Scrum PSM I Exam Dumps & Practice Test Questions
Question No 1:
In the Scrum framework, the Sprint Backlog is a flexible document that evolves as the Sprint progresses. At what stage should new work items or further breakdowns of existing Product Backlog Items (PBIs) be incorporated into the Sprint Backlog, and who is accountable for updating it?
A. When the Product Owner identifies new tasks.
B. As soon as new tasks are identified or current items need further breakdown.
C. When the Scrum Master is available to enter the updates.
D. During the Daily Scrum, but only after the Development Team agrees to the changes.
Correct Answer: B. As soon as new tasks are identified or current items need further breakdown.
Explanation:
In Scrum, the Sprint Backlog is a dynamic and evolving artifact. As the Development Team gains insights throughout the Sprint, they may realize the need to break down existing tasks further or identify new work items. These changes should be made immediately after they are recognized to ensure the Sprint Backlog reflects the current state of the work. The responsibility for maintaining the Sprint Backlog falls solely on the Development Team, who are empowered to update it as needed throughout the Sprint. This flexibility allows them to respond to emerging insights while maintaining focus on the Sprint Goal.
Although the Product Owner can introduce new requirements and the Scrum Master can help with facilitation, it is the Development Team that owns and updates the Sprint Backlog. This allows them to continuously adapt the work plan to meet the Sprint Goal.
In conclusion, the Sprint Backlog should be updated promptly when new work or further decomposition is needed, ensuring that the team remains aligned and transparent about their progress.
Question No 2:
The Daily Scrum is a vital event in the Scrum process, ensuring transparency, progress tracking, and necessary adjustments to the Sprint Backlog.
What is the main role of the Scrum Master during the Daily Scrum, and how should they contribute to this meeting?
A. To collect status updates and progress metrics for stakeholders.
B. To document changes to the Sprint Backlog, such as task additions and track progress.
C. The Scrum Master doesn't need to attend but ensures the Development Team conducts the meeting.
D. To make sure every team member answers the three standard Daily Scrum questions.
Correct Answer: C. The Scrum Master doesn't need to attend but ensures the Development Team conducts the meeting.
Explanation:
The Daily Scrum is a time-boxed event where the Development Team inspects progress and plans their work for the next 24 hours. The Scrum Master is not required to attend the Daily Scrum, but they must ensure that the event takes place effectively and that the team adheres to the Scrum framework. The Scrum Master’s role is primarily to guide the team in understanding the purpose and structure of the meeting, ensuring it remains focused on the Sprint Goal.
Once the team is proficient in Scrum practices, the Scrum Master steps back to let the team manage the meeting independently. The event is designed to be team-driven, allowing the Development Team to discuss their progress and challenges collaboratively. The Scrum Master does not micromanage or enforce the answering of specific questions; instead, their presence should only be as a facilitator.
Thus, the Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to ensure the Daily Scrum occurs and serves its intended purpose of enabling the team to inspect and adapt.
Question No 3:
Your company is transitioning from a traditional software development model to Scrum. The organization currently has six component teams, each responsible for a specific layer of the system (e.g., front-end, back-end). Although Scrum recommends feature teams, you're considering starting with component teams to ease the transition.
What is the main benefit of initially retaining component teams during the Scrum adoption process?
A. There is less disruption than reorganizing into new teams. Over time, the teams will discover what works best and how to reorganize.
B. Component teams have the necessary skills to create a working software increment that delivers business value.
C. Since component teams have worked together for a while, they will be able to produce shippable increments more quickly than new feature teams.
D. There are fewer cross-team dependencies compared to working with feature teams.
Correct Answer: A. There is less disruption than reorganizing into new teams. Over time, the teams will discover what works best and how to reorganize.
Explanation:
When transitioning to Scrum, reorganizing the team structure is a significant change. Scrum encourages feature teams—cross-functional teams that can deliver complete, user-facing features. However, transitioning directly to feature teams can cause disruption. Component teams, with their specialized technical focus, are already established and have familiarity with their respective areas. By starting with these teams, the organization minimizes initial disruption while still adopting Scrum’s key principles.
Initially, retaining component teams allows the teams to adapt gradually to Scrum practices such as sprints, retrospectives, and daily stand-ups without overwhelming them with too many changes. Over time, the team will recognize challenges like cross-team dependencies and integration issues, which will naturally encourage the transition toward feature teams.
