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Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities

This domain covers the three Scrum accountabilities—Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers—and how they interact in events and artifacts. Questions present realistic scenarios from Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Review, and Retrospective, asking you to choose the action that preserves self-management, empiricism, and the Scrum Master's servant-leadership stance.

49 questions10 easy26 medium13 hard

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What this domain covers

What to know about Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities

You must map each scenario to the correct accountability and choose the action that preserves self-management and empiricism. The single most important thing: Developers own the Sprint Backlog, the Product Owner owns the Product Backlog, and the Scrum Master coaches rather than directs.

Identifying the Product Owner as accountable for Product Backlog ordering and stakeholder communication.

Recognizing Developers self-manage the Sprint Backlog and decide how to turn selected items into value.

Applying the Scrum Master's accountabilities: coaching, removing impediments, and teaching Scrum.

Choosing responses that uphold empiricism and avoid command-and-control or scope creep.

Watch out for

Common Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities exam traps

  • ▸Treating the Scrum Master as a project manager who assigns tasks or approves scope changes.
  • ▸Letting a stakeholder bypass the Product Owner and inject mid-Sprint work directly to Developers.
  • ▸Assuming the Product Owner can unilaterally change the Sprint Backlog after Sprint Planning.

Question index

All Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities questions (49)

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1

Refer to the exhibit. As a Scrum Master, what is your primary concern regarding the Scrum Team's effectiveness?

Medium
2

Which TWO of the following describe a responsibility of the Scrum Master regarding the Developers?

Hard
3

During a Sprint, a stakeholder approaches a Developer and asks them to add a small but urgent feature to the current Sprint Backlog. What is the most appropriate action for the Developer?

Medium
4

A new Developer joins the team and asks the Scrum Master to explain who is responsible for the final decisions on the product's release date. What should the Scrum Master say?

Hard
5

A Scrum Team is reviewing the accountabilities that belong to the Scrum Master. Which TWO of the following are Scrum Master accountabilities? (Choose two.)

Medium
6

If a Scrum Team finds that their Definition of Done is no longer sufficient to ensure quality, who is responsible for updating it?

Medium
7

In the Scrum framework, how should a team handle a conflict between two Developers regarding a technical approach?

Easy
8

A Product Owner is planning to attend a Sprint Retrospective to explain why the Sprint Goal was not met and to assign action items to the Developers. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Hard
9

A Scrum Team is preparing for its first Sprint. The Product Owner insists on attending every Daily Scrum to ensure the Developers stay aligned with business priorities. The Scrum Master wants to clarify the accountabilities defined in the Scrum Guide. Which TWO statements correctly describe the Scrum Master's accountability in this situation? (Choose two.)

Medium
10

Who is accountable for creating the Sprint Backlog?

Easy
11

Who is responsible for ensuring the Scrum Team adheres to the Scrum framework as defined in the Scrum Guide?

Easy
12

In the context of the Scrum Team, what is the best definition of 'self-managing'?

Medium
13

A Scrum Team is midway through a Sprint when a Developer realizes that a new library would significantly simplify a feature. The library is not mentioned in the Sprint Backlog. What should the Developer do?

Medium
14

A team has a Product Owner who is constantly absent and rarely provides feedback. What is the Scrum Master's best approach?

Medium
15

A Developer frequently misses the Daily Scrum to work on 'urgent' tasks assigned by a functional manager outside the Scrum Team. As the Scrum Master, what is your best course of action?

Hard
16

Who holds the final authority for determining the order of items within the Product Backlog in a Scrum environment?

Easy
17

During a Sprint Review, a key stakeholder expresses dissatisfaction with the Increment's functionality and demands that the Developers immediately start working on a new feature that was not in the Sprint Backlog. The Product Owner is present. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Hard
18

During Sprint Planning, the Product Owner demands that the Development Team commit to a specific set of items to meet a quarterly company milestone. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

Easy
19

A Scrum Master notices that the Developers have stopped attending the Daily Scrum because they feel it is just a status meeting for the manager. What should the Scrum Master do to help the team get value from the event?

Easy
20

Which of the following best describes the Product Owner's accountability for the Product Backlog?

Medium
21

Which of the following is true about the Scrum Master's role during the Sprint Retrospective?

Easy
22

A Scrum Master notices that the Developers and the Product Owner have conflicting views on the priority of technical debt versus new features. The Developers want to allocate 30% of each Sprint to refactoring, but the Product Owner insists on delivering only customer-facing features. The Scrum Master wants to help resolve this conflict. What is the most appropriate action?

