Scrum Master

5 minutes 5 Questions

A Scrum Master is a professional responsible for ensuring that the team lives agile values and principles and follows the processes and practices that the team agreed they would use. The responsibilities of this role include clearing obstacles, establishing an environment where the team can be effe…

Guide: Scrum Master and its Importance in PSM I Scrum Kanban

What it is:
A scrum master is a role in the scrum framework, who guides and coaches the team to follow scrum practices properly. Their role is to ensure that the team works together smoothly, removes any impediments that the team may face, and shields the team from interruptions during the sprint.

Why it is important:
The scrum master is a key role that drives the team's productivity by facilitating communication, collaboration and constructive conflict. Being a servant-leader, a scrum master plays a pivotal role in creating high performing teams.

How it works:
The scrum master works closely with the product owner to define the product backlog and with the development team to monitor the progress of the sprints. They also conduct daily scrum meetings, retrospectives, and sprint planning sessions.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Scrum Master:
1. Understand the role of the scrum master: They are not team leaders or project managers but facilitators and coaches.
2. Grasp the concept of servant leadership: This is critical to the role of the scrum master. Scrum Master works to remove impediments and helps the team to become self-organizing.
3. Understand the scrum ceremonies: Have a clear idea about daily stand-ups, sprint reviews and sprint retrospectives, as the scrum master facilitates these.
4. Know the relationship between the scrum master and the product owner: One helps to maximize the value of the product whereas the other helps the team to deliver the product increment.
5. Stay updated on the SCRUM Guide: Though the questions are not directly from the guide, it is an excellent source to understand the framework better.

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PSM I - Scrum Master Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Scrum Master

Question 1

The Development Team is consistently missing their Sprint goals. As a Scrum Master, how should you address this issue?

Analyze the situation and work with the Development Team to identify potential improvements in their processes. Assign the blame to individual team members. Increase the Sprint duration to give the team more time to complete their tasks. Force the team to work overtime to complete the tasks. Request help from the organization's management. Reduce the team's workload by removing items from the Product Backlog.

Correct Answer: Analyze the situation and work with the Development Team to identify potential improvements in their processes.

Analyzing the situation and identifying the root causes of the issue helps the Development Team improve their processes and achieve their Sprint goals. A Scrum Master should support the team in continuous improvement and finding solutions.

Question 2

After the Sprint Planning, the Product Owner wants to revise the Sprint Goal due to new business demands. As a Scrum Master, what should you do?

Explain to the Product Owner that the Sprint Goal should not be changed once the Sprint has started, and these new requirements can be considered for the next Sprint. Ignore the Product Owner's request as it's not a high priority. Ask the Development Team to drop the current work and focus on the new demands. Agree with the Product Owner without consulting the Development Team.

Correct Answer: Explain to the Product Owner that the Sprint Goal should not be changed once the Sprint has started, and these new requirements can be considered for the next Sprint.

In the Scrum framework, the Sprint Goal gives direction and provides a cohesive objective for the work during a Sprint. Once the Sprint has started, the Sprint Goal should not be changed. Therefore, if the Product Owner wants to revise the Sprint Goal due to new business demands, as a Scrum Master, you should explain to the Product Owner that the Sprint Goal should not be changed after the Sprint has started. However, these new requirements can be considered for the next Sprint. The other options are not appropriate: Asking the Development Team to drop current work and focus on new demands would disrupt the ongoing Sprint. Ignoring the Product Owner's requirement because it's not a high priority doesn't conform to the Scrum principles of transparency and respect. Similarly, agreeing with the Product Owner without consulting the Development Team would undermine the Scrum values of openness and respect.

Question 3

The Product Owner is consistently changing requirements at the last minute, leading to scope creep. As a Scrum Master, how should you handle this situation?

Coordinate with the Product Owner to prioritize changes for future Sprints, ensuring current Sprint focuses remain undisturbed. Although this approach sounds feasible, it might not always prevent last-minute changes and overburden future Sprints. Educate the Product Owner about the importance of respecting the Sprint Goals and minimizing changes to the Sprint Backlog once the Sprint has started. Propose increasing the Sprint length to accommodate more changes and give the Product Owner more flexibility. Implement a buffer in the Sprint Planning for potential scope changes to avoid impacting the original commitments.

Correct Answer: Educate the Product Owner about the importance of respecting the Sprint Goals and minimizing changes to the Sprint Backlog once the Sprint has started.

While it might seem logical to propose adjustments to the Sprint length or implement buffers for changes, these approaches can lead to a misunderstanding of Scrum principles and dilute the focus on delivering the most valuable increments each Sprint. Educating the Product Owner on the importance of respecting the Sprint Goals and minimizing changes once the Sprint has started helps maintain the integrity of the Scrum process and ensures that the Development Team can focus on delivering value without distractions. The correct approach is about fostering an understanding of the Scrum framework's roles, events, and artifacts to ensure a balanced collaboration that respects each party's contributions and the overarching goal of the project.

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