CSM Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities Practice Question
In the Scrum framework, how should a team handle a conflict between two Developers regarding a technical approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think the Scrum Master should decide the technical approach or mediate every disagreement. This violates the principle of team self-management and slows down the team's progress.
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
✓
The Developers collaborate to reach a consensus or experiment to find the best solution.
The team should use self-management to resolve the conflict internally. Since the Developers are accountable for the technical quality of the Increment, they must decide the best approach. If they cannot resolve it, the Scrum Master can facilitate a session, but ultimately the team must own the decision. This fosters ownership and maturity, ensuring the team functions as a unified, collaborative unit rather than waiting for external instructions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the Product Owner to choose the better approach.
Why it's wrong here
The Product Owner is responsible for the 'what,' not the 'how.' Asking them to decide on technical approaches confuses roles and removes the technical responsibility from the Developers. This can lead to suboptimal technical decisions and reduces the Developers' sense of accountability for the quality of their work.
- ✗
The Scrum Master makes the final technical decision.
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Master is not a technical leader or team lead. Making the decision for the team prevents them from learning how to resolve conflicts and undermines their self-management. The Scrum Master should facilitate the discussion, not dictate the outcome or become a bottleneck for technical decisions.
- ✓
The Developers collaborate to reach a consensus or experiment to find the best solution.
Why this is correct
This approach honors the self-management of the team. By working together to reach a consensus, the Developers ensure that the chosen solution is understood and supported by the team. This improves quality and builds team cohesion, which is fundamental to the long-term success of any Scrum implementation.
- ✗
The team should vote, and the majority choice is implemented.
Why it's wrong here
Voting is a poor way to resolve technical disagreements because it ignores expertise and logic. It can lead to 'tyranny of the majority' and leave talented individuals feeling unheard. Scrum encourages consensus-based decision-making or data-driven experimentation over simple popularity contests to ensure the best technical path is chosen.
Visual reference
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.