CSM Practice Test 4 — 25 Questions

Question 1

A Product Owner is being pressured by a senior executive to add a feature to the current Sprint. What is the best way for the Scrum Master to support the Product Owner?

Accepted Answer

Advise the Product Owner on how to explain the impact of the change to the executive and suggest adding it to the Product Backlog.. The Scrum Master must support the Product Owner in maintaining the integrity of the Sprint. By coaching the Product Owner on how to communicate the impacts of such changes—such as jeopardizing the Sprint Goal or reducing quality—the Scrum Master helps them stand firm against external pressure. This reinforces the Product Owner's authority and protects the team from unnecessary disruptions.

Answer

Tell the Product Owner to refuse the request and inform the executive that the Scrum Master blocked it.

Answer

Agree to the request to avoid conflict with the senior executive.

Answer

Ask the Developers to work overtime to include the new feature without affecting current tasks.

Question 2

During a Sprint, a developer approaches the Scrum Master complaining that another team member's coding style violates internal standards, creating friction during code reviews. How should the Scrum Master address this service to the Scrum Team?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the developers to help them establish shared coding norms and update their team agreements.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by facilitating self-organization and helping them resolve internal conflicts rather than imposing external rules. Encouraging the developers to collaborate on updating their Definition of Done or team agreements fosters ownership. This approach builds team maturity and sustainable engineering practices while preventing reliance on the Scrum Master as a mediator.

Answer

Report the compliance issue to the engineering manager so management can formally discipline the developer.

Answer

Rewrite the problematic code yourself to align with standards and demonstrate the expected technical quality.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint immediately because technical disagreements prevent the team from meeting their Sprint Goal.

Question 3

Which THREE actions are appropriate for the Scrum Master to take during the Sprint Retrospective to ensure it is effective?

Accepted Answer

Ensure the event is timeboxed and that the team identifies actionable improvements.. A successful Retrospective requires a safe, objective environment where the team can reflect on their process without fear. By facilitating the session, ensuring it is timeboxed, and focusing on actionable improvements, the Scrum Master enables the team to grow. These three actions protect the integrity of the event and ensure that the team actually evolves its practices rather than just complaining about the past.

Answer

Insist that the team focuses only on negative feedback to drive change.

Answer

Document the team's performance data to present at the next management review.

Question 4

During a Sprint, a developer approaches the Scrum Master complaining that the Product Owner frequently interrupts the team with urgent ad-hoc requests that disrupt their planned work. Which action should the Scrum Master take first to best serve the team?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on the negative impact of interruptions and establish a structured channel for handling urgent backlog changes.. The Scrum Master must act as a facilitator and coach, helping the Product Owner understand how constant context switching degrades development flow and predictability. By coaching the Product Owner on sustainable backlog management and channelizing requests through the proper refinement process, the Scrum Master protects the team while preserving Product Owner autonomy.

Answer

Escalate the Product Owner's behavior to the department head to enforce organizational boundaries around the Scrum Team.

Answer

Instruct the developers to completely ignore all direct communications originating from the Product Owner during the active Sprint.

Answer

Modify the Sprint Backlog unilaterally to accommodate the urgent items and formally extend the current Sprint duration accordingly.

Question 5

Which TWO of the following actions best demonstrate a Scrum Master serving the organization during an enterprise-wide transformation? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Hosting training sessions for stakeholders on Scrum values.. A Scrum Master serves the organization by fostering an environment conducive to Scrum. This involves both internal coaching and external advocacy. By focusing on systemic improvements and cultural alignment, the Scrum Master ensures that Scrum is implemented effectively and sustainably across all levels of the business, rather than just within the isolated boundaries of individual Scrum Teams.

Answer

Managing the team's JIRA tickets to ensure perfect velocity.

Answer

Taking notes during every meeting to ensure reporting consistency.

Answer

Directing the team on which technical practices to implement.

Question 6

During the Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team identifies a major systemic impediment involving company HR policies that is slowing down delivery. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Take accountability for resolving the organizational impediment by collaborating with leadership to influence changes outside the team.. The Scrum Master serves the organization by leading, training, and coaching in Scrum adoption, which includes helping remove organizational barriers. When impediments lie outside the team's immediate sphere of control, the Scrum Master must champion the issue upward, working with organizational leaders to enact structural changes that enable high performance.

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore HR policies because Scrum rules supersede all standard corporate governance and compliance frameworks.

Answer

Discard the impediment from the Retrospective action plan because organizational culture changes are strictly impossible to achieve.

Answer

Mandate that the Product Owner rewrite the Product Backlog to include tasks specifically assigned to HR department personnel.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the Product Owner's accountability for the Product Backlog?

Accepted Answer

They have the final say on the ordering of the Product Backlog.. The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog. This includes clearly expressing items, ordering them, and ensuring the backlog is transparent, visible, and understood. This accountability is vital because it creates a single source of truth for what the team should build next, preventing confusion and ensuring the team always works on the highest-value items first.

