SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are responsibilities of the Scrum Master in a SAFe environment? (Choose two)
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently select answers that give the Scrum Master authority over technical decisions or resource management, confusing them with a traditional project manager.
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
✓
Facilitating the team's ceremonies and processes.
Scrum Masters in SAFe act as servant leaders who facilitate team events and remove impediments. They also play a crucial role in the ART, contributing to the Scrum of Scrums to surface dependencies and blockers. Their primary focus is to foster high-performing teams, coach them on SAFe practices, and ensure the team is continuously improving their processes to deliver value efficiently within the larger framework.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Defining the Program Vision and Roadmap.
Why it's wrong here
The responsibility for the Program Vision and Roadmap lies with Product Management and System Architects, not the Scrum Master. The Scrum Master focuses on team-level execution, facilitating ceremonies, and ensuring the team is aligned with the goals set by Product Management, rather than defining high-level strategic direction.
- ✓
Facilitating the team's ceremonies and processes.
Why this is correct
Facilitation is a core competency for the Scrum Master. By guiding the team through Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Iteration Reviews, and Retrospectives, the Scrum Master ensures these events are productive and focused on continuous improvement. This helps the team maintain focus on delivering value while adhering to Agile principles.
- ✓
Attending the Scrum of Scrums to coordinate dependencies.
Why this is correct
The Scrum of Scrums is the primary mechanism for cross-team coordination in SAFe. Scrum Masters represent their teams to communicate progress, surface dependencies, and resolve blockers. This ensures that the ART stays aligned and that issues affecting multiple teams are addressed quickly and transparently throughout the PI.
- ✗
Prioritizing the Team Backlog.
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner is solely responsible for prioritizing the Team Backlog. The Scrum Master supports this process by ensuring the backlog is refined and transparent, but they should never dictate the order of work or the priorities, as this would conflict with the Product Owner's core role.
- ✗
Assigning individual tasks to team members.
Why it's wrong here
SAFe teams are self-organizing units. Assigning tasks to specific individuals undermines self-organization and accountability. Instead, the team pulls work from the backlog based on their capacity and the priority set by the Product Owner, fostering a sense of shared ownership and collaboration among all team members.
About these practice questions
This SSM question is part of Courseiva's 385-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.