CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Question
A Scrum Master is working with a new Scrum Team. During the first Sprint Retrospective, the Developers say they feel the Scrum Master should assign tasks to each person to ensure fairness. What is the most appropriate response?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating fairness or efficiency as a reason for the Scrum Master to assign tasks, when self-management means the Developers decide how work is organized.
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
✓
Explain that the Developers are self-managing and should decide among themselves how to create and adapt the Sprint Backlog.
The Developers are self-managing and accountable for the Sprint Backlog, so they decide how to organize and assign work. The Scrum Master should explain self-management rather than assign tasks, ask the Product Owner to assign them, or create a rotating schedule. Coaching the team toward self-management supports Scrum's principles and builds long-term capability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Agree to assign tasks for the first few Sprints to build fairness, then gradually stop.
Why it's wrong here
Even temporary task assignment by the Scrum Master undermines the Developers' self-management and teaches them to wait for direction. Fairness should be handled by the Developers themselves as they learn to collaborate. Gradually stopping does not undo the dependency created by the Scrum Master acting as a dispatcher.
- ✓
Explain that the Developers are self-managing and should decide among themselves how to create and adapt the Sprint Backlog.
Why this is correct
Scrum Teams are self-managing, meaning the Developers decide how to turn the Product Backlog into value. Task assignment by the Scrum Master would remove that self-management and create dependency. Explaining self-management helps the Developers understand their accountability for the Sprint Backlog and how they organize their own work.
- ✗
Create a rotating task-assignment schedule and post it in the team room so everyone knows their duties.
Why it's wrong here
A Scrum Master-created schedule is still an external assignment mechanism. The Developers should self-manage how they select and distribute work, adapting daily as needed. A posted schedule reduces flexibility and ownership, which conflicts with the Scrum principle that the Developers organize their own work to deliver the Sprint Goal.
- ✗
Ask the Product Owner to assign tasks because the Product Owner knows the value of each item.
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner orders the Product Backlog but does not manage the Developers' work or assign tasks. Involving the Product Owner in task assignment blurs accountabilities and reduces self-management. The Developers own the Sprint Backlog and decide how to organize their work, independent of the Product Owner's value ordering.
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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.