SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question
A Scrum Master / Team Coach is facilitating the team's first PI Planning event. The team has drafted their Iteration goals but is unsure how to make their PI Objectives measurable. What should the Scrum Master do first to help the team improve their PI Objectives?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming the Product Owner or RTE should write or score PI Objectives, when the team must own and craft them with coaching support.
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
✓
Coach the team to write PI Objectives that describe the business value and include measurable outcomes so progress can be assessed.
PI Objectives are team-authored statements of intended value and measurable outcomes for the PI. The Scrum Master / Team Coach facilitates the team in writing them so they reflect business value and can be assessed. Coaching the team to use outcome-oriented, measurable language directly addresses their uncertainty and builds ownership, rather than shifting authorship or adding unrelated activities.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the Release Train Engineer to assign business value points to each objective before the team finalizes them.
Why it's wrong here
This is not the first action and misplaces responsibility. Business value assignment is a collaborative activity during PI Planning involving the Business Owners and teams, not a pre-assignment by the Release Train Engineer. The immediate need is to help the team craft meaningful, measurable objectives, not to outsource scoring.
- ✗
Have the team list every feature from the program backlog as an objective so nothing is missed.
Why it's wrong here
This approach confuses features with objectives. PI Objectives summarize the value the team intends to deliver and should be measurable, not a feature inventory. Listing every feature creates an unwieldy list that does not communicate business value and makes it difficult to assess outcome achievement during the PI.
- ✗
Instruct the Product Owner to write the PI Objectives on behalf of the team to ensure alignment with the program backlog.
Why it's wrong here
This fails because PI Objectives are team commitments, not Product Owner assignments. The Product Owner collaborates on priority and value, but the team must own their objectives. Having the Product Owner write them undermines team ownership, reduces shared understanding, and prevents the team from committing to outcomes they helped define.
- ✓
Coach the team to write PI Objectives that describe the business value and include measurable outcomes so progress can be assessed.
Why this is correct
This is correct because PI Objectives should express the value the team intends to deliver and include measurable outcomes, which enables the team and ART to track progress and adjust. The Scrum Master / Team Coach facilitates this by coaching the team on outcome-oriented language rather than simply listing features or tasks.
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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.