PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
During a daily standup meeting, a team member mentions that they are blocked because a dependency on another team's work is not yet complete. The Scrum Master is present. What should the Scrum Master do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the Scrum Master's role with that of a project manager, leading them to choose risk management or escalation options instead of recognizing the Scrum Master's immediate duty to remove impediments.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Help remove the impediment by coordinating with the other team
In Scrum, the Scrum Master is responsible for removing impediments that hinder the team's progress. When a team member is blocked due to an incomplete dependency from another team, the Scrum Master's first action should be to help remove that impediment by coordinating with the other team. This aligns with the Scrum Guide's directive that the Scrum Master facilitates the resolution of blockers to ensure the Development Team can meet the Sprint Goal.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add the blocker to the risk register as a new risk
Why it's wrong here
An impediment is an immediate, current obstacle preventing the team from completing its work, requiring prompt resolution. While documenting issues is part of good project management, adding it to a risk register treats it as a potential future event or a documented risk, rather than an active blocker that needs immediate removal. The Scrum Master's primary role here is to facilitate resolution, not merely to log it for future tracking.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor
Why it's wrong here
Escalating an issue directly to the project sponsor is premature and bypasses the typical problem-solving hierarchy within an Agile team. The Scrum Master's initial responsibility is to facilitate resolution within the team's sphere of influence or by coordinating with relevant stakeholders, such as another team, before involving higher-level management. Direct sponsor involvement is reserved for significant impediments that cannot be resolved at lower levels.
- ✗
Ask the team member to work on something else and ignore the blocker
Why it's wrong here
Asking a team member to simply work on something else and ignore a blocker directly contradicts the principles of Agile and Scrum, which emphasize identifying and removing impediments to maintain flow and achieve sprint goals. Ignoring an impediment does not resolve it; instead, it delays progress, potentially jeopardizes the sprint commitment, and can lead to accumulating technical debt or unresolved dependencies. The Scrum Master's role is to actively facilitate resolution, not to sidestep the issue.
- ✓
Help remove the impediment by coordinating with the other team
Why this is correct
This is the most appropriate action for a Scrum Master. As a servant leader, the Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to facilitate the team's progress by identifying and actively working to remove impediments. Coordinating with another team demonstrates proactive problem-solving and leverages the Scrum Master's role to clear obstacles that are beyond the immediate control of the individual team member, ensuring the team can continue its work towards the sprint goal.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Leading Teams and Empowering Team Members
Key term
Sprint Planning
Sprint Planning is a time-boxed meeting at the start of a Scrum sprint where the team decides what work they can deliver and how they will do it.
Key term
Daily Standup
A short, time-boxed daily meeting where team members share progress, plans, and blockers to stay aligned.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.