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This page has 11 Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions scenario questions for the SSM exam, each with detailed explanations and wrong-answer analysis.

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Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions

Practise SAFe Scrum Master practice questions — original exam-style scenarios covering every exam domain, with detailed explanations, wrong-answer analysis, and common exam traps.

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Practice scenarios

Question 1mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master attending the ART Sync, what is the most appropriate action to take regarding DEP-102?

Exhibit

{
  "ART_Sync_Board": {
    "Dependency_ID": "DEP-102",
    "Description": "Database Schema Update",
    "Provider": "Team-Alpha",
    "Consumer": "Team-Beta",
    "Needed_By": "Iteration 1.3",
    "Status": "Blocked: Hardware Delay"
  }
}

A
Tell Team-Beta to move the dependent stories to Iteration 1.4
Why it fails: Rescheduling work without understanding the impact on the PI objectives is premature. While it might be necessary later, the first step is to discuss the blockage at the ART Sync to see if the RTE or other stakeholders can resolve the hardware delay more quickly.
B
Direct Team-Alpha to prioritize hardware procurement over coding
Why it fails: Scrum Masters do not give direct orders to teams regarding their technical priorities or procurement tasks. Such decisions are usually handled by the Product Owner or through discussions with the System Architect and RTE to ensure the train's overall priorities are being met correctly.
C
Highlight the risk to the RTE and discuss potential mitigations
The ART Sync is the venue for surfacing these specific cross-team issues. By highlighting the risk to the RTE, the Scrum Master ensures that leadership is aware of the bottleneck and can provide the necessary support or resources to unblock the dependency before it impacts the PI.
D
Update the Program Board to show the dependency is now resolved
Why it fails: Updating the board to show 'resolved' when the status clearly states 'Blocked' is inaccurate and misleading. The Program Board must reflect the current reality of the train's progress and risks to ensure that planning and adjustments are based on honest and transparent data.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 2hardmultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. Why would the Scrum Master coach the team to mark the 'Auth API' objective as uncommitted?

Exhibit

{
  "Team_Objectives": {
    "Committed": ["Objective_1", "Objective_2"],
    "Uncommitted": ["Objective_3 (Auth_API)"],
    "Context": "High_Dependency_on_External_Team"
  }
}

A
The objective has low business value for the stakeholders.
Why it fails: Low business value is not a reason to mark an objective as uncommitted; instead, low-value items should likely be removed from the plan entirely. Uncommitted objectives often have high business value but carry too much risk to be included in the primary commitment of the team for the Program Increment.
B
The team faces high technical uncertainty or external dependencies.
High technical uncertainty or external dependencies are the primary reasons for using uncommitted objectives. By categorizing it this way, the team can still plan the work and gain experience without failing their commitment if the external dependencies or technical challenges prove to be insurmountable during the Program Increment execution.
C
The team has a lack of interest in this specific technical task.
Why it fails: A team's lack of interest is never a valid reason for how objectives are categorized in SAFe. Objectives are driven by business needs and the ART backlog, and the Scrum Master's role is to ensure the team is aligned with the mission regardless of their personal interest in a specific task.
D
It is a stretch goal that the team will only start if they finish early.
Why it fails: While some might see them as stretch goals, uncommitted objectives are actually part of the team's capacity and are not 'extra' work. Calling them stretch goals can lead to teams over-committing their actual capacity, whereas uncommitted objectives are part of the planned load but with a different confidence level.

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Question 3hardmultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. As the Scrum Master during the middle of the iteration, how should you coach the team regarding their commitment?

Exhibit

Iteration Plan:
- User Story A: 8 pts (Dev complete)
- User Story B: 5 pts (In progress)
- User Story C: 3 pts (Not started)
- Team Velocity: 10 pts

A
Encourage the team to work overtime to ensure all stories are completed.
Why it fails: Working overtime is a sign of unsustainable pace and poor planning. It inevitably leads to burnout and reduced quality. Sustainable development is a core Agile principle, and the Scrum Master should prevent the team from resorting to crunch time as a default strategy.
B
Advise the team to drop Story A and focus on completing Stories B and C.
Why it fails: Dropping the most valuable or already near-finished work is inefficient. The team should collaborate with the Product Owner to determine the most valuable sequence of work, which may involve completing Story A and potentially deferring Stories B or C to a future iteration.
C
Facilitate a discussion with the Product Owner to renegotiate scope based on current capacity.
Renegotiating scope is a standard Agile response when capacity and commitment mismatch. This ensures the team focuses on delivering the highest value work within the iteration, maintaining quality standards and keeping the team's pace sustainable throughout the Program Increment.
D
Ignore the velocity discrepancy as velocity is only an estimate and not a guarantee.
Why it fails: While velocity is an estimate, ignoring a significant disconnect between commitment and capacity prevents the team from learning and improving. Ignoring this data prevents the team from becoming more accurate in their planning and leads to chronic under-delivery, undermining stakeholder expectations.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 4mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, how should you address the situation described in the log?

