CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a Sprint Planning event, the development team expresses concern that the Product Owner is pushing to include more user stories than their historical velocity suggests is feasible. As the Scrum Master, how should you facilitate this situation?

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

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner and developers to collaboratively inspect past velocity and team capacity to negotiate a realistic commitment.. The Scrum Master must protect team sustainability while fostering collaboration. By coaching the Product Owner and developers to inspect capacity against historical data, the team can negotiate a realistic Sprint Backlog. This upholds empirical planning principles without undermining the Product Owner's accountability for maximizing value through the product backlog ordering.

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Direct the Product Owner to immediately reduce the scope to match exact historical velocity to prevent team burnout.

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Advise the development team to accept all requested stories and figure out how to work overtime to meet the sprint goal.

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Take over Sprint Planning by selecting the user stories yourself based on your independent assessment of team capability.

Question 2

During a Sprint, a stakeholder interrupts the Developers to request an urgent feature addition. How should the Scrum Master facilitate this?

Accepted Answer

Coach the stakeholder on the Scrum process and suggest adding the item to the Product Backlog.. The Scrum Master must protect the Sprint Goal and the Developers' autonomy. By coaching the stakeholder to wait for the next Sprint Planning, the Scrum Master maintains the integrity of the Sprint Backlog. This is a core competency, as the Scrum Master acts as a coach and process guardian, ensuring the team remains focused on the commitment made during Sprint Planning rather than succumbing to external pressure that could jeopardize the Sprint outcome.

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Add the feature to the current Sprint to satisfy the stakeholder.

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Ask the Product Owner to decide if the team should perform the work.

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Direct the Developers to work on the feature if they have extra capacity.

Question 3

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.

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

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

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

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. The team is struggling with transparency regarding their progress during the Sprint. Based on the provided policy, what should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve the situation?

Accepted Answer

Ensure the Sprint Backlog is updated and visible to all team members.. Transparency is a pillar of Scrum, and the Scrum Master must ensure it is maintained. By focusing on the Sprint Backlog and visual management, the Scrum Master helps the team see the reality of their progress. This aligns with the 'Required' policy for transparency, ensuring the team can make informed decisions based on accurate data rather than assumptions about their current status during the iteration.

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Create a detailed project plan to track individual tasks.

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Ask the Product Owner to provide daily status updates to stakeholders.

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Assign a lead developer to monitor everyone's progress.

Question 5

A Scrum Master notices that the team has been consistently failing to meet their Sprint Goal for three consecutive Sprints. What is the most appropriate first step to take?

Accepted Answer

Bring up the observations at the next Sprint Retrospective to encourage inspection.. The Scrum Master must facilitate a conversation to uncover the root cause of the failure. By observing the team and encouraging them to inspect their process, the Scrum Master helps them identify systemic issues. This is a crucial diagnostic step that respects team autonomy while fulfilling the Scrum Master's duty to improve the team's effectiveness and agility through empirical process control.

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Change the team members to improve performance.

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Report the failure to the team's functional manager.

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Reduce the team's velocity for the next Sprint.

Question 6

Which of the following is a primary responsibility of a Scrum Master regarding the Product Backlog?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring the Product Owner knows how to arrange the Product Backlog to maximize value.. The Scrum Master supports the Product Owner in finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management. This includes ensuring the Product Owner understands how to arrange the backlog to maximize value. This is a core competency because the Scrum Master acts as a coach to the Product Owner, ensuring the backlog remains a clear, ordered, and transparent tool for the team's work.

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Defining the acceptance criteria for every user story.

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Writing all user stories based on stakeholder requests.

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Approving every item before it enters the Sprint.

Question 7

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.

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Address each conflict by disciplining the team members involved.

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Separate the conflicting individuals into different teams immediately.

Question 8

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.

