SSM Supporting Team Events Practice Question
During an Iteration Planning event, the team is struggling to estimate a complex enabler story and the discussion has become circular and lengthy. The Product Owner is becoming impatient because time is running short. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is believing the Scrum Master should resolve estimation deadlocks by providing an estimate or changing scope, when the role is to facilitate the team's process and protect the event's timebox.
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
✓
Suggest the team timebox the estimation discussion, capture any unresolved technical unknowns as a spike or research item, and move on to planning the rest of the iteration.
The best action is to keep the planning event productive by timeboxing the estimation debate and capturing unresolved technical uncertainty as a spike or research item. This respects the team's need to investigate, allows planning to continue within the available time, and supports the Product Owner's need for a usable iteration plan without the Scrum Master taking over estimation or scope decisions.
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 Product Owner to remove the enabler story from the iteration and replace it with a simpler feature so the team can finish planning on time.
Why it's wrong here
This oversteps because prioritization and scope decisions belong to the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master should not unilaterally direct backlog changes. Removing a needed enabler could create larger problems later and does not address the team's difficulty in estimating. The Scrum Master should help the team manage the discussion, not make product decisions on the Product Owner's behalf.
- ✗
End the estimation discussion immediately and instruct the team to simply accept the story without an estimate, since estimates are not required in Scrum.
Why it's wrong here
While estimates are not the goal in themselves, abruptly ending the discussion and forcing acceptance of an unestimated story can lead to poor planning and unclear commitments. The team still needs enough shared understanding to plan the iteration and identify dependencies. The Scrum Master should facilitate a productive resolution, such as a timebox and a spike, rather than shutting down the conversation.
- ✓
Suggest the team timebox the estimation discussion, capture any unresolved technical unknowns as a spike or research item, and move on to planning the rest of the iteration.
Why this is correct
This is correct because the Scrum Master facilitates the event to stay productive and timeboxed. When estimation becomes circular due to technical uncertainty, proposing a timebox and capturing the unknowns as a spike respects the team's need to investigate while allowing planning to continue. It keeps the Product Owner's time constraints in view and helps the team make progress on the overall iteration plan.
- ✗
Provide the team with an estimate based on your own technical experience so the planning can proceed without further debate.
Why it's wrong here
This fails because the Scrum Master is not the team's estimator, and providing estimates undermines the team's ownership of its own work and commitments. It also substitutes one person's judgment for the team's collective understanding, which reduces buy-in and accuracy. The Scrum Master should facilitate the team's process, not make technical or sizing decisions for it.
Visual reference
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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.