SSM Supporting ART Events Practice Question
During PI Planning Team Breakout #1, a team realizes they cannot meet their draft objectives due to a hidden architectural dependency. What is the Scrum Master's best course of action?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often try to resolve technical dependencies solely within the team, failing to realize that cross-team architectural issues require RTE and Architect intervention.
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
✓
Alert the Release Train Engineer to facilitate a conversation with the System Architect and the dependent team.
The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the removal of impediments during the PI Planning process. When a team discovers a dependency that threatens their plan, the Scrum Master must act as a bridge to other teams and leadership. This ensures that the technical planning remains realistic and that the final PI objectives are achievable based on the actual capacity and cross-team coordination.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Negotiate with Product Management to reduce Feature scope immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Negotiating scope change with Product Management is a valid secondary step, but it usually happens after the technical feasibility and dependency resolution efforts have been explored. Acting too early without full information might lead to unnecessary loss of business value or premature commitment to a reduced scope.
- ✓
Alert the Release Train Engineer to facilitate a conversation with the System Architect and the dependent team.
Why this is correct
Engaging the Release Train Engineer and System Architect is the correct immediate step because they provide the necessary oversight to resolve cross-team technical constraints. This collaborative approach allows for re-sequencing or technical adjustments that might save the objective without needing to immediately reduce the overall Feature scope.
- ✗
Instruct the team to add the dependency to the Program Board and move on to the next objective.
Why it's wrong here
Simply adding the dependency to the board without resolving the impact on the objective is a passive approach that ignores the underlying planning failure. The purpose of identifying dependencies is to manage and resolve them, not just to document them while the team continues to work on an impossible plan.
- ✗
Record the dependency as a risk in the ROAM board and proceed with the current plan.
Why it's wrong here
Recording risks on the ROAM board is part of the process, but it does not replace the need for active resolution during the breakout sessions. A risk that prevents an objective from being met must be addressed or mitigated immediately rather than just being accepted as an unmanaged threat.
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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.