SSM Defining the Scrum Master / Team Coach Role Practice Question
Priya is the Scrum Master / Team Coach for the Payments Agile Team on an ART. During a mid-Iteration check-in, she notices the team has completed nine of ten planned Stories, but the last Story has been 'In Progress' for six days with no updates. Two engineers are actively working on it, yet neither has posted a comment or moved the card. The team's Kanban board in their Agile tooling shows the Story sitting in the 'Develop' column. What is the most effective action for Priya to take first?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming a stalled board card is a process or transparency problem that calls for a new rule, when it is usually an undisclosed impediment that only a conversation will reveal.
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
✓
Ask the two engineers directly what is blocking them and whether they need help removing an impediment.
A Story that sits In Progress without updates usually means the people doing the work are blocked, uncertain, or coordinating outside the board. The Scrum Master / Team Coach serves the team by surfacing and removing impediments, so a direct, non-judgmental conversation with the engineers is the fastest path to the real problem. Process changes, board edits, and escalations all skip that essential diagnostic step.
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 two engineers directly what is blocking them and whether they need help removing an impediment.
Why this is correct
This is the correct first move because a Story stalled with no board updates usually signals an undisclosed blocker or a coordination gap. The Scrum Master / Team Coach's primary job is to surface and remove impediments, and a short, direct conversation with the people doing the work reveals the real problem before any process change is proposed. It also respects the team's self-management by not imposing a solution.
- ✗
Move the Story back to the 'To Do' column so the board reflects that it is not actually being worked on.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the card does not address why two engineers are stuck. It also misrepresents reality: the work is genuinely in progress. Manipulating the board to look tidy hides the impediment rather than resolving it, and it undermines the team's ownership of their own visual management. The board should reflect truth, not the Scrum Master's preferred appearance.
- ✗
Add a new team policy requiring daily written status comments on every In Progress Story.
Why it's wrong here
Imposing a reporting policy in response to one stalled Story treats a symptom and adds process overhead the team did not choose. SAFe favors empiricism and self-management, so the Scrum Master / Team Coach should coach the team toward transparency rather than mandate busywork. A single incident does not justify a blanket rule, and the policy would not have surfaced the underlying blocker any faster.
- ✗
Escalate to the Release Train Engineer so the ART can be informed of a delivery risk at the next PO Sync.
Why it's wrong here
Escalation is premature. Nothing yet indicates a cross-team or ART-level dependency; the Story may be blocked by a simple technical issue solvable within the team. Going straight to the Release Train Engineer bypasses the team's ability to self-manage and can create noise in ART-level events. Escalation should follow, not precede, an attempt to understand and remove the impediment locally.
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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.