CSM Scrum Events — 25 Questions

Question 1

During the Daily Scrum, a developer begins a lengthy technical debate about how to refactor a complex legacy database module. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Interrupt the discussion and remind the team to schedule a separate follow-up meeting immediately after.. The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute time-boxed event for the Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog. Lengthy technical discussions hijack the meeting and exclude members not involved in that specific module. The Scrum Master should remind the participants to take the conversation offline into a separate breakout session to respect everyone's time.

Answer

Allow the debate to continue until a definitive architectural solution is agreed upon by everyone.

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Make an executive decision on how the database module should be refactored to end the argument.

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Cancel the remainder of the Daily Scrum and reschedule it for the following morning.

Question 2

A newly formed Scrum Team is struggling with attendance and stakeholder engagement during their Sprint Reviews. Which TWO actions should the Scrum Master take to improve the value and participation of this event?

Accepted Answer

Work with the Product Owner to ensure key stakeholders understand the collaborative nature of the event and inspect actual working increments.. The Sprint Review is a collaborative working session meant to inspect the increment and adapt the Product Backlog with stakeholders. Improving attendance requires demonstrating tangible value through working software and actively integrating stakeholder feedback. These measures transform the meeting from a tedious corporate status report into an engaging collaborative workshop.

Answer

Require all stakeholders to submit written approval of the increment 48 hours prior to the Sprint Review meeting.

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Mandate attendance for senior executives by linking their presence to individual project performance metrics.

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Replace the Sprint Review with weekly status email updates to save stakeholders valuable time.

Question 3

During the middle of a Sprint, the Product Owner realizes that a high-priority market shift invalidates the goal of the current Sprint. What is the most appropriate action according to Scrum?

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner cancels the Sprint, and all completed and incomplete Product Backlog items are re-evaluated in a new Sprint Planning event.. According to the Scrum Guide, the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint, but it is a significant event that usually involves the Scrum Team. Option C is the best choice among the provided options, but it should be noted that the Scrum Guide specifies that the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint, not that they do so in isolation. The explanation is accurate regarding the authority.

Answer

The Developers immediately stop all work and begin planning the next Sprint without consulting the Product Owner or Scrum Master.

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The Scrum Master cancels the Sprint immediately and reassigns team members to new projects until a revised backlog is fully groomed.

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The team continues working on the current Sprint until the timebox expires, ignoring the market shift to maintain velocity metrics.

Question 4

Which TWO activities are required responsibilities of the Scrum Master during the Sprint Retrospective? Choose TWO.

Accepted Answer

Facilitating the Retrospective event to ensure it remains positive, productive, and strictly within the established timebox.. The Scrum Master ensures the Sprint Retrospective is positive, productive, and kept within its timebox. As a servant-leader, they participate as a peer team member while facilitating the process of identifying improvements. They do not dictate solutions or mandate action items, but rather help the team inspect their collaboration and create actionable process enhancements for the upcoming Sprint.

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Mandating specific technical practices and engineering standards that the Developers must adopt in the next Sprint.

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Rewriting the Product Backlog items that failed to meet the Acceptance Criteria during the preceding Sprint.

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Presenting a formal audit report to senior management detailing individual team member performance metrics.

Question 5

A newly formed Scrum Team is struggling with the Daily Scrum, turning it into a detailed status report directed exclusively at the Scrum Master. What action should the Scrum Master take to correct this anti-pattern?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Developers to understand that the event is for their own synchronization, and remain silent or step outside if necessary.. The Daily Scrum is a peer-to-peer planning meeting for the Developers, not a status report for the Scrum Master or management. If the team addresses the Scrum Master instead of each other, the Scrum Master should step back, coach them on the event's purpose, and encourage peer synchronization focused entirely on their Sprint Goal.

Answer

Attend every Daily Scrum remotely and require all Developers to submit written status reports to your email beforehand.

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Stop attending the Daily Scrum entirely and refuse to help the team until they figure out peer-to-peer communication on their own.

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Take over facilitation of the Daily Scrum permanently, calling on each Developer individually to report their completed tasks.

Question 6

During the middle of a Sprint, the Development Team realizes they will not be able to complete all the items selected during Sprint Planning. What is the most appropriate course of action according to Scrum?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the Product Owner to inspect remaining work and renegotiate the Sprint Backlog scope.. The Product Owner and Development Team must collaborate to renegotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog. Scrum relies on transparency and inspection, allowing the team to adjust their commitment as more is learned about the work without compromising the Sprint Goal, thereby maintaining realistic expectations and predictable delivery rhythms.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint immediately and schedule a new Sprint Planning session for the remaining capacity.