Answer

They must write every user story personally to ensure quality.

Answer

They are responsible for the implementation details of the backlog items.

Answer

They must update the Product Backlog every time a Developer suggests a change.

Question 8

If a Scrum Team finds that their Scrum Master is absent, can they still hold their Scrum events?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the Scrum Team is self-managing and can run their events.. Scrum events are required for the Scrum Team to function, regardless of whether the Scrum Master is present. The team is self-managing and capable of facilitating their own meetings. While the Scrum Master helps ensure the events are productive, the team's commitment to the process should not depend on the presence of any one individual, reinforcing their independence and maturity.

Answer

No, because the Scrum Master is required to facilitate all events.

Answer

Yes, but they must record the meeting for the Scrum Master to review later.

Answer

No, they must reschedule all events until the Scrum Master returns.

Question 9

Which action is required by the Scrum Master during Sprint Planning?

Accepted Answer

Ensure the event occurs and that participants understand its purpose.. The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring that the Sprint Planning event takes place and that the participants understand its purpose. They act as a facilitator, ensuring the team stays within the timebox and understands the goal. Their role is to coach the team on how to conduct the event effectively, ensuring the collaborative creation of the Sprint Backlog and clear definition of the Sprint Goal.

Answer

Assign tasks to individual developers based on their technical skills.

Answer

Select the highest-priority items from the Product Backlog for the team.

Answer

Estimate the effort required for all Product Backlog items in the Sprint.

Question 10

Which TWO conditions must be met for a Sprint to be officially canceled before its time-box expires? (Choose TWO)

Accepted Answer

The Sprint Goal becomes obsolete due to significant shifts in company strategy or market conditions.. A Sprint can be canceled only by the Product Owner, and only when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete due to drastic changes in business conditions, market forces, or technology. This extreme mechanism protects the organization from investing effort in work that no longer holds value. The decision must be based on a clear strategic pivot rather than minor delivery delays or internal team disagreements.

Answer

The Development Team realizes they will finish all backlog items two days ahead of schedule.

Answer

Key developers fall ill, causing a temporary reduction in team velocity for the current iteration.

Answer

The Scrum Master and senior executives mutually agree that the team is moving too slowly.

Question 11

Which statement best describes the primary purpose of the Sprint Retrospective?

Accepted Answer

To identify improvements to increase the quality and effectiveness of the team.. The Sprint Retrospective is the event dedicated to process improvement. By inspecting how the last Sprint went regarding people, relationships, processes, and tools, the team identifies actionable improvements. This is a critical feedback loop for the team's professional growth and velocity improvement. Without this dedicated time for self-reflection, teams are prone to repeating the same mistakes and failing to leverage their collective experience to become more efficient.

Answer

To demonstrate the increment to stakeholders and gather feedback on the product.

Answer

To plan the work for the upcoming Sprint and define the new Sprint Goal.

Answer

To provide a status update to management regarding the team's velocity.

Question 12

A Scrum Master observes that the team's Daily Scrum frequently lasts over 30 minutes, with the team getting lost in technical deep-dives. Which TWO actions should the Scrum Master take to improve the effectiveness of the event?

Accepted Answer

Interrupt long discussions and ask that those topics be moved to a separate 'after-party' meeting.. A Scrum Master focuses on the event's purpose: synchronizing activities and creating a plan for the next 24 hours. By enforcing the timebox and coaching the team on offline discussions, the Scrum Master helps the team maintain focus. These actions are essential for keeping the Daily Scrum efficient and ensuring the event serves as a planning opportunity rather than a status report or technical design session.

Answer

Facilitate the Daily Scrum personally to ensure it stays on track.

Answer

Require every team member to provide a detailed status report to the Scrum Master.

Answer

Extend the Daily Scrum to 45 minutes to allow for full technical discussions.

Question 13

A Scrum Master observes that the Developers are taking too long to reach a consensus during their Daily Scrum. What should the Scrum Master do to support the team?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team on the purpose of the Daily Scrum and help them identify ways to keep it time-boxed.. The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for the Developers to synchronize and plan the next 24 hours. When it exceeds this time, the Scrum Master should coach the team on the event's purpose. By reminding them that it is a planning session rather than a problem-solving meeting, the Scrum Master helps restore the event's efficiency while respecting the team's self-management and autonomy.

Answer

Facilitate the meeting and force everyone to speak in a strict rotation.

Answer

Limit the number of people who are allowed to speak during the meeting.

Answer

Suggest that the team move the meeting to an asynchronous communication tool.

Question 14

A team has decided to shorten their Sprint length to one week to increase feedback. What should the Scrum Master ensure the team considers?

Accepted Answer

That they must maintain the effectiveness of all Scrum events within the new timebox.. Shortening the Sprint significantly increases the overhead of the Scrum events. The Scrum Master must ensure the team realizes that the events must be kept lean to fit within the new, tighter timebox. This is a critical competency because the Scrum Master needs to guide the team through the implications of process changes, ensuring they don't sacrifice the quality or the purpose of the events for the sake of speed.

