CSM Scrum Team Roles and Accountabilities Practice Question
What is the primary role of the Scrum Master during the Sprint Planning event?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think the Scrum Master is responsible for the actual planning or task breakdown, confusing the role of facilitator with that of a team member.
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
✓
Facilitating the event and ensuring it stays within the timebox.
The Scrum Master ensures that the Sprint Planning event takes place and that its purpose is understood. They facilitate the process, ensuring the team stays within the timebox and focuses on defining the Sprint Goal and the plan for the Sprint. This keeps the team focused and ensures that planning is efficient, collaborative, and grounded in the Scrum framework's values.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Assigning tasks to the Developers.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning tasks is a command-and-control behavior that violates the self-management principle of Scrum. Developers are responsible for their own task planning and distribution. The Scrum Master's role is to facilitate the planning process, not to dictate how the work should be broken down or assigned.
- ✓
Facilitating the event and ensuring it stays within the timebox.
Why this is correct
Facilitation is the core duty of the Scrum Master during events. By managing the timebox and keeping the discussion focused, they ensure that the team produces a meaningful Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal without the meeting dragging on, which helps maintain high team morale and efficiency.
- ✗
Defining the Sprint Goal for the team.
Why it's wrong here
The team as a whole, specifically the Product Owner and Developers, defines the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master is a facilitator, not a creator of product goals. Dictating the goal would remove the team's commitment to the work, as they would not feel ownership of the objective.
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Writing the user stories for the backlog.
Why it's wrong here
Writing stories is the responsibility of the Product Owner and the Developers. The Scrum Master should not be involved in the creation of product backlog content. This ensures the Scrum Master remains neutral and focused on the process, rather than influencing the product decisions and backlog priorities.
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.