CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Question
A Scrum Master is asked by a line manager to provide a weekly report showing exactly how many hours each Developer spent on each Product Backlog item, so the manager can assess individual productivity. The team's Developers are uneasy about this request. What is the most appropriate response from the Scrum Master?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is invoking the Scrum value of transparency to justify handing over individual time data, when Scrum's transparency applies to the product, the Sprint, and the process rather than to per-person productivity metrics.
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
✓
Educate the manager on why Scrum favors team-level transparency, and offer Sprint-level information such as progress toward the Sprint Goal and the increment instead.
The Scrum Master serves the organization by coaching it on Scrum and helping it understand that progress is inspected at the team and product level, not through individual hour tracking. Offering Sprint Goal progress and increment information meets the manager's need for visibility while protecting the team's collective accountability and trust.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Decline the request and tell the manager that Scrum forbids any reporting to people outside the Scrum Team.
Why it's wrong here
Scrum does not prohibit communication with stakeholders or managers; it changes what is useful to inspect. An outright refusal with an inaccurate claim about Scrum damages the relationship and leaves the manager's underlying need unaddressed. The Scrum Master should educate and offer alternative information rather than issue a blanket refusal based on a false rule.
- ✗
Provide the requested hours, since transparency is a core Scrum value and the manager has a legitimate need for information.
Why it's wrong here
Transparency in Scrum concerns the state of the product, the Sprint, and the process, not individual time tracking. Supplying per-person hours would enable individual productivity judgments that conflict with the team's collective accountability for the increment and would likely damage trust. Transparency does not require exposing metrics that contradict Scrum's emphasis on the team as the unit of delivery.
- ✓
Educate the manager on why Scrum favors team-level transparency, and offer Sprint-level information such as progress toward the Sprint Goal and the increment instead.
Why this is correct
The Scrum Master serves the organization by leading and coaching its Scrum adoption. Helping the manager understand why Scrum measures the team's progress toward the Sprint Goal rather than individual hours, and offering meaningful Sprint-level transparency in its place, addresses the request without enabling counterproductive individual productivity metrics.
- ✗
Ask the Developers to log their hours quietly so the manager receives the data without the team feeling scrutinized.
Why it's wrong here
Covertly collecting data the team has objected to is ethically dubious and undermines the trust and openness Scrum depends on. It also fails to address why the manager wants individual hours and perpetuates a metric that conflicts with team accountability. The Scrum Master's role is to coach the organization, not to broker hidden reporting.
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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 Scrum Alliance exam blueprint
This CSM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scrum Alliance 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 CSM exam.