Answer

That they can skip the Retrospective to save time.

Answer

That velocity will naturally double.

Answer

That they should stop using the Definition of Done.

Question 15

During a Sprint Planning event, the Development Team realizes they cannot complete the forecast without understanding a complex third-party API integration. The Product Owner insists the item must remain in the Sprint Backlog. How should the Scrum Master facilitate this resolution?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to help the team and Product Owner adjust the Sprint Goal and forecast to include a spike for investigating the API.. The Scrum Master facilitates collaboration to align the Sprint Goal with realistic capacity while protecting the Product Owner's accountability for ordering the Product Backlog. Forcing unwanted items compromises sustainability, whereas removing the item or scaling back the forecast allows the team to commit with confidence. This ensures adherence to empirical process control and realistic delivery expectations without undermining trust between the roles.

Answer

Direct the Development Team to work overtime to investigate the third-party API and meet the original commitment without changes.

Answer

Remove the Product Owner from the Sprint Planning meeting until they agree to reduce the scope of the disputed backlog item.

Answer

unilaterally delete the ambiguous backlog item from the Product Backlog to eliminate technical risk for the upcoming Sprint.

Question 16

A newly formed team is struggling to identify their first Sprint Goal. How should the Scrum Master guide them?

Accepted Answer

Help the team find a coherent objective that aligns their planned work.. The Scrum Master should coach the team to focus on the value they can deliver in the Sprint rather than just a collection of tasks. By encouraging the team to look at the Product Backlog, the Scrum Master helps them find a coherent theme or outcome for the iteration. This is a core competency that helps the team transition from task-based work to outcome-based delivery.

Answer

Write the Sprint Goal for the team to save time.

Answer

Tell the team that a Sprint Goal is optional for new teams.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to define the Sprint Goal alone.

Question 17

A Scrum Master observes that the Product Owner is consistently unavailable to clarify requirements, leading to team idleness. Which THREE actions should the Scrum Master take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the team and the Product Owner to discuss the impact of the delays on the Sprint Goal.. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping them understand the need for clear communication and team engagement. By facilitating a discussion with the team, identifying the impact on the Sprint, and coaching the Product Owner, the Scrum Master addresses the systemic issue of lack of availability. This is critical because a missing Product Owner prevents the team from maintaining flow, causing significant waste and frustration for the developers.

Answer

Take over the Product Owner's duties for the duration of the Sprint.

Answer

Encourage the team to make assumptions and proceed without the Product Owner's input.

Question 18

Refer to the exhibit. The Scrum Team experienced a significant drop in velocity during Sprint 3. As a Scrum Master, what is your primary step to serve the team?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to identify impediments that occurred during Sprint 3 and help the team create an improvement plan.. The Scrum Master serves the team by facilitating a deeper investigation into the root cause of the drop in velocity during the Retrospective. Rather than focusing solely on the metrics, the Scrum Master encourages transparency and inspection of team dynamics, process blockers, or environmental issues. Addressing these systemic impediments allows the team to self-organize and implement improvements, ensuring the team remains resilient and capable of delivering consistent value in future Sprints.

Answer

Reassign tasks to individual team members to increase accountability and boost the output for the next Sprint.

Answer

Report the performance discrepancy to senior management to request additional staffing for the upcoming Sprint.

Answer

Adjust the team's definition of done to allow for smaller story point increments to inflate future velocity.

Question 19

Which TWO of the following actions best demonstrate the Scrum Master's service to the Product Owner regarding Product Backlog management?

Accepted Answer

Coaching the Product Owner on finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management.. The Scrum Master supports the Product Owner by ensuring they understand how to manage the backlog effectively and by facilitating the necessary communication with stakeholders. These actions ensure that the backlog remains transparent, ordered, and aligned with the product's goals, which are foundational responsibilities for the Product Owner within the Scrum framework.

Answer

Taking full responsibility for writing and maintaining all user stories in the Product Backlog.

Answer

Assigning specific tasks to the Developers to ensure the Product Backlog items are completed on time.

Answer

Updating the Product Backlog items with technical details without consulting the Product Owner.

Question 20

How can the Scrum Master best support a new Product Owner who is overwhelmed by the number of stakeholder requests?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on prioritization frameworks and managing stakeholder expectations.. A new Product Owner needs guidance on prioritizing value and managing stakeholders. By coaching them on techniques like MoSCoW, ROI analysis, or impact mapping, the Scrum Master helps them turn a chaotic list of requests into a manageable, value-driven strategy. This support is crucial for building the Product Owner's confidence and ensuring they can focus on the most important work, rather than trying to please every stakeholder individually.

Answer

Advise them to accept all requests to maintain stakeholder satisfaction.

Answer

Ask the team to prioritize the requests based on technical feasibility.

Answer

Create a rigid process that requires all requests to be approved by a committee.