Exhibit

LOG_ENTRY: [ERROR] Iteration 3 completed with 45 points; Iteration 4 started with 60 points of planned capacity. [WARN] Team velocity averages 42 points. [INFO] Iteration 4 planning reflects high inter-team dependency on Team B.

A
Encourage the team to work overtime to meet the 60-point commitment.
Why it fails: Forcing overtime is a sign of poor planning and is unsustainable in an Agile environment. It leads to lower quality and burnout. The Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion to re-plan based on historical velocity, ensuring the commitment is realistic and sustainable, which maintains the team's long-term health and focus.
B
Facilitate a re-planning session to adjust the plan based on velocity.
Using historical velocity as a basis for planning is a core SAFe practice for improving predictability. Re-planning ensures the team commits to what they can realistically accomplish, reducing the risk of failure and helping the team maintain a sustainable pace while meeting their commitments to the rest of the ART.
C
Assign the extra 18 points of work to Team B to balance the load.
Why it fails: Simply shifting work to another team without verifying their capacity or the nature of the dependency is dangerous. The Scrum Master needs to facilitate a conversation between teams to manage the dependency properly. Arbitrary assignment ignores the collaborative nature of SAFe and will likely cause issues for the other team.
D
Ignore the velocity discrepancy as it is common for teams to overestimate.
Why it fails: Overestimating is a systemic issue that threatens the reliability of the ART's plan. By ignoring it, the Scrum Master fails their responsibility to help the team improve their planning effectiveness. Consistent over-commitment prevents the ART from delivering a reliable system increment and undermines the trust stakeholders place in the train.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 5mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. If the team consistently exceeds the 'timebox_max_hours' during planning, what is the Scrum Master's best next step?

Exhibit

JSON Configuration: {'iteration_planning': {'enabled': true, 'timebox_max_hours': 4}, 'retrospective': {'enabled': true, 'max_participants': 'all_team_members'}, 'daily_standup': {'max_minutes': 15}}

A
Extend the timebox to 6 hours to ensure the team can finish their planning thoroughly.
Why it fails: Simply extending the timebox encourages inefficiency. The goal is to plan effectively within the given time, which forces the team to prioritize and be concise. If they consistently exceed four hours, they need to improve their preparation and facilitation, not just expand the meeting length indefinitely.
B
Facilitate a session to review the team's preparation process and the quality of backlog items.
Incomplete or ambiguous backlog items are often the main cause of long planning meetings. By ensuring the stories are ready before the planning session, the team can spend their time on commitment and tasking rather than clarification. This preparation is a fundamental Scrum Master responsibility to enable team efficiency.
C
Ask the Product Owner to select the stories and provide them to the team beforehand.
Why it fails: While pre-reading is beneficial, the team must be involved in the planning discussion to truly commit to the work. The Scrum Master should facilitate a process where the team is involved, rather than having the Product Owner dictate the plan. This ensures the team feels ownership of the commitment.
D
Stop the meeting at 4 hours regardless of whether the plan is complete or not.
Why it fails: Abruptly stopping the meeting without a completed plan leaves the team without a clear path for the iteration. The Scrum Master should focus on improving the planning efficiency so the work can be completed within the timebox, not just enforcing a hard stop that results in an incomplete plan.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 6hardmultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. Given these findings, which action should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve team flow?

Exhibit

Iteration Retrospective Input: 1. Developers feeling overwhelmed by mid-iteration requests. 2. Testing is consistently delayed. 3. Daily stand-ups are taking over 25 minutes.

A
Implement a strict rule that no new work can be added after the planning session.
Why it fails: Absolute bans on scope change can be counterproductive in a flexible Agile environment. The team should instead work with the Product Owner to establish a process for handling urgent requests, ensuring that any new work does not compromise the overall iteration commitment or create unnecessary context switching for developers.
B
Facilitate a discussion on how to protect the team from mid-iteration requests and pull testing earlier.
Protecting the team from interruptions ensures stable velocity and focus, while shifting testing earlier identifies defects sooner. This dual approach addresses the root cause of the testing bottleneck and the feeling of being overwhelmed, directly leading to higher quality outcomes and more predictable delivery cycles for the team.
C
Enforce a timebox of 15 minutes for the Daily Stand-up and cut off any long discussions.
Why it fails: While keeping the Daily Stand-up under 15 minutes is a best practice, simply enforcing the timebox does not address the underlying delivery issues. The team needs to understand why the meetings are long and focus on solving the systemic bottlenecks that are preventing their efficient progress and delivery.
D
Ask the team to move testing tasks to the start of the iteration to avoid delays.
Why it fails: Moving tasks without addressing the root cause, such as the mid-iteration requests, will likely lead to similar delays. The team must optimize their entire workflow to ensure that testing is integrated continuously, rather than just shifting the order of tasks without resolving the underlying interruptions to their work.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 7hardmultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. During PI Planning, leadership encounters a major cross-team dependency blockage that threatens program objectives. When does the Management Review and Problem Solving meeting take place to address this?

