SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question
An Agile Team is struggling to complete their Stories within the Iteration due to persistent external dependencies on a separate subsystem team. How should the Scrum Master coach the team to address this systemic impediment?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose solutions involving 'escalation to management' or 'internal team process changes,' failing to see that systemic dependencies require cross-team collaboration and interface mapping between teams.
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 direct conversations and alignment sessions with the dependent team's Scrum Master and relevant stakeholders to map out interface dependencies.
The Scrum Master facilitates cross-team collaboration by engaging the System Architect and other Scrum Masters during the Agile Release Train sync events. This systemic impediment requires structural alignment and dependency mapping rather than internal pressure, ensuring the team can predictably deliver value in future iterations while fostering healthy organizational networks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Escalate the blocked Stories directly to the Release Train Engineer to force the subsystem team to reallocate their capacity immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Escalation bypasses the decentralized decision-making principles of SAFe and undermines the collaborative culture required for high-performing Agile Release Trains. Relying on authority figures creates dependency on management rather than empowering teams to resolve conflicts organically.
- ✗
Advise the Product Owner to remove all dependent Stories from the Team Backlog until the external subsystem team completes their required work.
Why it's wrong here
Removing dependent Stories merely hides the impediment from the Sprint Backlog; the dependency and the subsystem team's constraints remain unaddressed, so the systemic cause persists. It is tempting because protecting the Sprint Goal by deferring blocked work feels pragmatic, and it would suit a genuinely out-of-scope item awaiting a scheduled external release.
- ✓
Facilitate direct conversations and alignment sessions with the dependent team's Scrum Master and relevant stakeholders to map out interface dependencies.
Why this is correct
Establishing direct communication channels between teams enables proactive dependency management and aligns delivery schedules across the Agile Release Train. Scrum Masters act as servant leaders who remove impediments by connecting interdependent teams to foster shared ownership.
- ✗
Instruct the developers to build temporary stubs and bypass the subsystem team entirely to ensure their local iteration metrics remain green.
Why it's wrong here
Stubs bypass the subsystem interface, so integration risk and the real dependency remain unresolved while metrics falsely appear green. It is tempting because stubbing is legitimate for decoupling development and testing when the interface contract is stable, but here it conceals the systemic impediment instead of surfacing and removing it.
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JA
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.