Hard
23

During a Sprint, the Scrum Master notices that the Developers keep waiting for the Product Owner to assign tasks and resolve every technical disagreement. Which action best reflects the Scrum Master's accountability?

Hard
24

Refer to the exhibit. According to the Scrum Guide, which answer is correct?

Hard
25

A newly formed Scrum Team is clarifying who does what. The Developers ask who is accountable for creating a clear, ordered Product Backlog that maximizes the value the product delivers. Which accountability fits best?

Easy
26

Midway through a Sprint, a Developer identifies that a technical approach will not meet the Sprint Goal and proposes a different design. The Product Owner is concerned about scope but trusts the team. According to Scrum, how should this situation be handled?

Hard
27

Which TWO of the following are true about the Scrum Master's role?

Medium
28

Which THREE of the following are responsibilities that fall under the Scrum Master's accountability toward the Scrum Team?

Medium
29

A Scrum Team is preparing for its first Sprint. The organization asks who is accountable for establishing the Scrum Team's Definition of Done if the organization has no existing standard. Who should create it?

Easy
30

A Scrum Team has two Product Owners to handle the complex, multi-departmental product. What is the most common issue this creates regarding Scrum accountability?

Hard
31

During a Sprint, a stakeholder approaches a developer directly and asks for a small urgent modification to a user story currently in progress. What is the most appropriate action for the developer to take?

Medium
32

What is the primary role of the Scrum Master during the Sprint Planning event?

Easy
33

Which TWO of the following are considered accountabilities of the Developers in a Scrum Team?

Medium
34

Refer to the exhibit. What does this reveal about the team's structure and role expectations?

Hard
35

A Scrum Team has members in three different time zones. The Product Owner is in a time zone that makes synchronous collaboration during the Daily Scrum impossible. What is the most Scrum-appropriate solution?

Hard
36

A Development Team member consistently interrupts fellow developers during Daily Scrums and pushes technical architectural changes without team consensus. What is the most appropriate Scrum Master response?

Medium
37

During a Sprint Planning event, the Developers realize they cannot deliver all selected Product Backlog items within the timebox due to a complex technical dependency. What is the most appropriate action for the Developers to take according to Scrum?

Medium
38

During the Sprint Retrospective, the team identifies that the Product Owner is consistently adding items to the Sprint Backlog mid-sprint. What is the correct way to address this?

Medium
39

An organization wants to adopt Scrum and asks who is responsible for helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact an empirical approach for complex work. Who serves this need?

Medium
40

A Scrum Team has grown to nine Developers, and the Scrum Master observes that the team is spending too much time coordinating and too little time delivering value. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Medium
41

A Scrum Team is struggling to deliver a potentially releasable Increment each Sprint because the Developers keep discovering integration issues late. The Scrum Master wants to help the team improve. According to Scrum, what is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Medium
42

A Product Owner is unavailable for three consecutive Sprints due to a medical emergency. Who is responsible for managing the Product Backlog during this absence?

Medium
43

Which THREE of the following are considered hallmarks of a 'self-managing' Scrum Team?

Medium
44

A senior stakeholder frequently approaches Developers during the Sprint to request 'minor' changes. What should the Developers do?

Medium
45

If a Scrum Team finds that their Scrum Master is absent, can they still hold their Scrum events?

Medium
46

Which TWO are responsibilities of the Developers during the Sprint?

Medium
47

A Scrum Team is struggling with a persistent lack of clarity about the scope of the Sprint. During the Sprint, Developers keep discovering work that was not discussed in Sprint Planning. Which accountability best addresses this by ensuring a clear Sprint Goal and a shared understanding of the work?

Medium
48

Which TWO of the following statements accurately describe the accountabilities of the Scrum Master regarding the Product Owner?

Hard
49

A Scrum Master joins a team where the Product Owner is also the line manager of several Developers. The Developers frequently wait for the Product Owner's approval before making technical decisions during the Sprint. What should the Scrum Master do first to address this?

Medium

Frequently asked questions

What does the Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities domain cover on the CSM exam?
You must map each scenario to the correct accountability and choose the action that preserves self-management and empiricism. The single most important thing: Developers own the Sprint Backlog, the Product Owner owns the Product Backlog, and the Scrum Master coaches rather than directs.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 49 Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities questions in the CSM question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.
scrum-alliance-csm SCRUM-ALLIANCE-CSM scrum team roles and accountabilities Practice Questions