Practice for the Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) exam with 17 exam-style practice questions, instant answer reveals, and concise explanations of every correct answer. Topics include: A cross-functional Scrum Team is defined as:. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- A cross-functional Scrum Team is defined as:
- Who is responsible for tracking the total work remaining in the Sprint Backlog to project the likelihood of a…
- Who participates in the Sprint Planning? (Select three)
- Kevin is a senior developer who has recently joined an existing Scrum Team. The existing team members cannot…
- What should Developers do if they don't understand a functional requirement?
- How frequently should the Product Owner communicate and reiterate his product vision to the Scrum Team and th…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. A cross-functional Scrum Team is defined as:
Answer: D. Cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint. They are also self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how.
A cross-functional Scrum Team possesses all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint and is self-managing. A practical exam cue is that traditional titles and functional managers do not exist within a self-managing Scrum Team.
Q2. Who is responsible for tracking the total work remaining in the Sprint Backlog to project the likelihood of achieving the Sprint Goal?
Answer: D. The Developers
The Developers are responsible for tracking the total work remaining in the Sprint Backlog to project the likelihood of achieving the Sprint Goal. A practical exam cue is that the Developers own the Sprint Backlog completely.
Q3. Who participates in the Sprint Planning? (Select three)
Answer: C,D,E. The Developers || The Product Owner || The Scrum Master
The entire Scrum Team, which includes the Developers, the Product Owner, and the Scrum Master, collaborates during Sprint Planning. Outside managers or stakeholders do not participate in this core planning event unless explicitly invited by the team.
Q4. Kevin is a senior developer who has recently joined an existing Scrum Team. The existing team members cannot get along with Kevin and conclude that he does not fit their culture. If necessary, who is responsible for removing the new team m…
Answer: A. The Scrum Team as a whole is responsible as the Scrum Team is self-managed.
Scrum Teams are self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how. While the Scrum Master removes impediments, resolving team composition and membership issues rests entirely with the Scrum Team itself, not management or the Product Owner.
Q5. What should Developers do if they don't understand a functional requirement?
Answer: A. Work with the Product Owner to determine what is possible and acceptable.
Developers collaborate with the Product Owner to clarify functional requirements and determine what is acceptable. The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing value and clearly explaining backlog items so the team can build the right feature.
Q6. How frequently should the Product Owner communicate and reiterate his product vision to the Scrum Team and the Key Stakeholders?
Answer: B. Early and often
The Product Owner should communicate and reiterate the product vision early and often. Doing so ensures the Scrum Team and stakeholders maintain shared understanding and alignment, rather than limiting communication to a single event.
Q7. What are the responsibilities of the Developers of the Scrum Team?
Answer: A. Select the Product Backlog items for the Sprint and do the work planned in the Sprint Backlog.
Developers select items from the Product Backlog during Sprint Planning and do the work to create a usable increment. They do not decide product value or reorder the backlog, as those are Product Owner accountabilities.
Q8. Who has the vision of the product?
Answer: B. The Product Owner
The Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog to best achieve the overarching product vision. While others may have input, the Product Owner ultimately owns and communicates this strategic direction.
Q9. Which stakeholder is the most important for the Product Owner to satisfy?
Answer: A. The Product's users
The product's users are the most important stakeholders because the primary goal is delivering value to them. While internal stakeholders matter, focusing on user satisfaction ultimately drives the true business value.
Q10. What does the Cone of Uncertainty show?
Answer: C. How much is known about the Product over time
The Cone of Uncertainty illustrates how uncertainty decreases and knowledge increases over time as a product is developed. For the exam, remember that early estimates have high variance, which shrinks as details emerge.
Q11. During a Sprint Review, the stakeholders notice that the product development progress is not very visible and lacks transparency. Moreover, they don't understand the next steps. Who is responsible for this?
Answer: A. Scrum Team
The Scrum Team shares this accountability because the Sprint Review is a collaborative working session. Avoid blaming the Product Owner; current Scrum emphasizes that the entire team is responsible for stakeholder collaboration.
Q12. Who are the typical key stakeholders (select the 3 best options)?
Answer: A,B,E. The human people who actually use the product under development || The people responsible for paying to use the product || The people responsible for making the funding decisions for the product development effort
Key stakeholders typically include the end users, the people paying to use the product, and those making funding decisions. Avoid selecting the Scrum Team or marketing, since stakeholders are external to the development team.
Q13. An important executive wants the Developers to take in a highly critical feature in the current Sprint. The Developers:
Answer: B. Will ask the executive to work with the Product Owner
The correct answer works because the Product Owner is the sole person accountable for managing the Product Backlog. A practical exam cue is to always route priority changes through the Product Owner. Developers cannot be forced by outsiders to change their Sprint Backlog.
Q14. Which of the following statements is true? Select all that apply.
Answer: A,B. After the Sprint Planning, a sprint cannot proceed without a Sprint Goal || After the Sprint Planning, a sprint can proceed without a complete Sprint Backlog
A valid Sprint requires a Sprint Goal for focus, but it does not need a fully detailed Sprint Backlog. The Sprint Backlog emerges as the Developers learn. Avoid options demanding complete upfront architecture or specifications, as Scrum embraces emerging requirements.
Q15. A new Product Owner is hired to work on an existing product that has been ongoing for five Sprints. He/she is unsure about all of the responsibilities of a Product Owner. Which of these Product Owner activities are defined in Scrum?
Answer: A. Interacting with stakeholders and ensuring that the most valuable functionality is is always produced first.
Scrum mandates that the Product Owner interact with stakeholders and optimize value, leaving format choices to the team. Watch out for specific formatting traps like writing User Stories or Use Cases, which are not prescribed formalities in the official Scrum Guide.
Q16. Which factor(s) should be considered when defining the Sprint length?
Answer: A. The level of expertise over the technology to be used, ability to release an Increment to the end users, and the risk of being disconnected from the stakeholders.
Sprint length balances risk, technology uncertainty, and stakeholder feedback frequency. Shorter Sprints limit risk by allowing more inspection. Distractors focusing on team size or membership changes miss the core inspection and adaptation rhythm.
Q17. The Developers should have all the skills and competencies needed to:
Answer: B. Turn the Product Backlog items it selects into a potentially releasable product increment of functionality.
The Developers must possess all the skills needed to create a potentially releasable Increment each Sprint. Options involving handoffs or fixed estimates contradict empiricism and cross-functionality. Remember that creating a Done Increment is the primary development goal.
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