Exhibit

{
  "event": "PI Planning",
  "step": "Management Review and Problem Solving",
  "identified_impediment": "Cross-team dependency blockage",
  "participants": ["Release Train Engineer", "Product Management", "System Architect", "Business Owners"]
}

A
Immediately before the final management review at the conclusion of Day 2.
Why it fails: Waiting until the end of Day 2 is far too late to address planning impediments. By that time, team breakouts have concluded and final plans must already be locked in for management review and team commitment votes.
B
At the end of Day 1, following the draft plan review sessions where cross-team dependencies are exposed.
Holding the meeting at the end of Day 1 provides leadership with immediate visibility into draft plan bottlenecks. Management collaborates overnight to resolve scope or dependency issues so teams can finalize realistic plans on Day 2.
C
During the first hour of Day 1 before team breakout sessions begin.
Why it fails: This meeting sits after draft plans are built and dependencies surfaced, not before team breakouts on Day 1; leadership needs the teams' draft plans as input. It is tempting because early scheduling appears proactive, yet no dependency data exists that early to review.
D
After the Program Increment has concluded and all delivery metrics have been calculated.
Why it fails: The Management Review and Problem Solving meeting occurs during PI Planning itself, not after the increment closes; post-PI metrics belong to the Inspect and Adapt event. It is tempting because both are retrospective leadership forums, but this one exists specifically to resolve in-flight blockers.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 8hardmultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. As the Scrum Master for Blue-Squad, which action should you prioritize during the next Team Sync based on the current JSON status report?

Exhibit

{
  "iteration": "3",
  "team_name": "Blue-Squad",
  "wip_limit": 4,
  "active_items": 7,
  "blocked_items": 2,
  "cycle_time_avg": "11 days"
}

A
Encourage the team to pull in one more Story to ensure they meet their velocity targets.
Why it fails: Adding more work when the team is already over the WIP limit will further increase cycle time and create more congestion. This ignores the data in the exhibit and violates the Lean principle of limiting work in process to improve flow and deliver value faster.
B
Facilitate a discussion on how to clear the blocked items and reduce the current WIP.
Clearing blocks and reducing WIP is the most effective way to restore flow and reduce cycle time. By addressing the items that are stuck, the team can finish existing work before starting new tasks, which is the primary goal of managing flow in a SAFe environment.
C
Request the System Architect to redesign the solution to reduce the complexity of the Stories.
Why it fails: While architecture can impact complexity, it is not the immediate solution to a process flow issue shown in the metrics. The exhibit indicates a management-of-work problem (WIP and blocks) rather than a technical failure that requires a complete redesign from the System Architect.
D
Update the WIP limit in the configuration to 8 to reflect the team's actual current capacity.
Why it fails: Increasing the WIP limit to match the current state is a reactive move that hides the underlying flow issues. Limits are meant to be constraints that trigger problem-solving; raising them without improving the process simply institutionalizes inefficiency and lengthens the time it takes to deliver value.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 9mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. Given the velocity fluctuations, what is the best topic for the team's next Retrospective?

Exhibit

Team Velocity Trend: Iteration 1: 30, Iteration 2: 32, Iteration 3: 25, Iteration 4: 28.

A
Discuss why the velocity dropped in Iteration 3 and what caused the variation.
Analyzing the variance is the correct approach to improving predictability. When a team understands the cause of velocity dips, they can take proactive steps to mitigate those risks in the future. This builds trust with stakeholders and allows for more accurate planning in future Program Increments and iterations.
B
Set a higher velocity target for the next iteration to encourage the team to work faster.
Why it fails: Setting arbitrary targets for velocity is a common anti-pattern that encourages gaming the system. Velocity is a measurement of capacity, not a performance metric to be beaten. Pressure to increase velocity artificially leads to poor quality and technical debt, which ultimately slows the team down in the long run.
C
Inform the team that their velocity is inconsistent and needs to stabilize immediately.
Why it fails: Simply telling the team they are inconsistent does not help them solve the underlying problems. The Scrum Master should facilitate a constructive dialogue that empowers the team to investigate their own work processes, rather than just delivering criticism that may lead to frustration and disengagement within the team.
D
Compare the team's velocity against other teams to ensure they are performing well.
Why it fails: Comparing velocity between teams is fundamentally flawed because each team has a unique context, skill set, and story point definition. This practice creates unnecessary competition and destroys collaboration. The Scrum Master must protect the team from such comparisons and keep the focus on their own internal improvement process.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 10mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. Based on the performance report, what should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve the team's effectiveness?

