CSM Service to the Scrum Team Practice Question
A Scrum Team is struggling to meet its Sprint Goal because external dependencies from a shared QA team continually block their progress mid-sprint. What is the most effective action for the Scrum Master?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often focus on the team 'trying harder' or 'working longer,' failing to recognize that external dependencies require structural organizational intervention by the Scrum Master.
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
✓
Collaborate with the teams involved to make the workflow bottlenecks visible and establish cross-functional alignment.
The Scrum Master serves the wider organization by removing organizational impediments that hinder team progress. By engaging stakeholders and helping visualize systemic bottlenecks across value streams, the Scrum Master protects the team's focus and drives structural improvements. This ensures sustainable flow and prevents burnout caused by external operational dependencies outside the direct control of the developers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Adjust the Definition of Done to exclude QA validation so items can be marked as complete by the end of the Sprint.
Why it's wrong here
Lowering the Definition of Done hides the dependency rather than removing it, shipping unvalidated increments and eroding the transparency Scrum depends on. It appeals because the team controls the Definition of Done, so amending it looks like a quick unblock; that lever is legitimate only when the team genuinely owns quality standards, not to bypass an external gate.
- ✗
Advise the Product Owner to stop accepting items that require shared QA testing until the next release cycle.
Why it's wrong here
Refusing QA-dependent items starves the Product Owner of value and merely postpones the dependency instead of resolving it. It appeals as a protective buffer for the Sprint Goal, but ordering the Product Backlog is the Product Owner's prerogative; the Scrum Master's role is to raise and remove the organisational impediment, not restrict scope selection.
- ✓
Collaborate with the teams involved to make the workflow bottlenecks visible and establish cross-functional alignment.
Why this is correct
Making the dependency bottleneck visible lets both teams see the blockage and agree on shared flow, directly addressing the mid-sprint external QA constraint. Cross-functional alignment reduces handoff delays rather than escalating or absorbing the work inside the Scrum Team.
- ✗
Personally test all backlog items during the Sprint to ensure they meet quality expectations before the review.
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Master testing items personally substitutes for the Developers' own quality ownership and does not remove the shared-QA bottleneck blocking the Sprint Goal. It tempts because hands-on help feels supportive, yet a Scrum Master serving the team coaches self-management and impediment removal, not performing the Developers' verification work.
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.