CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies — Timed 30 Questions

Question 1

During a Sprint, a stakeholder frequently interrupts the developers to request minor changes to the current Sprint Backlog items. As a Scrum Master, what is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Redirect the stakeholder to the Product Owner.. While facilitating a discussion (C) is a reasonable soft-skill approach, the Scrum Guide explicitly states that the Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog and is the primary point of contact for stakeholders. Redirecting the stakeholder to the Product Owner (B) is the standard Scrum practice to protect the team from scope creep and ensure the Product Owner can manage stakeholder expectations and backlog priorities.

Answer

Allow the changes to keep the stakeholder satisfied.

Answer

Facilitate a discussion with the team and stakeholder regarding the impact of these interruptions.

Answer

Ask the Developers to ignore the stakeholder.

Question 2

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, how do you handle this situation in the next Sprint?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to discuss feedback integration.. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team and the organization by facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed. The Sprint Review is the designated time for stakeholder input to foster transparency and inspection. By facilitating a session to discuss how to integrate this feedback into the Product Backlog (led by the Product Owner), the Scrum Master ensures the empirical process is followed and the product evolves based on stakeholder needs.

Answer

Ignore the log; it is just a routine error.

Answer

Instruct the team to accept all future feedback.

Answer

Replace the stakeholder with a more compliant one.

Question 3

A Scrum Master is facilitating a Sprint Retrospective. The Developers are hesitant to speak openly, and the conversation remains superficial. Which two actions should the Scrum Master take to improve the effectiveness of the Retrospective? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Remind the team that the Retrospective is a safe space and that the Scrum Master will not share their comments with management.. To improve a hesitant Retrospective, the Scrum Master should reinforce psychological safety and use facilitation techniques like changing the format to encourage participation. These actions address the root cause of superficial conversation without forcing or dominating, allowing the team to reflect honestly and identify improvements.

Answer

Ask each Developer directly, in turn, to state one thing that went wrong during the Sprint.

Answer

Share your own observations about the team's performance to get the conversation started.

Answer

Cancel the Retrospective and reschedule it for a time when the team is more comfortable.

Question 4

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.

Answer

Write the Definition of Done for the team.

Answer

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

Answer

Wait for the Product Owner to define the criteria.

Question 5

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, how do you address this misinterpretation of the Sprint Review?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team and stakeholders on the purpose of the Sprint Review.. The Sprint Review is intended for inspecting the increment and adapting the Product Backlog, not for general backlog refinement. The Scrum Master must ensure the event focuses on collaboration and feedback regarding the product's progress. Correcting this misconception is crucial because the Sprint Review serves as the primary feedback loop between stakeholders and the team to ensure the product remains aligned with market needs.

Answer

Update the policy to include Refinement.

Answer

Allow the session to continue as it is.

Answer

Host a separate session for Backlog Refinement.

Question 6

A team has a very high 'WIP' limit and consistently fails to finish items. What is the most appropriate Scrum Master intervention?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a data-driven discussion in the Retrospective.. The Scrum Master should facilitate a retrospective to analyze the cause of the unfinished work. High WIP limits often indicate a lack of focus or poor refinement. By guiding the team to visualize their flow, the Scrum Master helps them identify bottlenecks and understand how limiting work in progress improves cycle time and the ability to achieve the Sprint Goal consistently.

Answer

Mandate a lower WIP limit for the next Sprint.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to provide fewer items.

Answer

Increase the Sprint length to finish more work.

Question 7

Which THREE traits demonstrate that a Scrum Master is effectively acting as a servant-leader?

Accepted Answer

Removing impediments that block the team.. Servant-leadership focuses on the needs of the team and the organization, prioritizing growth and removing impediments. An effective Scrum Master does not command but enables. These traits foster trust, improve team autonomy, and create an environment where high-performing, self-organizing teams can thrive by focusing on continuous improvement and the delivery of value rather than adhering to rigid, top-down control structures.

Answer

Assigning specific tasks to team members.

Answer

Judging the team's performance based on velocity.

Question 8

A Scrum Master notices that the team is silent during the Daily Scrum, and the Developers only provide status updates to the Scrum Master. How should they respond?

