SSM Supporting ART Events Practice Question
During the Draft Plan Review in PI Planning, a team presents a plan where their capacity is fully utilized, but they have no buffers for several high-risk dependencies. What should the Scrum Master do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think the Scrum Master should wait until the final plan review to raise concerns. However, the Draft Plan Review is the intended time to catch these issues so they can be fixed on Day 2.
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
✓
Advise the team to reconsider their commitment and add capacity buffers
The Scrum Master must ensure the team's plan is realistic and sustainable. During the Draft Plan Review, the SM should encourage the team to build in buffers or adjust their plan to account for uncertainty, especially when dealing with complex dependencies that are outside of their direct control.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Advise the team to reconsider their commitment and add capacity buffers
Why this is correct
A plan with no buffers is highly likely to fail if any risk materializes. The Scrum Master guides the team to use historical velocity and leave space for the 'unknown unknowns,' ensuring that the final commitment is something the team can actually stand behind with confidence.
- ✗
Ask the Product Owner to increase the team's velocity for the PI
Why it's wrong here
Velocity is an observation of past performance, not a lever that can be adjusted by the Product Owner to fit more work into a plan. Artificially increasing velocity leads to over-commitment, burnout, and a loss of predictability for the entire Agile Release Train.
- ✗
Recommend the team remove all dependencies from their Program Board
Why it's wrong here
Removing dependencies from the board does not remove them from reality; it only hides them. Transparency is a core SAFe value, and the Program Board must show all significant dependencies so that the ART can synchronize and manage them effectively throughout the Program Increment.
- ✗
Wait for the Business Owners to assign a low Business Value to the work
Why it's wrong here
Waiting for Business Owners does not solve the underlying planning problem. The Scrum Master's responsibility is to help the team create a viable plan regardless of the business value assigned, ensuring the team's process and planning logic are sound and based on realistic capacity.
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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.