CSM Scrum Master Core Competencies Practice Question
During a Sprint Planning event, the Developers state they cannot commit to the Product Owner's high-priority items because technical debt is slowing down their delivery velocity. As a Scrum Master, how should you facilitate this situation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose to let the Product Owner unilaterally override the Developers or suggest that the Scrum Master mandate a fixed percentage of refactoring.
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
✓
Coach the Developers to articulate the business impact of the technical debt so the Product Owner can balance feature work with refactoring.
Facilitating a collaborative dialogue helps the Developers and Product Owner negotiate a realistic Sprint Backlog while balancing technical health. Product value and technical sustainability must coexist, and the Scrum Master guides the team to transparently forecast work without dictating technical solutions or bypassing the Product Owner's authority.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Instruct the Developers to accept the high-priority items and handle technical debt exclusively during weekend maintenance windows.
Why it's wrong here
Directing weekend work imposes overtime and treats technical debt as outside Sprint work, contradicting sustainable pace and the Developers' right to self-manage their Sprint Backlog. It is tempting because it preserves the planned feature scope, and would be correct only if the team had freely chosen that arrangement.
- ✓
Coach the Developers to articulate the business impact of the technical debt so the Product Owner can balance feature work with refactoring.
Why this is correct
Translating technical debt into business language enables the Product Owner to make informed economic trade-offs. The Scrum Master facilitates this transparency, ensuring the resulting Sprint Backlog reflects a sustainable commitment to both product value and technical health.
- ✗
Advise the Product Owner to remove all technical debt items from the Product Backlog to maintain absolute focus on customer features.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting technical debt from the Product Backlog removes transparency of known work and leaves the Product Owner unable to order it against features. It is tempting because feature focus appears to maximise customer value, and would be correct only if the debt were genuinely irrelevant to the product.
- ✗
Take over Sprint Planning by personally selecting the items that balance technical debt and features based on your own technical background.
Why it's wrong here
A Scrum Master selecting items replaces the Developers' self-management and the Product Owner's ordering authority, so the Sprint Goal is set by neither accountable party. It is tempting because technical background feels useful for balancing debt against features, and would be correct only if the Scrum Master also held the Developer role.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CSM question from scratch — 312 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.