Accepted Answer

Remind the team that the Daily Scrum is for them.. The Daily Scrum is for the Developers to plan their day and synchronize, not a reporting meeting for the Scrum Master. By shifting the focus away from themselves, the Scrum Master encourages peer-to-peer accountability. This is critical because the Daily Scrum is the primary mechanism for the team to inspect their progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan, which is essential for agility.

Answer

Start asking each member specific questions.

Answer

Cancel the Daily Scrum until they can do it properly.

Answer

Report the lack of engagement to management.

Question 9

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.

Answer

Add the feature but remove an equal amount of work.

Answer

Ask the team to vote on the new request.

Question 10

A Scrum Master discovers that the team is not holding Retrospectives because they feel they are 'too busy'. Which THREE actions should the Scrum Master take?

Accepted Answer

Explain the value of inspection and adaptation.. The Retrospective is the primary event for process improvement and is mandatory in Scrum. Without it, the team loses the ability to adapt. By emphasizing the long-term benefits of the event, the Scrum Master helps the team prioritize improvement as part of their work. This is essential for building sustainable pace and preventing the accumulation of process inefficiencies that eventually lead to burnout or technical stagnation.

Answer

Respect the team's decision to skip the meeting.

Answer

Report the team to management for non-compliance.

Question 11

Which of the following is the best way for a Scrum Master to help a team become self-managing?

Accepted Answer

Provide autonomy by allowing the team to make decisions.. Self-management is the foundation of Scrum, and the Scrum Master encourages this by stepping back from directing activities. By creating a space where the team owns their decisions and outcomes, the Scrum Master fosters maturity and accountability. This is critical because a team that cannot manage its own work will always remain dependent on external instruction, which is the antithesis of the agility that Scrum promotes.

Answer

Assign tasks to the best-suited team member.

Answer

Attend all meetings to ensure they remain focused.

Answer

Define the team's workflow and metrics.

Question 12

During the Sprint Planning, the team is struggling to agree on a Sprint Goal. What is the Scrum Master's role?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to find a common objective.. The Scrum Master facilitates the conversation to ensure the team aligns on the value they intend to deliver. A clear Sprint Goal provides focus and direction. Without it, the team is just a group of individuals working on tasks, rather than a cohesive unit working towards a shared outcome, which is essential for maximizing the value delivered during the Sprint.

Answer

Choose the Sprint Goal for them.

Answer

Cancel the Sprint Planning session.

Answer

Suggest that the Product Owner dictates the goal.

Question 13

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.

Answer

Ask the team to vote on removing the member.

Answer

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

Question 14

A stakeholder demands that the Scrum Master provide a detailed progress report at the end of every week. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Invite the stakeholder to the Sprint Review.. The Scrum Master must educate the stakeholder on the Scrum artifacts and the purpose of transparency. Providing a separate, manual report creates redundant effort and misaligns with Scrum's goal of using artifacts like the Burn-down chart or Product Backlog for progress tracking. This preserves the Scrum framework's integrity, ensuring that communication is transparent and consistent across the entire organization, rather than fragmented through unofficial channels.

Answer

Create the report to maintain good relations.

Answer

Ask the developers to include more detail in tasks.

Answer

Tell the stakeholder they are not allowed access.

Question 15

The team is struggling with technical debt. What should the Scrum Master do to address this?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team on how to make the debt transparent.. The Scrum Master should facilitate a conversation between the Developers and the Product Owner to ensure technical debt is made transparent in the Product Backlog. This is a critical leadership act because ignoring technical debt leads to a decrease in development velocity and quality over time. By balancing new features with necessary refactoring, the team maintains a sustainable pace and long-term delivery capability.

Answer

Force the team to fix debt before any new work.

Answer

Tell the Product Owner to stop adding new features.

Answer

Ask the developers to work extra hours to fix it.

Question 16

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?

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.

Answer

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

Answer

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

Answer

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

Question 17

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.

Answer

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

Answer

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

Answer

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

Question 18

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 19

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.

Answer

Create a detailed project plan to track individual tasks.

Answer

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

Answer

Assign a lead developer to monitor everyone's progress.

Question 20

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.

Answer

Change the team members to improve performance.

Answer

Report the failure to the team's functional manager.

Answer

Reduce the team's velocity for the next Sprint.