Gear up for success in the Scrum master certification exam with these challenging questions and answers. Achieving certification as a Scrum master demands a deep understanding of the Scrum Guide’s nuances and application principles, with a daunting pass threshold of 85%.
Explore 10 of the most challenging exam questions, covering topics beyond the Scrum Guide’s explicit content. From product integration to stakeholder communication, these questions delve into critical aspects of team dynamics and active adaptation.
While these questions may pose difficulties, there’s a straightforward trick to enhance your chances of success. After tackling these questions, unlock the secret to navigating the exam with confidence, potentially elevating your score from passing to perfection.
Embark on your journey toward Scrum mastery by conquering these 10 rigorous exam questions.
Table of Contents
Question 1
Scrum is a proven and complete software development process.
A. True.
B. False.
Answer
B. False.
Explanation
This is false for three reasons:
- Scrum is not a process or a methodology. Scrum is a lightweight framework.
- Scrum can be used to develop any product, not just a software product.
- Scrum self-describes as an incomplete framework.
This is explained in the Scrum Guide: Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. The Scrum framework is purposefully incomplete.
Question 2
Which of the following statements are true about the Scrum master role?
A. The Scrum master cannot be one of the developers on the team.
B. The Scrum master cannot also be the team’s product owner.
C. The Scrum master cannot be one of the product’s stakeholder.
D. The Scrum master can be a stakeholder and a developer at the same time.
Answer
D. The Scrum master can be a stakeholder and a developer at the same time.
Explanation
Option D is correct.
There are no rules in the Scrum Guide that say a person cannot take on multiple roles or accountabilities at the same time. In fact, in small startups it’s not uncommon for the Scrum master to also be a stakeholder while also helping with development. Furthermore, if the product owner got sick, that person might even take on product owner accountabilities temporarily as well.
The only guidance the Scrum Guide provides about a Scrum master or product owner assuming development responsibilities to help build a product is that if so, they must participate in the daily Scrum as a developer: If the Product Owner or Scrum Master are actively working on items in the Sprint Backlog, they participate [in the Daily Scrum] as Developers.
Question 3
The Scrum team is assembled, but the IT department has been slow to provision resources like laptops, software, build tools and test environments. The team does not want to start the first sprint next week given the lack of preparedness. How would you as the Scrum master recommend the team proceed?
A. Explain to the organization that Sprint 0 exists to allow the team to get prepared for development.
B. Ask the team to work toward the development of a small, valuable increment despite the lack of preparedness.
C. Declare this an infrastructure sprint where developers simply configure their tools and software.
D.Delay the start of the sprint until the organization can properly provision the required tools and infrastructure.
Answer
B. Ask the team to work toward the development of a small, valuable increment despite the lack of preparedness.
Explanation
Option B is correct.
There is no such thing as an infrastructure sprint or a Sprint 0 in Scrum.
Every sprint must attempt to develop an increment of value that will be part of the final product.
No organization is ever sufficiently prepared to begin development. If Scrum teams wait for all their required tools to be provisioned and available before they started to work, it’s unlikely that any work will get done.
Question 4
A developer has completed a feature that, when integrated into the codebase, will create a valuable and usable increment. Completion of the sprint goal depends upon it. When should the developer integrate their work into the product?
A. During the daily Scrum, after achieving consensus with the other developers.
B. After the development sprint finishes with the consent of the Scrum master.
C. Immediately so long as the work meets the team’s definition of done.
D. During the sprint review so stakeholders can witness the integration.
Answer
C. Immediately so long as the work meets the team’s definition of done.
Explanation
Option C is correct.
If a developer completes any work that meets the definition of done, immediately integrate that work into the product. In fact, a developer doesn’t need anyone’s permission to integrate their work into the product. Integration, and ensuring that work does indeed integrate, is essential. If the work cannot be integrated into the product being built, it is not useful and it does not create a valid increment.
If a piece of work is complete and can be successfully integrated into the final product, it should be integrated immediately. Waiting serves no purpose and contradicts Scrum’s adherence to lean thinking.
Question 5
A developer has identified a troublesome and worrying security vulnerability in the codebase and has asked you, the Scrum master, what to do about it. Which of the following actions do you instruct the developer to take?
A. Make this issue a top priority item in tomorrow’s daily Scrum.
B. Discuss the issue with the product owner and plan to fix the issue in the next sprint.
C. Discuss the issue with other developers right away.
D. Raise the issue as a priority item during the next sprint planning meeting.
Answer
C. Discuss the issue with other developers right away.
Explanation
Option C is correct.
A serious security flaw in the codebase should be raised immediately with the development team.
Scrum provides a number of events, such as the daily Scrum and the sprint retrospective, to encourage discussion. However, these events should never preclude pragmatic or essential discussions between members of the team.
