CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Assign tasks for the first few Sprints to keep velocity predictable, then gradually hand over decisions once the team is stable.

  Why it's wrong here

  Temporarily assigning tasks may feel efficient, but it teaches the team to wait for direction and delays the development of self-management. Predictability comes from a clear Sprint Goal and a shared Definition of Done, not from a Scrum Master acting as a dispatcher. This approach institutionalizes the dependency the Scrum Master is trying to remove.

• ✓

  Coach the Developers to self-organize around the Sprint Goal and let them decide how to distribute and coordinate the work.

  Why this is correct

  Self-managing teams decide who does what, when, and how. By coaching the Developers to organize around the Sprint Goal and choose their own work distribution, the Scrum Master reinforces the very behavior Scrum is designed to produce. Assigning tasks personally would create dependency, so this action directly supports the team's growth toward self-management.

• ✗

  Ask the Product Owner to assign tasks based on business priority so the team can focus purely on technical execution.

  Why it's wrong here

  Task assignment is not a Product Owner responsibility. The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog and maximizes value; the Developers decide how to turn selected items into an increment. Shifting assignment to the Product Owner confuses accountabilities and further entrenches the team's reliance on someone outside the Developers to organize its own work.

• ✓

  Explain that the Scrum Master is not the team's manager and that accountability for the Sprint Backlog and its execution belongs to the Developers.

  Why this is correct

  Clarifying roles helps the team understand where decisions belong. The Developers own the Sprint Backlog and are accountable for managing their own work, while the Scrum Master serves by coaching and removing impediments. Stating this plainly, without taking over, gives the Developers a clear boundary within which they can practice self-management and grow confidence.

• ✗

  Create a detailed RACI chart that specifies which individual is responsible for each task in the Sprint Backlog.

  Why it's wrong here

  A RACI chart assigns individual ownership and decision rights in a way that conflicts with a self-managing team jointly accountable for the Sprint Backlog. It substitutes external structure for the team's own coordination and can fragment collective ownership of the increment. The Scrum Master should reduce such imposed mechanisms, not introduce new ones.