SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question
An Agile Team's Scrum Master/Team Coach notices that the team relies on them to assign tasks, resolve every technical disagreement, and decide when a Story is done. The team meets its Iteration Goals, but members rarely challenge each other or improve their process. What should the coach do to develop a more self-managing team?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating consistent Iteration Goal achievement as proof of team health, when it can actually hide coach dependency and weak self-management.
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
✓
Gradually shift decision-making to the team by using coaching questions, reinforcing their Definition of Done, and letting them resolve technical disagreements themselves.
A team that depends on the coach for task assignment, conflict resolution, and completion decisions is not self-managing, even if it hits goals. The coach should deliberately transfer ownership through questioning, a clear Definition of Done, and space for the team to resolve technical debates. This grows capability and reduces the coach as a bottleneck.
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 attend team events and take over facilitation so the team learns from an external authority.
Why it's wrong here
Bringing in the Release Train Engineer to run team events does not build the team's own facilitation or decision-making skills. It substitutes one authority for another and may signal that the team cannot manage itself. The RTE's focus is train-level flow and impediment removal, not daily team self-management.
- ✓
Gradually shift decision-making to the team by using coaching questions, reinforcing their Definition of Done, and letting them resolve technical disagreements themselves.
Why this is correct
This directly builds self-management by transferring ownership of decisions the team is capable of making. Coaching questions prompt reflection rather than answers, a strong Definition of Done removes ambiguity about completion, and allowing technical debates to resolve within the team grows capability. It preserves accountability while reducing the coach as a dependency.
- ✗
Introduce a formal RACI matrix that defines exactly who decides each type of task, then enforce it during Daily Stand-up.
Why it's wrong here
A RACI matrix centralizes decision rights in a document and tends to reinforce command-and-control patterns. It does not teach the team to negotiate decisions or resolve conflicts collaboratively. Enforcing it in the Daily Stand-up shifts the event from synchronization toward compliance, which undermines the team's ownership of its own process.
- ✗
Continue assigning tasks and resolving disagreements because the team is meeting its Iteration Goals and the current approach is working.
Why it's wrong here
Meeting goals can mask a lack of self-management and continuous improvement. If the coach remains the decision hub, the team never develops the skills to inspect and adapt on its own. Short-term output is not evidence that the team is healthy or that the coach is fulfilling the team-coach accountability.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
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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.