CSM Scrum Events Practice Question
A Scrum Team is midway through a one-month Sprint when the Product Owner identifies a critical market shift that makes the current Sprint Goal obsolete. The Developers are split on the best response. The Scrum Master wants to ensure the team follows the Scrum framework. What is the most appropriate action?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming the Scrum Master or the Developers can cancel the Sprint, or that the Sprint Goal is fixed and cannot be abandoned mid-Sprint.
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
✓
Have the Product Owner cancel the Sprint and initiate a new Sprint Planning event to establish a new Sprint Goal.
The Product Owner is the sole authority to cancel a Sprint when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Canceling stops investment in work that no longer delivers value and allows the team to replan through a new Sprint Planning event. The Scrum Master facilitates the process but does not cancel the Sprint. Waiting until the Sprint Review or continuing as planned both ignore the empirical opportunity to adapt early.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Have the Product Owner cancel the Sprint and initiate a new Sprint Planning event to establish a new Sprint Goal.
Why this is correct
The Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Canceling allows the team to stop work that no longer delivers value and to replan. After cancellation, the team holds a Sprint Review to inspect the completed work and then a Sprint Retrospective, followed by Sprint Planning for a new Sprint. This aligns with Scrum's empirical approach.
- ✗
Wait until the Sprint Review to present the Increment and let stakeholders decide whether to change direction.
Why it's wrong here
Waiting until the Sprint Review delays adaptation and wastes remaining Sprint capacity on work that no longer delivers value. The Sprint Review is for inspecting the Increment and adapting the Product Backlog, but it is not the mechanism for addressing an obsolete Sprint Goal. The Product Owner can cancel the Sprint immediately when the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete, without waiting for the Review.
- ✗
Ask the Scrum Master to cancel the Sprint and immediately reassign the Developers to new tasks without a Sprint Planning event.
Why it's wrong here
Only the Product Owner can cancel a Sprint, not the Scrum Master. Additionally, skipping Sprint Planning would violate Scrum, as every Sprint begins with Sprint Planning to define the Sprint Goal and select Product Backlog items. Simply reassigning tasks without replanning would undermine transparency, inspection, and adaptation, and would not produce a coherent Sprint Goal.
- ✗
Continue the Sprint as planned because the Sprint Goal was agreed upon and cannot be changed mid-Sprint.
Why it's wrong here
This contradicts the Scrum principle of empiricism. The Sprint Goal provides focus but is not immutable when it becomes obsolete. Scrum explicitly allows the Product Owner to cancel a Sprint if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Continuing would waste resources and reduce the team's ability to deliver value, which is the opposite of what Scrum encourages.
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.