Practice for the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) exam with 18 exam-style practice questions, instant answer reveals, and concise explanations of every correct answer. Topics include: The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:
- How does the Scrum Master serve the Scrum Team? Select the three most appropriate answers.
- What is the maximum length of the Sprint Planning in a project with three-week Sprints?
- The Developers are always accountable for:
- What is the result of the Sprint Review?
- Who defines the Definition of Done?
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. The Scrum Master serves the organization in several ways, including:
Answer: A,D,E. Planning and advising Scrum implementations within the organization || Leading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption || Removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams
Serving the organization involves leading its Scrum adoption, planning implementations, and removing stakeaker barriers. Options about managing the Product Backlog or defining the Product Goal belong exclusively to the Product Owner.
Q2. How does the Scrum Master serve the Scrum Team? Select the three most appropriate answers.
Answer: A,C,E. Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox || Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done || Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality
The Scrum Master serves the team by ensuring events are productive and timeboxed, helping focus on high-value increments, and coaching self-management. Remember that finding techniques for Product Backlog management is how the Scrum Master serves the Product Owner, not the entire Scrum Team.
Q3. What is the maximum length of the Sprint Planning in a project with three-week Sprints?
Answer: D. 8 hours
Sprint Planning has an absolute maximum timebox of eight hours regardless of the Sprint length. For shorter Sprints, the event is usually shorter, but the official maximum cap does not scale down proportionally with a three-week duration.
Q4. The Developers are always accountable for:
Answer: C. Adapting their plan each day toward the Sprint Goal
Developers are accountable for adapting their daily plan toward the Sprint Goal. The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog and communicates the Product Goal, while the Scrum Master ensures the events themselves take place and remain productive.
Q5. What is the result of the Sprint Review?
Answer: A. A revised Product Backlog that defines the probable Product Backlog items for the next Sprint
The Sprint Review yields a revised Product Backlog defining probable items for the next Sprint. Do not confuse this with the Retrospective, which outputs actionable improvements, or Sprint Planning, which produces the Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog.
Q6. Who defines the Definition of Done?
Answer: B. Scrum Team
If the organization does not provide one, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product. Watch out for Developers, because while they must conform to it, the entire team owns its creation.
Q7. What happens during the Sprint? Select three answers.
Answer: B,C,E. No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal || Quality goals do not decrease || Scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned
During a Sprint, quality goals remain constant while scope can be clarified as teams learn more. Avoid options claiming the Sprint Goal changes frequently or scope is permanently locked, as those violate empirical process rules.
Q8. What are the three pillars that uphold Scrum?
Answer: B,E,F. Transparency || Adaptation || Inspection
Scrum is founded on the empirical pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. The other choices, like cross-functionality and agility, are valuable traits but are not the required pillars.
Q9. The Scrum Team consists of:
Answer: A,C,D. The Developers || The Scrum Master || The Product Owner
The Scrum Team consists of one Product Owner, the Developers, and a Scrum Master. Stakeholders are vital for providing input during the Sprint Review, but they remain outside the actual Scrum Team structure because they do not hold core accountabilities.
Q10. How is the Product Backlog ordered?
Answer: E. Whatever seems the best to the Product Owner.
The Product Owner is accountable for the Product Backlog and may order it using whatever method seems best to maximize value. Story points, risk levels, or functional categories might be considered, but the final ordering strictly remains the Product Owner's call.
Q11. Who assigns tasks to the Developers?
Answer: D. Developers themselves
Developers are self-managing, meaning they decide among themselves how to turn Product Backlog items into a Done Increment. Scrum explicitly removes the project manager role, so no external authority is allowed to assign daily tasks to the Developers.
Q12. Scrum is best described as a:
Answer: A. Framework for developing and sustaining complex products
Scrum is a framework for developing and sustaining complex products. A practical exam cue is to avoid choosing options that narrowly label Scrum as a software methodology or a rigid process.
Q13. Which of the following is a valid service from the Scrum Master to the Product Owner?
Answer: A. Helping the Product Owner find techniques for managing the Product Backlog.
The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping find techniques for effective Product Backlog management. Avoid options where the Scrum Master orders the backlog or acts as a proxy or middleman, which violates Scrum accountabilities.
Q14. In which event are key stakeholders allowed to participate?
Answer: C. The Sprint Review
Key stakeholders participate in the Sprint Review to inspect the Increment and collaborate on future adaptations. For other events, remember the core Scrum Team generally attends privately to maintain focus.
Q15. What is the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective? (Choose three)
Answer: A,B,C. Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools || Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements || Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work
The Retrospective inspects the past Sprint, identifies improvements, and creates an action plan. Avoid options involving stakeholders or outside specialists, because this event is strictly for internal Scrum Team reflection.
Q16. Product Backlog Refinement… Select the two most applicable sentence endings.
Answer: B,E. Is the act of adding detail, estimates, and order to Product Backlog items || Is an ongoing process
Product Backlog refinement is an ongoing activity where the team adds detail, estimates, and order to upcoming items. Avoid options that assign rigid frequencies or timeboxes to refinement, as Scrum intentionally leaves the duration and frequency open to the team's needs.
Q17. As a Product Owner, which of the following would be a valid focus? (choose the two best answers)
Answer: A,B. Ensuring the project and release status is transparent to customers and stakeholders. || Frequently work with customers and stakeholders in identifying potential work that could deliver the most value.
A Product Owner focuses on stakeholder collaboration to identify valuable work and ensuring project status remains highly transparent. Avoid options enforcing mandatory formats like User Stories, as Scrum explicitly allows any format for Product Backlog items.
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