Exhibit

Team Performance Report:
- Velocity Trend: Stable
- Iteration Goals Met: 60%
- Impediment Resolution Time: High
- Scrum Master Focus: Administrative Documentation

A
Increase the frequency of status report meetings for stakeholders.
Why it fails: Increasing status report meetings adds more overhead and administrative burden without addressing the root cause of the impediments. The Scrum Master should minimize distractions that take time away from the team's development work, focusing instead on activities that directly improve the team's ability to deliver working software.
B
Focus on clearing impediments and facilitating flow.
The high impediment resolution time is the primary indicator of why iteration goals are not being met. By shifting focus to clearing these blocks, the Scrum Master directly supports the team's productivity. This allows the team to focus on their work, resulting in better goal attainment and team morale.
C
Request that management increase the team's velocity targets.
Why it fails: Arbitrarily increasing velocity targets is a management anti-pattern that ignores the underlying process issues. Velocity is an empirical measure of capacity; forcing an increase without resolving the impediments will only lead to lower quality and team burnout rather than actual improvements in delivered value or goal completion.
D
Change the team members to improve skill levels.
Why it fails: Changing team members is a drastic measure that does not address the systemic impediments causing the current blockages. The current team likely possesses the necessary skills but is being hampered by external process issues; the Scrum Master should first work to fix the environment before considering personnel changes.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Question 11mediummultiple choice

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Refer to the exhibit. What observation should the Scrum Master share with the team during the next Retrospective?

Exhibit

Team Velocity Log:
- Iteration 1: 20 pts
- Iteration 2: 22 pts
- Iteration 3: 21 pts
- Iteration 4: 18 pts (Scope added mid-iteration)
- Iteration 5: 23 pts

A
The team needs to increase their velocity to match the highest point.
Why it fails: Velocity is not a goal to be maximized; it is a planning tool. Expecting the team to sustain their peak velocity ignores the reality of variable work types and complexities. The Scrum Master should focus on helping the team stabilize their process rather than setting arbitrary targets based on peaks.
B
The team should focus on reducing mid-iteration changes to stabilize velocity.
The data clearly indicates that mid-iteration changes negatively affect the team's capacity to deliver. By highlighting this, the Scrum Master provides evidence that can be used to influence the Product Owner to maintain a stable iteration scope, which will lead to more predictable performance and better alignment.
C
Iteration 5 proves that the team is now over-performing.
Why it fails: Suggesting the team is over-performing is subjective and unhelpful. Velocity fluctuations are normal, but the focus should be on the factors influencing the consistency, such as scope changes. Labeling performance as 'over' or 'under' creates unnecessary pressure and misses the root cause of the variation in the data.
D
The team should ignore the variation as it is within a normal range.
Why it fails: While variation is normal, the data shows a direct link between scope changes and performance dips. Ignoring this link prevents the team from learning and improving their planning practices. The Scrum Master has a responsibility to help the team learn from their own data to optimize their future performance.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

These SSM practice questions are part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style SSM questions with detailed explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics.

Refer to the Exhibit Practice Questions

How to approach refer to the exhibit practice questions

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Practice scenarios

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master attending the ART Sync, what is the most appropriate action to take regarding DEP-102?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. Why would the Scrum Master coach the team to mark the 'Auth API' objective as uncommitted?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. As the Scrum Master during the middle of the iteration, how should you coach the team regarding their commitment?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, how should you address the situation described in the log?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. If the team consistently exceeds the 'timebox_max_hours' during planning, what is the Scrum Master's best next step?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. Given these findings, which action should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve team flow?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. During PI Planning, leadership encounters a major cross-team dependency blockage that threatens program objectives. When does the Management Review and Problem Solving meeting take place to address this?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. As the Scrum Master for Blue-Squad, which action should you prioritize during the next Team Sync based on the current JSON status report?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. Given the velocity fluctuations, what is the best topic for the team's next Retrospective?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. Based on the performance report, what should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve the team's effectiveness?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit. What observation should the Scrum Master share with the team during the next Retrospective?

Exhibit