SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Question
A team has consistently high quality but is struggling to meet the agreed-upon PI objectives due to scope creep. What should the Scrum Master do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Examinees often select choices involving halting all work or letting management dictate scope changes, forgetting the importance of coaching the Product Owner and team on goals.
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
✓
Facilitate a discussion on the impact of scope creep on iteration goals.
Scope creep during an iteration undermines the team's ability to meet the commitment made during PI planning. The Scrum Master must coach the Product Owner and the team on the importance of adhering to the iteration goals and the impact of adding unplanned work. This maintains the integrity of the team's commitment and ensures the ART can rely on the team's output for overall PI success.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Allow the scope creep to continue as long as quality remains high.
Why it's wrong here
High quality does not compensate for missing PI objectives. If the team consistently fails to deliver on their commitments due to scope creep, the overall program planning process loses its reliability. The Scrum Master must address the scope creep to protect the team's capacity and overall predictability.
- ✓
Facilitate a discussion on the impact of scope creep on iteration goals.
Why this is correct
Transparency regarding the impact of scope creep is necessary to help stakeholders understand why commitments are missed. By facilitating this discussion, the Scrum Master helps the team and Product Owner reach an agreement on how to manage work, ensuring future iterations are more predictable and goals are achievable.
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Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate the extra work.
Why it's wrong here
Mandating overtime is a violation of sustainable development practices. It leads to burnout and a long-term decline in quality and productivity. The Scrum Master should focus on managing the work and scope, not squeezing more hours out of the team, which is an unsustainable and counterproductive strategy.
- ✗
Take over the management of the team's backlog from the Product Owner.
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner is responsible for the backlog and prioritization. The Scrum Master stepping into this role creates a conflict of duties and undermines the Product Owner's authority. The Scrum Master's role is to facilitate, not to execute the responsibilities of other team roles or dictate priorities.
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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.