CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Question
A team has decided to shorten their Sprint length to one week to increase feedback. What should the Scrum Master ensure the team considers?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often focus on the velocity or technical feasibility of the change, neglecting the administrative burden and event overhead that a shorter timebox imposes on the team.
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
✓
That they must maintain the effectiveness of all Scrum events within the new timebox.
Shortening the Sprint significantly increases the overhead of the Scrum events. The Scrum Master must ensure the team realizes that the events must be kept lean to fit within the new, tighter timebox. This is a critical competency because the Scrum Master needs to guide the team through the implications of process changes, ensuring they don't sacrifice the quality or the purpose of the events for the sake of speed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
That they can skip the Retrospective to save time.
Why it's wrong here
The Retrospective is essential for empirical process control and can never be skipped. If the Sprint is shorter, the Retrospective must be proportionally shorter but still occur. Skipping it would prevent the team from inspecting their process, which is even more critical when they are making a major change like this.
- ✓
That they must maintain the effectiveness of all Scrum events within the new timebox.
Why this is correct
Events are timeboxed for a reason. Shorter Sprints mean the team must become extremely efficient at planning, reviewing, and retrospective activities. The Scrum Master's guidance here is essential to ensure the team doesn't lose the value these events provide, even as the duration of the Sprint decreases significantly.
- ✗
That velocity will naturally double.
Why it's wrong here
There is no guarantee that shortening the Sprint will increase velocity; in fact, the overhead might initially reduce it. Assuming velocity will double is a dangerous, arbitrary assumption. The Scrum Master should help the team focus on value delivery rather than these kinds of speculative, inaccurate performance metrics.
- ✗
That they should stop using the Definition of Done.
Why it's wrong here
The Definition of Done is non-negotiable regardless of the Sprint length. Quality must remain consistent. If the team cannot produce an increment that meets the Definition of Done within a one-week Sprint, they should reconsider the Sprint length, rather than compromising the quality standards they have established for the product.
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.