CSM Practice Test 4 — 10 Questions

Question 1

An organization's HR department requires every employee to complete an annual compliance training module. The Scrum Teams are asked to pause their Sprint work for two days to attend a mandatory, off-site training. The Scrum Master observes that this disrupts the Sprint and reduces transparency. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

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

Accepted Answer

Work with HR and leadership to explore alternative delivery options, such as online modules that can be completed during non-Sprint hours.. The Scrum Master serves the organization by helping it adopt Scrum while respecting necessary organizational policies. Mandatory training is a legitimate need, but its delivery should minimize disruption to Sprints. Collaborating with HR and leadership to find alternative delivery options, such as online modules outside Sprint hours, balances compliance with Scrum's timeboxing and transparency.

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Instruct the teams to ignore the training because it violates Scrum principles.

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Escalate the issue to the CEO and demand that the training be cancelled for all Scrum Teams.

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Accept the disruption and coach the teams to extend the Sprint by two days to compensate for lost time.

Question 2

Which TWO are responsibilities of the Developers during the Sprint?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring the Increment meets the Definition of Done.. The Developers are accountable for delivering high-quality, 'Done' work each Sprint. By managing their own progress and collaborating closely, they ensure that the Increment meets the team's definition of quality. These responsibilities are essential for the team to achieve its Sprint Goal and remain a self-managing unit that delivers consistent value to the customer.

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Prioritizing the Product Backlog to maximize value.

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Managing the team's budget and external vendor relationships.

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Approving all changes requested by external stakeholders.

Question 3

In the Scrum framework, how should a team handle a conflict between two Developers regarding a technical approach?

Accepted Answer

The Developers collaborate to reach a consensus or experiment to find the best solution.. The team should use self-management to resolve the conflict internally. Since the Developers are accountable for the technical quality of the Increment, they must decide the best approach. If they cannot resolve it, the Scrum Master can facilitate a session, but ultimately the team must own the decision. This fosters ownership and maturity, ensuring the team functions as a unified, collaborative unit rather than waiting for external instructions.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to choose the better approach.

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The Scrum Master makes the final technical decision.

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The team should vote, and the majority choice is implemented.

Question 4

A Scrum Team is struggling to maintain focus during the Sprint because external stakeholders frequently interrupt Developers with requests for minor feature tweaks. How should the Scrum Master address this?

Accepted Answer

Coach the stakeholders on why the Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog.. The Scrum Master must protect the team from external interference to ensure the Sprint Goal remains achievable. By coaching stakeholders on the role of the Product Owner, the Scrum Master establishes a clear channel for requirements, allowing Developers to focus on their commitments. This intervention is vital for maintaining velocity and ensuring the Scrum framework's integrity, preventing the team from being constantly derailed by ad-hoc, unplanned tasks.

Answer

Direct the Developers to ignore all external communication until the Sprint ends.

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Update the Sprint Backlog to include these minor tweaks immediately.

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Require that the Developers hold a formal meeting with stakeholders every day.

Question 5

Refer to the exhibit. The organization is pressuring all teams to reach 100% code coverage. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Challenge the metric-driven goal with leadership.. A Scrum Master serves the organization by ensuring that quality is built in, but also by preventing 'metric-driven' development that ignores the business context. While code coverage is a useful internal metric, mandating a universal, rigid target can lead to 'gaming' the metric. The Scrum Master must help the organization understand that value and quality are multifaceted, and teams should choose practices that maximize overall outcome.

Answer

Ensure all teams prioritize coverage above new features.

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Publish the coverage results to create healthy competition.

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Ask the Developers to stop tracking coverage for HR.

Question 6

A newly formed Scrum Team is struggling to reach a 'Definition of Done'. Which TWO actions should the Scrum Master prioritize to support the team?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to define criteria that ensure the increment is releasable.. The Scrum Master serves as a coach to improve team efficacy. By facilitating the creation of a 'Definition of Done', the Scrum Master helps the team establish a shared understanding of quality. These actions ensure that the product increment meets the necessary standards for release, reducing technical debt and increasing transparency, which is vital for empirical process control and long-term organizational value.

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Write the Definition of Done for the team.

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Force the team to meet daily until they agree on criteria.

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Wait for the Product Owner to define the criteria.

Question 7

A team is transitioning to Scrum and is facing friction regarding self-management. Which THREE of the following actions should the Scrum Master take to serve the team?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to help the team define their own working agreements.. The Scrum Master must lead by coaching and facilitating, not by dictating. These three actions empower the team to take ownership, learn from experience, and structure their work, which are foundational for self-management. By creating a safe environment and focusing on team-level reflection, the Scrum Master helps the team mature into a self-organizing unit that can handle complex work effectively without being micro-managed or directed by external leadership.

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Assign a team lead to ensure that everyone follows the Scrum process.

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Ensure that every team member has a clear and distinct role defined by management.

Question 8

Which THREE of the following actions best describe a Scrum Master providing service to the organization regarding the removal of impediments?

Accepted Answer

Coaching the organization to solve their own systemic impediments over time.. Removing impediments is a key responsibility that requires both immediate tactical support and long-term strategic influence. By identifying patterns, teaching others to solve their own problems, and involving management when necessary, the Scrum Master helps the organization improve its overall system of delivery. This work is essential because it turns the focus from merely 'doing' Scrum to truly 'being' agile, allowing the organization to operate more effectively and with less friction.

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Fixing all impediments personally so the team stays focused on their tasks.

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Escalating every single issue immediately to the CTO to ensure it is fixed.

Question 9

During a Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team identifies that their technical debt is preventing them from meeting the Definition of Done. What is the most effective way for the Scrum Master to serve the team?

Accepted Answer

Advise the Developers to discuss the impact of technical debt with the Product Owner.. The Scrum Master serves the team by facilitating discussions on process improvement and encouraging the team to address impediments. Technical debt is a systemic issue that impacts the quality of increments. By guiding the team to include technical debt reduction in their planning, the Scrum Master helps the team align their work with the Definition of Done and ensures long-term sustainability of the product delivery process.

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Force the team to dedicate 50% of every Sprint exclusively to technical debt.

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Ask the Product Owner to remove items from the Product Backlog to save time.

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Request that management hire additional developers to handle the technical debt.

Question 10

A team is experiencing frequent interpersonal conflicts that are hindering their velocity. Which THREE actions should a Scrum Master take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to help the team establish team agreements.. The Scrum Master is responsible for coaching the team in self-management and conflict resolution. By fostering an environment of trust and open communication, the Scrum Master helps the team resolve issues independently. These actions are vital because unresolved conflict creates technical debt, reduces morale, and ultimately prevents the team from delivering high-quality, frequent increments of value as expected in the Scrum framework.

Answer

Address each conflict by disciplining the team members involved.

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Separate the conflicting individuals into different teams immediately.