SSM Supporting ART Events Practice Question
During the first team breakout session of PI Planning, the Scrum Master notices the team is struggling to sequence their stories. What is the best way for the Scrum Master to facilitate this process?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mistake is for the Scrum Master to take over and start placing stories on the board. The SM must remain a facilitator, ensuring the team 'owns' the plan they are creating.
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
✓
Encourage the team to use their historical velocity and discuss story dependencies
During breakouts, the Scrum Master's role is to facilitate the planning process without doing the work for the team. They should guide the team to look at dependencies, use their velocity as a guide, and ensure the most valuable stories are planned for earlier iterations to allow for feedback and risk mitigation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assign the stories to specific iterations based on their own technical expertise
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Master is a servant leader and facilitator, not a technical lead or project manager. Assigning stories themselves undermines the team's self-organization and accountability. The team must decide how to sequence the work based on their collective knowledge of the system and the features.
- ✗
Tell the team to ignore dependencies and focus only on their own work
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring dependencies is a recipe for failure in an Agile Release Train. Cross-team coordination is a primary goal of PI Planning. The Scrum Master should encourage the team to identify and visualize these dependencies on the Program Board so they can be managed effectively throughout the PI.
- ✓
Encourage the team to use their historical velocity and discuss story dependencies
Why this is correct
By using historical velocity, the team creates a realistic plan. Discussing dependencies helps them sequence the work so they aren't blocked later. The Scrum Master facilitates these discussions, ensuring that all voices are heard and that the plan is built on a foundation of data and collaboration.
- ✗
Ask the Release Train Engineer to come and sequence the stories for the team
Why it's wrong here
The RTE's role is to facilitate the entire train, not to manage the details of a single team's iteration planning. If the team is struggling, the Scrum Master should provide the guidance needed; escalating to the RTE should only happen if there is a train-level blocker.
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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.