CSM Service to the Scrum Team Practice Question
Exhibit
log_output: {
"timestamp": "2023-10-12T10:00:00Z",
"event": "Daily_Scrum",
"attendance": "PO_absent",
"facilitator": "SM",
"status": "productive"
}Refer to the exhibit. The Product Owner was absent from the Daily Scrum. How should the Scrum Master evaluate this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume the Product Owner must attend every Daily Scrum to maintain alignment, failing to remember the event belongs exclusively to the Developers.
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
✓
As long as the Developers successfully sync their progress, the absence is acceptable.
The Daily Scrum is for the Developers to plan their work for the next 24 hours. While the Product Owner is welcome, their presence is not required unless they have items on the Sprint Backlog they are actively working on. The Scrum Master should ensure the Developers had the autonomy and information they needed to complete their synchronization effectively without the Product Owner, keeping the event focused on its primary purpose of developer alignment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The event was a failure because the Product Owner must attend every meeting.
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Guide does not mandate the Product Owner's attendance at the Daily Scrum. If the Developers can effectively synchronize and plan their work, the event is successful. Stating it was a failure ignores the goal of the meeting and incorrectly applies rules not found within the Scrum framework itself.
- ✗
The Scrum Master should report the Product Owner for missing the required event.
Why it's wrong here
There is no requirement to report the Product Owner. The Scrum Master should focus on whether the team was able to achieve the purpose of the Daily Scrum. Reporting someone for a non-violation creates unnecessary conflict and demonstrates a misunderstanding of the actual requirements and accountabilities described in the Scrum Guide.
- ✓
As long as the Developers successfully sync their progress, the absence is acceptable.
Why this is correct
The Daily Scrum's purpose is for the Developers to sync and plan. Their success in this is the ultimate measure of the event's effectiveness. Since the developers met their goal, the absence did not hinder the team's progress or the fulfillment of the meeting's core objective, making the outcome a success.
- ✗
The Scrum Master should cancel the meeting if the Product Owner cannot attend.
Why it's wrong here
Canceling the meeting prevents the Developers from coordinating their work. The Developers are the ones who need to synchronize, not the Product Owner. Canceling the meeting based on the Product Owner's absence would be a significant disservice to the Developers, who rely on the event for their daily planning activities.
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.