize the Sprint Goal are discouraged. By coaching the stakeholder to work with the Product Owner for the next Sprint, the Scrum Master maintains the team's focus and ensures that the Product Backlog management remains transparent and orderly. This protects the team from constant disruption, which is vital for maintaining high productivity and quality standards.

Answer

Accept the feature if the team has capacity.

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Add the feature but remove an equal amount of work.

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Ask the team to vote on the new request.

Question 12

A Scrum Team's Product Owner has been unable to attend the last three Sprint Reviews because of conflicting commitments. The Developers have been demoing completed Increments directly to key stakeholders during those sessions, and the stakeholders have begun sending change requests straight to individual Developers. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on the purpose of the Sprint Review and help them re-establish their ownership of stakeholder engagement and Product Backlog ordering.. The Sprint Review is the Scrum Team's opportunity to inspect the Increment with stakeholders and adapt the Product Backlog, and the Product Owner is accountable for maximizing value and ordering that backlog. When stakeholders bypass the Product Owner, the Scrum Master serves the team best by coaching the Product Owner back into that accountability, which restores a single channel for feedback and protects the Developers from unmanaged scope changes.

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Accept the new arrangement and start logging stakeholder change requests in a separate document for the Developers to triage at the next Sprint Retrospective.

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Instruct the Developers to stop demonstrating the Increment until the Product Owner can attend every Sprint Review in person.

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Escalate the Product Owner's absence to their line manager and request that a replacement Product Owner be assigned to the Scrum Team.

Question 13

A Scrum Team's Sprint Review consistently runs over its four-hour timebox for a one-month Sprint, with stakeholders engaging in lengthy debates about future features. The Scrum Master wants to improve the event. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team and stakeholders on the purpose of the Sprint Review, which is to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog, and help them keep the event within its timebox.. The Sprint Review is timeboxed to a maximum of four hours for a one-month Sprint. Its purpose is for the Scrum Team and stakeholders to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog. When discussions become lengthy and unfocused, the Scrum Master should coach participants on the event's purpose and help them manage the timebox, ensuring the event remains productive and within its limit.

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Cancel the Sprint Review and replace it with a written status report distributed to stakeholders, since the meeting is too long.

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Extend the Sprint Review timebox to six hours to allow all stakeholders to fully express their opinions and reach consensus on future features.

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Limit attendance at the Sprint Review to only the Product Owner and Developers so that stakeholder debates can be avoided entirely.

Question 14

During a Sprint, a stakeholder approaches a Developer and asks them to add a small but urgent feature to the current Sprint Backlog. What is the most appropriate action for the Developer?

Accepted Answer

Direct the stakeholder to discuss the request with the Product Owner.. The Developer must protect the integrity of the Sprint Goal and the Scrum process by referring the stakeholder to the Product Owner. The Product Owner is solely accountable for managing the Product Backlog and negotiating scope with stakeholders. This maintains the team's focus and ensures the Product Owner remains the single source of truth for work priorities, preventing scope creep and unmanaged disruptions.

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Accept the feature if it takes less than two hours to complete.

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Ask the Scrum Master to update the Sprint Backlog to include the new feature.

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Add the feature to the Sprint Backlog and inform the Product Owner later.

Question 15

A Scrum Team is reviewing the accountabilities that belong to the Scrum Master. Which TWO of the following are Scrum Master accountabilities? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by ensuring Scrum events are held, productive, and timeboxed, and by helping the team focus on high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done. Ordering the backlog, selecting items, and authoring acceptance criteria belong to the Product Owner or the Developers, not to the Scrum Master.

Answer

Deciding which Product Backlog items the Developers will select for the next Sprint.

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Writing the acceptance criteria for every user story to ensure consistent quality.

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Ordering the Product Backlog to maximize the value delivered by the Scrum Team.