Prepare for the Scrum Alliance Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) exam with these test questions and answers. This covers the Scrum framework, agile principles, and team facilitation.
Q: By the end of a Sprint, the Product Increment must be “Potentially Release-able”. Which answer best describes “Potentially Release-able” in this context?a) All PBIs for a release must be in the product increment before it can be releasedb) The increment is NOT “Potentially Release-able” until the Product Owner confirms it isc) By the end of the SPRINT, the increment must be in a usable condition and confirm to the team’s Definition of DONEd) We must meet the minimum Viable Product specification before the increment is “Potentially Release-able”
Answer: c) By the end of the SPRINT, the increment must be in a usable condition and confirm to the team’s Definition of DONE
Q: At what frequency should the Sprint Review occur during the Sprint?a) After each PBI reaches a “Potentially Release-able” stateb) One time and at the end of the SPRINTc) After each Daily SCRUMd) Whenever the stakeholders have time
Answer: b) One time and at the end of the SPRINT
Q: How would you educate your organization on the reason why we want to limit our Dev Team size to 9 or below?a) Because the Scrum Guide says sob) Too many items would be in progress at a given time (eroding our WIP limits)c) The larger team size creates too much complexity and communication patterns for empiricismd) Too many people in meetings make the meeting go longer, thus is waste
Answer: c) The larger team size creates too much complexity and communication patterns for empiricism
Q: In Scrum, roles and responsibilities are provided and designed with tension built in between the roles. What is a significant responsibility of the Scrum Master?a) Encourage the team and organization to experiment with new ways of workingb) Provide the estimates for the team to minimize the amount of meetingsc) Manage/maintain all of the tools the team has chosen so they can focus on building the productd) Assign tasks to the Dev Team each day based on their availability and skill
Answer: a) Encourage the team and organization to experiment with new ways of working
Q: A team member’s MacBook Pro failed to power on this morning. The ScrumMaster provided the team member with a spare machine and scheduled time to go to the Apple Store to handle the repair of the computer. What characteristic is the ScrumMaster exuding?a) Project Managerb) Authoritarianc) Disciplinariand) Servant-leadership
Answer: d) Servant-leadership
Q: Which of the following is a required attribute of a Product Backlog Item?a) Ownerb) Estimatec) Release-dated) Theme
Answer: b) Estimate
Q: In Scrum, the appropriate Dev Team size is ..a) 5b) 9-11c) 3-9d) 3-5
Answer: c) 3-9
Q: There are 5 values described in Scrum. Which value must the team demonstrate during the Sprint?a) Commitmentb) Alignmentc) Build-in-Qualityd) Transparency
Answer: a) Commitment
Q: Part of completing work for a Sprint requires planning for that work. When should this planning take place for the Sprint?a) Each EPIC, in Product Backlog Refinementb) Once, in Product Backlog Refinementc) During roadmap planning for the quarterd) One Sprint at a time; in Sprint Planning
Answer: d) One Sprint at a time; in Sprint Planning
Q: The Dev Team should dedicate what amount of time each Sprint for refining the Product Backlog?a) 15% of our entire team capacityb) As much time as needed, but only for the Architect and Designersc) No more than 10% of our entire team capacityd) 20% of our capacity per quarter
Answer: c) No more than 10% of our entire team capacity
Q: In the Sprint Retrospective, we are providing transparency to and inspecting and adapting the…a) Product Incrementb) Sprint Backlogc) People and Processesd) Product Backlog
Answer: c) People and Processes
Q: When should the team conduct the Sprint Retrospective?a) After the Sprint Review and prior to the next Sprint Planningb) Before the Sprint Reviewc) After each Daily Scrumd) At the beginning of the next Sprint
Answer: a) After the Sprint Review and prior to the next Sprint Planning
Q: Out of the 5 values of Scrum, which one is best demonstrated by a Product Owner answering the Dev Team’s question with “I don’t know”?a) Focusb) Respectc) Opennessd) Courage
Answer: d) Courage
Q: Which of the following is an artifact of Scrum?a) Definition of DONEb) Product Backlogc) Release Burn-down Chartd) Sprint Goal
Answer: b) Product Backlog
Q: Out of the following activities, which one describes the main responsibility of a Product Owner?a) Define a solution based on the market needsb) Manage the Scrum Teamc) Clearly expressing the Product Backlogd) Write Product Backlog items for the Dev Team
Answer: c) Clearly expressing the Product Backlog
Q: Out of the following activities, which one describes the main responsibility of a ScrumMaster?a) Remove impediments for the teamb) Manage the Scrum Teamc) Ensure the Product Backlog is well understoodd) Ensure the stakeholders understand the release plan
Answer: a) Remove impediments for the team
Q: Which of the following is not an activity of Product Backlog Refinement?a) Estimating the Product Backlogb) Creating the Sprint Backlogc) Clearly expressing the Product Backlog Items and their orderd) Breaking the Product Backlog Item down into smaller items
Answer: b) Creating the Sprint Backlog
Q: Which Scrum Role is responsible to teach, facilitate, mentor, and coach the organization on its Scrum adoption?a) Agile Coachb) Product Ownerc) Managementd) Scrum Master
Answer: d) Scrum Master
Q: Which Scrum Role is responsible for assigning work from Sprint Backlog?a) Scrum Masterb) Dev Teamc) Product Ownerd) Team Leader
Answer: b) Dev Team
Q: The ScrumMaster is responsible for ensuring that the artifacts of Scrum are completely transparent to…a) Customersb) The Scrum Team and their stakeholdersc) Management Teamd) Program Manager
Answer: b) The Scrum Team and their stakeholders
Q: When the Scrum Team determines that a Product Backlog Item is Done, what best describes what Done means?a) All tests have been passedb) The item has been successfully deployed to productionc) The stakeholders have approved the teamd) The item meets the Scrum Team’s Definition of DONE
Answer: d) The item meets the Scrum Team’s Definition of DONE
Q: If the Dev Team is working on a set of Product Backlog Items that become unnecessary or no longer valuable, what is the best recommendation from the ScrumMaster?a) The Product Owner terminate the Sprint and Dev Team re-planb) Continue working on them since the Sprint Goal should not change duringc) The Dev Team should cancel the work and pull in new work at their discretion and abilityd) Move to a defined process to ensure we understand fully what to work on prior to wasting the Dev Team’s time
Answer: a) The Product Owner terminate the Sprint and Dev Team re-plan
Q: Of the following activities, which one best described how the ScrumMaster can ensure the Dev Team is working effectively?a) Facilitate Scrum meetingsb) Coach the team in self-organization and cross-functionalityc) Conduct one-on-one performance review sessions with each team memberd) Assign work to the team-members to ensure full resource utilization
Answer: b) Coach the team in self-organization and cross-functionality
Q: Who is responsible for prioritizing the Product Backlog?a) Dev Team based on their utilization and skill-setb) Scrum Master to ensure proper resource allocationc) Management since they are responsible for the delivery of the productd) Product Owner
Answer: d) Product Owner
Q: The product that is built and delivered in pieces is known as?a) Spiralb) the Rational Unified Process (RUP)c) a stage-gate processd) an incremental process
Answer: d) an incremental process
Q: There are 5 values described in Scrum. Which value is best demonstrated when a team decides to complete a task before moving on to another one?a) Focusb) Respectc) Couraged) Commitment
Answer: a) Focus
Q: Which tactic by a ScrumMaster would best seek to build consensus within the team for a decision?a) Facilitatingb) Mentoringc) Coachingd) Teaching
Answer: a) Facilitating