CSM Service to the Organization Practice Question
A Scrum Master notices that the organization's human resources department evaluates team members using individual performance rankings that include lines of code written and hours logged. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to serve the organization?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating the HR policy as outside the Scrum Master's scope, when serving the organization explicitly includes helping the wider system remove impediments to Scrum adoption.
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
✓
Help HR and leadership understand how individual output metrics undermine teamwork, and suggest metrics that reflect team-level value delivery.
The Scrum Master serves the organization by helping it understand how Scrum interacts with existing policies. Individual performance rankings based on output metrics conflict with Scrum's emphasis on self-managing teams and collective accountability. The most effective action is to coach HR and leadership on the unintended consequences of such metrics and to collaborate on alternatives that reflect team-level value delivery.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Instruct the teams to ignore the HR evaluations because they are not part of Scrum.
Why it's wrong here
Telling teams to ignore organizational policies creates conflict and does not help the organization improve. The Scrum Master serves the organization by helping it understand how such metrics undermine collaboration and self-management, and by working with HR to explore alternatives. Simply ignoring the evaluations leaves the underlying problem in place and may put team members at risk.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the Scrum Master's manager and wait for a decision before taking any further action.
Why it's wrong here
Escalation without coaching may be appropriate in extreme cases, but here the Scrum Master can directly serve the organization by facilitating understanding. Waiting passively does not remove the impediment. The Scrum Master should engage HR and leadership, explain the impact of individual rankings, and help them consider metrics that reinforce team-level value delivery.
- ✓
Help HR and leadership understand how individual output metrics undermine teamwork, and suggest metrics that reflect team-level value delivery.
Why this is correct
The Scrum Master serves the organization by coaching it on how Scrum affects the broader system. Individual rankings based on output metrics encourage local optimization and discourage collaboration. By working with HR and leadership to design team-oriented measures, the Scrum Master helps remove a systemic impediment and supports the organization in realizing the benefits of Scrum.
- ✗
Ask the Scrum Teams to provide the requested data but also submit a separate team metric so both systems are satisfied.
Why it's wrong here
Maintaining two parallel measurement systems adds waste and confusion. It does not address the fundamental conflict between individual rankings and Scrum's emphasis on collective ownership. The Scrum Master should instead help the organization understand why the individual metrics conflict with Scrum and work toward a coherent approach that supports team accountability.
About these practice questions
This CSM question is part of Courseiva's 312-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 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.