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Quietly work overtime to ensure all selected Product Backlog items are fully completed by the end of the Sprint.

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Automatically move the uncompleted items to the next Sprint without consulting the Product Owner.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

To inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the upcoming day's plan accordingly.. The Daily Scrum is an internal inspection and adaptation event for the Development Team to synchronize activities and create an actionable plan for the next 24 hours. It optimizes collaboration and uncovers impediments early without turning into a status report for external management.

Answer

To report individual progress and task completion metrics directly to the Scrum Master and Project Manager.

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To review the Product Backlog items and update estimates with the Product Owner in attendance.

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To demonstrate completed increment features to external stakeholders and gather immediate feedback.

Question 8

A Scrum Team is preparing for their Sprint Retrospective. The Scrum Master wants to ensure the event is effective and aligns with Scrum principles. Which TWO of the following statements accurately describe the Sprint Retrospective? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The Sprint Retrospective is timeboxed to a maximum of three hours for a one-month Sprint.. The Sprint Retrospective is a timeboxed event (max three hours for a one-month Sprint) where the Scrum Team inspects itself and creates a plan for improvements. The entire Scrum Team participates, and the Scrum Master ensures the event is productive. The other options misstate the Scrum Master's accountability, the attendees, or the event's position relative to Sprint Planning. The accurate statements focus on purpose and timebox.

Answer

The Sprint Retrospective is attended only by the Developers, as they are the ones who do the work.

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The Sprint Retrospective is the final event of the Sprint and occurs after the Sprint Review but before the next Sprint Planning.

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The Scrum Master participates as a peer team member and is accountable for the improvements identified.

Question 9

During the middle of a Sprint, the Development Team realizes they will not be able to complete all the items selected during Sprint Planning. What is the most appropriate course of action according to Scrum?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the Product Owner to renegotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog based on revised capacity.. The Product Owner and Development Team collaborate to renegotiate the scope of the Sprint Backlog. Scrum relies on transparency and inspection, allowing adjustments when new constraints emerge. The Product Owner must understand what can be delivered to maximize value while maintaining a sustainable pace. Canceling the entire Sprint is too extreme for a partial miss, and unilaterally dropping items violates collaborative commitment.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint immediately and schedule a new Sprint Planning meeting to reset the team capacity.

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Work mandatory overtime to ensure all selected Product Backlog items are completed by the end of the Sprint.

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Independently drop the lowest priority items from the Sprint Backlog without consulting the Product Owner.

Question 10

A newly formed Scrum Team is struggling to finish their Sprint Backlog items by the end of the time-boxed Sprint. The Product Owner demands that the Sprint duration be doubled to four weeks to accommodate their slow velocity. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion with the team to investigate root causes of incomplete work and improve refinement.. The Scrum Master should advise against extending the Sprint length, as fixed time-boxes limit risk and provide a predictable cadence for inspection and adaptation. Instead, the team should focus on improving estimation, refining backlog items, and reducing work in progress. Extending the Sprint reduces the frequency of feedback loops, directly undermining the empirical nature of Scrum and masking underlying delivery dysfunctions.

Answer

Support the Product Owner by extending the Sprint duration to four weeks to provide immediate relief.

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Advise the team to work through weekends to finish the items so the Sprint length can remain unchanged.

Answer

Transfer the unfinished items back to the Product Backlog and cancel the remaining days of the Sprint.

Question 11

At the Sprint Review, an important stakeholder expresses dissatisfaction with a core feature delivered by the Development Team, stating it does not solve their current business workflow. How should this feedback be handled?

Accepted Answer

Capture the stakeholder feedback as new items in the Product Backlog for the Product Owner to prioritize.. The Sprint Review is a working session designed to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog based on stakeholder feedback. Discontent from stakeholders indicates a shift in understanding or requirements, which the Product Owner must capture and incorporate into the Product Backlog as new items. This feedback loop validates the empirical nature of Scrum, ensuring the product evolves to meet real market needs.

Answer

Ignore the feedback because the Development Team strictly followed the requirements provided in the initial backlog.

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Scold the Development Team for failing to understand the business needs during Sprint Planning.

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Suspend the release pipeline and force the team to rewrite the entire feature before leaving the room.

Question 12

Which TWO statements accurately describe the Sprint Review event in Scrum? (Choose TWO)

Accepted Answer

It is a collaborative working session with stakeholders to inspect the Increment and adapt the backlog.. The Sprint Review is a collaborative session where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the Increment resulting from the Sprint and discuss adjustments to the Product Backlog. It is explicitly designed as a working session, not a formal presentation or slide deck demonstration, fostering collaborative dialogue between creators and consumers of the product to maximize future value delivery.

