SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Question
A newly formed Scrum team inside an Agile Release Train keeps asking the Scrum Master to assign tasks, resolve every technical disagreement, and approve their design decisions. The Scrum Master wants to establish the appropriate Scrum Team self-management behavior described in SAFe. What should the Scrum Master do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming a newly formed team needs the Scrum Master to keep assigning work until it matures, when Scrum in SAFe expects the team to own how it does the work from the start.
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
✓
Teach the team that they own how they do the work, and coach them to pull work and decide technical matters themselves.
A Scrum Team in SAFe is self-managing and cross-functional, meaning the team determines how it accomplishes its work. When a team repeatedly looks to the Scrum Master for task assignment and technical decisions, the correct response is coaching that transfers ownership back to the team. Directing, escalating, or delegating that authority to the Product Owner all preserve the dependency instead of building self-management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Teach the team that they own how they do the work, and coach them to pull work and decide technical matters themselves.
Why this is correct
In SAFe, a Scrum Team is self-managing and cross-functional, so the team itself decides how to turn backlog items into value, including task breakdown and technical design. The Scrum Master serves the team by teaching and coaching this ownership rather than directing the work. This directly addresses the dependency behavior the team is showing.
- ✗
Escalate to the Release Train Engineer so that the RTE can direct the team until it matures.
Why it's wrong here
The Release Train Engineer facilitates ART-level events and removes impediments, but does not take over directing a team's internal work. Escalating self-management gaps as an RTE problem transfers ownership upward and reinforces the team's learned helplessness. The Scrum Master should coach the team on self-management, not route the decision to an ART-level role.
- ✗
Ask the Product Owner to assign tasks and arbitrate technical disagreements during Iteration Planning.
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner owns value and backlog ordering, not task assignment or technical arbitration. Pushing those responsibilities to the Product Owner confuses accountabilities and keeps the team from self-managing. Technical decisions belong to the team, and task ownership emerges from the team's own plan, not from the Product Owner's direction.
- ✗
Begin assigning tasks for one more iteration while the team builds technical confidence, then gradually withdraw.
Why it's wrong here
Continuing to assign tasks keeps the team dependent on the Scrum Master and directly contradicts the self-managing, cross-functional nature of a Scrum Team in SAFe. It delays, rather than builds, ownership. The Scrum Master's job is to teach the team to pull work and make commitments themselves, not to run a guided hand-off period where authority is deliberately retained.
Visual reference
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scaled Agile exam blueprint
This SSM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile 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 SSM exam.