If an emergency arises, address it immediately. Don’t wait for a scheduled Scrum event to adapt to changing conditions.
Question 6
Under which circumstance are developers allowed to discuss product development directly with stakeholders?
A. Developers can speak directly with stakeholders during the sprint retrospective.
B. Developers can speak directly with stakeholders so long as the product owner is present.
C. Developers can speak directly with stakeholders with permission from the Scrum master.
D. Developers are not allowed to speak directly with stakeholders.
E. Developers can speak directly with stakeholders at any time.
Answer
E. Developers can speak directly with stakeholders at any time.
Explanation
Option E is correct.
There are no rules in Scrum that restricts when a developer can talk to a stakeholder.
One of the Scrum pillars is transparency. One of the Scrum values is openness. What does it say about an organization’s transparency and openness if it restricts when a developer can talk to a stakeholder?
The product owner is responsible to speak with stakeholders and discover which features and functionality they value most.
However, there is nothing in the Scrum Guide that restricts discussions with developers about the sprint backlog, product backlog, sprint goal or anything else. In fact, Scrum encourages them.
Question 7
Human Resources has just hired the three new programmers that are required to sustain development progress. However, these programmers have arrived right in the middle of a four-week sprint.
As the Scrum master, when do you advise these programmers to join the development effort?
A. At the moment they arrive.
B. At the end of the current sprint, but before the next sprint begins.
C. At the following day’s daily Scrum.
D. During the next sprint planning event.
Answer
A. At the moment they arrive.
Explanation
Option A is correct.
If your project needs programmers to assist in the development effort, why would you wait even one minute to add them to the team and get them contributing to the development effort?
Note that there is no delay in Scrum between the time when one sprint ends and the next sprint begins. When one sprint ends, the next sprint starts immediately.
Question 8
You have a well-functioning team of four developers. What impact will the addition of three new developers likely have on the existing team members’ productivity?
A. Individual productivity will increase permanently.
B. Individual productivity will increase over the short term.
C. Individual productivity will decrease permanently.
D. Individual productivity will decrease over the short term.
Answer
D. Individual productivity will decrease over the short term.
Explanation
The onboarding process of new team members often pulls existing developers away from their normal routines. They spend time with new developers to explain the product, help them connect to GitHub, set up a printer and even find the restroom.
In the long run, individual productivity should go back to normal, but in the short term it will decrease.
Question 9
Developers are frustrated because peripheral tasks including quality control, user acceptance testing and documentation take away from their core development efforts, and subsequently put the project’s progress at risk.
How would you advise the team to move forward?
A. Instruct the Scrum team to create a subteam dedicated to QA, UAT testing and documentation.
B. Tell the Scrum team to outsource QA, UAT and documentation to a third party.
C. Have the product owner remove quality control, testing and documentation from the definition of done.
D. Advise the Scrum team that they are responsible for all aspects of delivering a product increment.
Answer
D. Advise the Scrum team that they are responsible for all aspects of delivering a product increment.
Explanation
Option D is correct.
There are no subteams in Scrum, nor are there any hierarchies of developers.
The Scrum Guide is clear about this: Within a Scrum Team, there are no sub-teams or hierarchies. It is a cohesive unit of professionals.
If a backlog item requires documentation, or the definition of done requires a set of user acceptance tests (UATs), then it’s up to the individual development team members to complete those tasks.
The developers of the Scrum team are responsible for the end-to-end development of all features in the product backlog. This includes full compliance to any non-functional requirements that the definition of done demands.
Question 10
Unforeseen circumstances have reduced developer productivity, and halfway through the sprint it is clear that the sprint plan must change drastically for the team to achieve the sprint goal. What guidance would you, as the Scrum master, provide to the team?
A. Tell the developers to cancel the development sprint and start a new sprint planning session.
B. Instruct the developers to regroup and update the sprint plan as soon as possible.
C. Advise the developers to dedicate time during the next daily Scrum to update the sprint goal.
D. Tell the developers the sprint plan cannot change, and they must continue to work as planned toward the sprint goal.
Answer
B. Instruct the developers to regroup and update the sprint plan as soon as possible.
Explanation
Option B is correct.
If circumstances change and the developers must update their plan, they should do it immediately.
During the sprint, the sprint goal cannot change, nor can the Scrum master or developers cancel a sprint on a whim.
They can change the sprint plan, however. In fact, they should update the plan throughout the sprint as conditions change and more is learned about the product they are developing.
Developers should not wait for a scheduled event such as the daily Scrum to adapt their plan if it’s necessary.
Here’s what the Scrum Guide says about this: The Daily Scrum is not the only time Developers are allowed to adjust their plan. They often meet throughout the day for more detailed discussions about adapting or re-planning.