Answer

It is a formal gatekeeping presentation where management approves or rejects the team performance.

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It is primarily used by the Scrum Master to evaluate individual developer velocity and productivity.

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It replaces the need for continuous communication and stakeholder engagement throughout the Sprint.

Question 13

During a Sprint Retrospective, the team identifies a major impediment involving company-wide HR policies that restrict cross-functional collaboration. The team feels helpless to change it. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Take ownership of the impediment and collaborate with organizational leaders to drive systemic change.. The Scrum Master serves as a servant-leader who helps remove impediments that lie outside the team immediate sphere of influence. When systemic organizational roadblocks prevent agility, the Scrum Master must engage with broader leadership and HR to advocate for structural changes. Empowering the team means taking ownership of these macro impediments while coaching the organization toward agile maturity and removing systemic waste.

Answer

Tell the team to ignore the HR policies and work around them without seeking management support.

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Remove the impediment from the Retrospective action items because it falls outside the Scrum Team control.

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Instruct the Product Owner to rewrite the Product Backlog items to avoid cross-functional dependencies.

Question 14

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.

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

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

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

Question 15

During the Sprint Planning event, the Development Team realizes they have pulled in significantly more Product Backlog items than their historical velocity supports. What is the most appropriate action according to Scrum principles?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate and remove items until the forecast matches their actual capacity.. Scrum relies on transparency and realistic forecasting to establish a sustainable cadence. The Development Team must collaborate immediately with the Product Owner to right-size the Sprint Backlog before finalizing the plan. This ensures the team commits only to work they can realistically complete, maintaining predictability and avoiding burnout.

Answer

Quietly work overtime throughout the upcoming Sprint to ensure all selected items are successfully completed.

Answer

Keep all items in the Sprint Backlog and allow the Scrum Master to assign tasks to individual developers.

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Immediately cancel the entire Sprint and restart the Sprint Planning meeting with a brand new Product Owner.

Question 16

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.

Answer

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 17

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.

Answer

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 18

A Scrum Team has experienced low stakeholder attendance at their Sprint Reviews for three consecutive iterations. The Developers suggest canceling the Sprint Review and instead sending a written progress report via email. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion with the Product Owner and team to discover why stakeholders are absent, coaching them to demonstrate tangible value.. The Sprint Review is a collaborative inspect-and-adapt event designed for active stakeholder engagement and feedback, not a status reporting meeting. Replacing it with an email destroys transparency and eliminates the empirical loop. The Scrum Master must coach the team and Product Owner on engaging stakeholders effectively rather than bypassing the core event.

Answer

Approve the email report format temporarily, provided the stakeholders reply with their written feedback within forty-eight hours.

Answer

Escalate the stakeholder absence to senior management and mandate their attendance at all future Sprint Reviews through company policy.

Answer

Agree to cancel the Sprint Review and allocate those four hours directly to the Developers for additional refactoring and technical debt reduction.

Question 19

During the Daily Scrum, a Developer begins a lengthy technical debate with the QA engineer regarding the root cause of a complex architectural bug. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Intervene immediately to remind the team that the Daily Scrum is for synchronization, and ask them to schedule a separate breakout session.. The Daily Scrum is a strict fifteen-minute timeboxed event for the Developers to synchronize activities and create a plan for the next twenty-four hours. Lengthy technical deep-dives derail the meeting and exclude other team members. The Scrum Master should remind the participants to park the discussion and schedule a separate follow-up session immediately after.

Answer

Allow the debate to continue until a definitive architectural consensus is reached, extending the Daily Scrum timebox accordingly.

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Resolve the technical dispute personally by making a final architectural decision based on your past engineering experience.

Answer

Cancel the remainder of the Daily Scrum and instruct the entire team to join the impromptu technical troubleshooting session.

Question 20

At the start of Sprint Planning, the Product Owner presents a set of high-priority items, but the Developers realize they lack sufficient clarity on user expectations to commit to a realistic Sprint Goal. What is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the Product Owner during Sprint Planning to clarify the items, negotiate scope, and formulate a viable Sprint Goal.. Sprint Planning requires a clear understanding of the proposed work and its value. If items lack clarity, the Developers must collaborate with the Product Owner during the event to refine them, or adjust the scope. While Product Backlog refinement is ongoing, the team cannot plan effectively with ambiguous requirements, necessitating immediate real-time clarification.

Answer

Proceed with planning by guessing the missing requirements to avoid delaying the start of the new Sprint cycle.

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Refuse to pull the items into the Sprint and demand that the Product Owner rewrite them alone before the next daily meeting.

Answer

Permanently remove all Sprint Planning events from future iterations and replace them with continuous on-demand kanban flow.