CSM Service to the Scrum Team Practice Question
A Scrum Master notices that one Developer rarely speaks during the Daily Scrum while two others dominate the discussion. The quiet Developer later tells the Scrum Master privately that they feel their updates are not valued. Which action best serves the Scrum Team?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating a group communication pattern as an individual behavior problem, which leads to private fixes instead of a team-owned improvement.
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
✓
Coach the team on the purpose and format of the Daily Scrum during a Retrospective and observe whether the imbalance changes.
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team by coaching it toward effective collaboration and by helping it inspect and adapt its own processes. When one member is effectively excluded, the pattern belongs to the team, so the Scrum Master should surface it in a setting where the Developers can decide how to change. Private instructions or taking over the event shift ownership away from the team and do not build lasting self-management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Privately instruct the two dominant Developers to speak less so the quiet Developer has room to contribute.
Why it's wrong here
Directing individuals to change their behavior outside the team's awareness treats a team dynamic as a personal discipline problem and hides the issue from the people who can actually resolve it. The Scrum Master serves the team, not individual members in isolation, and this approach would likely create resentment and leave the underlying pattern untouched once the Scrum Master stops watching.
- ✓
Coach the team on the purpose and format of the Daily Scrum during a Retrospective and observe whether the imbalance changes.
Why this is correct
The Scrum Master serves the team by coaching it in effective collaboration and by helping it inspect and adapt its own interactions. Raising the pattern in a Retrospective keeps the issue with the team rather than making it a private matter between the Scrum Master and one Developer, and it lets the Developers own any change to how they run the Daily Scrum. This preserves self-management while addressing the imbalance.
- ✗
Advise the quiet Developer to raise their concerns directly with the two dominant colleagues after the meeting.
Why it's wrong here
Pushing the issue back onto the individual frames a shared team pattern as one person's conflict to resolve and offers no structural change. The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team as a whole by helping it improve how it collaborates, so a private one-on-one fix leaves the group dynamic intact. It also risks putting the quieter Developer in an uncomfortable position without support.
- ✗
Take over facilitation of the Daily Scrum and call on each Developer in turn to guarantee equal airtime.
Why it's wrong here
Assuming control of the Daily Scrum shifts ownership away from the Developers, who are responsible for running their own daily inspection. A Scrum Master who chairs the event becomes a bottleneck and teaches the team to depend on external facilitation. While turn-taking can be a useful temporary technique, imposing it unilaterally does not build the team's ability to self-manage its own communication.
About these practice questions
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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.