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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 9

During a Sprint, a Developer asks the Scrum Master to resolve a disagreement with the Product Owner regarding the definition of 'Done'. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the Developer and Product Owner.. The Scrum Master should facilitate a conversation between the Developer and Product Owner rather than making a unilateral decision. The Definition of Done is a shared commitment that must be understood and agreed upon by the entire Scrum Team. By facilitating, the Scrum Master ensures transparency and alignment, which are critical for the team to consistently deliver increments that meet the quality standards of the product.

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Make a final decision to resolve the disagreement.

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Ask the Developers to decide since they perform the work.

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Postpone the discussion until the next Sprint Retrospective.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, what is the most critical issue shown in the error log?

Accepted Answer

Velocity is being reported to management and individual performance is being tracked.. The log indicates the Scrum Master is using Scrum metrics for management reporting and individual tracking, which is an anti-pattern. This destroys transparency, as team members will manipulate velocity to meet management expectations. The Scrum Master must stop these practices to restore the integrity of the Scrum process, as these actions undermine the core Scrum value of trust and prevent the team from honestly inspecting their performance.

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The log format is incorrect for reporting purposes.

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The Scrum Master is tracking the wrong metrics.

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The logging system is not capturing enough information.

Question 11

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.

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Write the Sprint Goal for the team to save time.

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

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Ask the Product Owner to define the Sprint Goal alone.

Question 12

Which TWO of the following are effective ways for a Scrum Master to foster self-management in a team?

Accepted Answer

Encourage the team to determine how to turn Product Backlog items into Increments.. Self-management is a central tenet of Scrum. By delegating decision-making and encouraging collective accountability, the Scrum Master helps the team mature. These actions are vital because they shift the team's focus from waiting for instructions to proactive ownership of their work, which leads to higher engagement and better outcomes as they learn to manage their own process, tasks, and interpersonal dynamics.

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Assign specific tasks to individual team members to ensure accountability.

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Require the team to clear all decisions with the Scrum Master first.

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Create a rigid process that the team must follow for every Sprint.

Question 13

A team has been asked by the CTO to add a 'hidden' feature that isn't on the Product Backlog. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Coach the CTO on why all work must be ordered in the Product Backlog.. The Scrum Master must protect the team from external interference and maintain the Product Backlog's transparency. By coaching the CTO on the Scrum framework, the Scrum Master ensures that all work flows through the proper channels. This is crucial for maintaining the team's focus and the integrity of the product, as 'hidden' features undermine the Product Owner's ability to prioritize effectively and manage stakeholder expectations.

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Ask the Developers to work on it quietly during the night.

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Allow the feature if the CTO promises it will be quick.

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Report the CTO to HR for violating the Scrum process.

Question 14

During the Sprint Retrospective, the team identifies that they are too dependent on a single specialist for testing. What is the best way for the Scrum Master to help the team address this?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a plan for cross-training and pairing on testing tasks.. The Scrum Master should facilitate a plan for the team to build cross-functional skills. By identifying the risk early, the team can begin to pair-program or cross-train, reducing the dependency. This is a core competency, as the Scrum Master's goal is to help the team become self-managing and resilient, ensuring that one individual's absence does not stop the entire team's delivery progress during a Sprint.

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Hire more testers to support the specialist.

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Tell the specialist to work overtime to finish testing.

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Remove testing from the Definition of Done.

Question 15

A Product Owner is struggling to break down large features into smaller, manageable items. How can the Scrum Master support them?

Accepted Answer

Suggest techniques like User Story Mapping or splitting patterns.. The Scrum Master can introduce various techniques for backlog refinement, such as user story mapping or INVEST criteria. By providing these tools, the Scrum Master empowers the Product Owner to improve the backlog, ensuring that items are ready for the Developers. This competency is essential for maintaining a healthy workflow, as smaller, well-refined items are easier for the team to estimate, plan, and deliver within a Sprint.

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Take over the responsibility of writing the user stories.

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Tell the Developers to just figure it out themselves.

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Ask the stakeholders to provide smaller requirements.