CSM Service to the Scrum Team Practice Question
A Scrum Team is distributed across multiple time zones. The Developers complain that the Daily Scrum is inefficient because they spend too much time waiting for each other to join and the discussion often drifts. The Scrum Master wants to help the team improve this event. What is the most appropriate action?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming the Daily Scrum must always be a synchronous meeting with the three questions, when Scrum allows any format that achieves its purpose.
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
✓
Suggest the Developers experiment with a different format, such as a written asynchronous Daily Scrum, and evaluate the impact.
The most appropriate action is to suggest the Developers experiment with a different format, such as an asynchronous written Daily Scrum, and evaluate the impact. Scrum does not prescribe a specific format for the Daily Scrum; it only requires that the Developers inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog. For a distributed team, an asynchronous format can reduce waiting and improve focus. The Scrum Master serves the team by facilitating this experiment and helping them learn from it.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Suggest the Developers experiment with a different format, such as a written asynchronous Daily Scrum, and evaluate the impact.
Why this is correct
Scrum allows the Developers to choose the format of the Daily Scrum as long as it focuses on progress toward the Sprint Goal and produces an actionable plan. For a distributed team, an asynchronous written format can reduce waiting and improve focus. The Scrum Master should encourage experimentation and help the team inspect and adapt based on the results, which is a core service to the team.
- ✗
Take over the Daily Scrum and ask each Developer to send a status report to the Scrum Master before the meeting.
Why it's wrong here
Taking over the event and requiring status reports undermines self-management and turns the Daily Scrum into a reporting session for the Scrum Master. The Developers own the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master's role is to coach the team to improve the event, not to control it. This approach would likely decrease engagement and ownership.
- ✗
Advise the team to cancel the Daily Scrum and instead rely on their sprint backlog tool for updates.
Why it's wrong here
Canceling the Daily Scrum is not appropriate because it is a key inspect-and-adapt event. While tools can provide transparency, they do not replace the collaborative planning and adaptation that occurs in the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master should help the team find a format that works for them, not eliminate the event. Removing it would reduce the team's ability to coordinate daily.
- ✗
Require all Developers to attend a video conference Daily Scrum at a fixed time, regardless of their time zone.
Why it's wrong here
Mandating a fixed time that is inconvenient for some team members can increase frustration and reduce participation. While synchronous communication can be valuable, forcing it without considering time zones is not servant-leadership. The Scrum Master should facilitate a team decision, not impose a solution. The team should self-manage the format and timing of the Daily Scrum.
Visual reference
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.