SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Instruct the team to stop holding their own daily stand-up and instead attend the ART's Scrum of Scrums to ensure alignment.

  Why it's wrong here

  The Daily Stand-up is a critical team-level event that should not be replaced by the Scrum of Scrums. The Scrum of Scrums is a coordination event for representatives, not a substitute for team synchronization. Removing the team's daily event would harm transparency and self-organization. The Scrum Master should instead help the team understand how their events complement, not compete with, ART-level events.

• ✗

  Schedule a separate meeting with the Product Owner to redefine the team's backlog so that it only contains items that do not require ART coordination.

  Why it's wrong here

  This approach avoids the real issue by isolating the team from the ART. The Scrum Master's role is to help the team thrive within the ART, not to shield them from necessary coordination. Redefining the backlog to exclude dependencies would likely reduce value delivery and contradict SAFe's emphasis on alignment and collaboration across teams. It also oversteps into the Product Owner's domain of backlog management.

• ✗

  Explain that the team's daily work is independent and that ART alignment is solely the Release Train Engineer's responsibility.

  Why it's wrong here

  This misrepresents the Scrum Master role by abdicating responsibility for connecting the team to the ART. While the RTE facilitates ART-level events, the Scrum Master actively helps the team understand how their work contributes to the ART's objectives and participates in ART ceremonies. Saying alignment is solely the RTE's job creates a silo and prevents the team from seeing the bigger picture, which is counter to SAFe principles.

• ✓

  Facilitate a discussion that maps the team's Iteration Goals to the ART's PI Objectives and clarifies how team events (like Iteration Planning and System Demos) feed into ART-level cadence.

  Why this is correct

  This action directly supports the Scrum Master's responsibility to help the team understand its role in the ART. By linking Iteration Goals to PI Objectives and showing how team events integrate with ART events, the Scrum Master builds context and alignment. It also reinforces the cadence and synchronization that are core to SAFe, without taking over the team's own decision-making or the RTE's facilitation duties.