This incremental approach allows the organization to adapt more smoothly to Scrum’s evolving nature. Attempting to force the transition too quickly could result in frustration and inefficiencies. The gradual shift enables teams to find the most effective structure for their work over time.
In conclusion, the advantage of keeping component teams initially is that it helps ease the transition to Scrum, allowing teams to learn and adapt at their own pace, leading to better long-term results.
Question No 4:
In a large-scale Scrum setting, multiple Scrum Teams are collaborating on a single product and sharing one Product Backlog. Each team is cross-functional and delivers potentially shippable increments at the end of each Sprint.
When Sprint Planning begins, the challenge arises: How should each Scrum Team select Product Backlog Items (PBIs) from the shared backlog to ensure seamless collaboration, alignment, and effective progress towards the product goal?
What approach should be taken to address this situation?
A. The Scrum Team with the highest velocity selects Product Backlog items first.
B. Development Teams select work in collaboration with the Product Owner.
C. The Product Owner provides each team with their own separate Product Backlog.
D. Each Scrum Team selects an equal number of items.
E. The Product Owner decides which items each team selects.
Correct Answer: B. Development Teams select work in collaboration with the Product Owner.
Explanation:
In large-scale Scrum environments, where multiple Scrum Teams are working on the same product, it is critical to maintain a single Product Backlog. This ensures transparency and alignment towards a unified product goal. Scrum does not encourage splitting the Product Backlog across teams, as it risks creating silos and undermines the shared vision.
During Sprint Planning, each Scrum Team collaborates with the Product Owner to select the Product Backlog Items (PBIs) they can complete within the Sprint. The selection process is a pull system, where teams choose work based on their capacity and skills, in agreement with the Product Owner. This collaborative process ensures that teams align with the product's priorities and are fully aware of the overall objectives.
Option B accurately reflects this approach, as it encourages collaboration between the teams and the Product Owner. This fosters shared ownership and accountability, while enabling teams to bring their technical expertise and capacity into the decision-making process.
Other options are less effective for the following reasons:
A (velocity-based pulling) fosters unhealthy competition rather than collaboration.
C (separate Product Backlogs) breaks the principle of transparency and creates silos.
D (equal number of items) ignores differences in team capacity and skills, which could lead to imbalanced workloads.
E (Product Owner assigns work) turns Scrum into a command-and-control model, which goes against the self-managing nature of Scrum Teams.
In conclusion, the most effective method for selecting PBIs is through a collaborative process involving both the Development Teams and the Product Owner. This ensures alignment and accountability while supporting the team's autonomy.
Question No 5:
In a Scrum-based organization, stable team membership is often emphasized, as consistency in team composition generally enhances collaboration, communication, and performance over time. However, there are scenarios where team composition may need to change due to new skill requirements, personal changes, organizational restructuring, or scaling needs.
In this context, what is the most appropriate strategy for altering Scrum Team membership?
A. Make changes as needed, acknowledging a temporary reduction in productivity.
B. Never change team composition, as it always reduces productivity.
C. Change team membership as needed, without considering any productivity impact.
D. Rotate team members every Sprint to encourage shared learning.
Correct Answer: A. Make changes as needed, acknowledging a temporary reduction in productivity.
Explanation:
Scrum encourages team stability because it leads to improved collaboration, smoother workflows, and enhanced trust, all of which contribute to higher team performance. However, there are legitimate situations where changing team membership is necessary—such as when a team requires new skills, when people leave the organization, or during scaling efforts.
Option A strikes the right balance. It recognizes that team changes may be required and allows flexibility to adapt to evolving needs while understanding that changes can cause short-term dips in productivity. The transition period, when new members are integrated or teams are restructured, may temporarily affect team dynamics, but with proper management, the team can regain its momentum and strengthen in the long run.
Other options have limitations:
B (never changing teams) is overly rigid. While team stability is important, never allowing change can hinder adaptability and growth.
C (no consideration for productivity impact) is unrealistic because team changes often come with temporary setbacks.
D (rotating teams every Sprint) goes against the principle of team cohesion. Constantly changing the team composition prevents teams from building trust and improving their collaboration.
In summary, while maintaining stable team membership is ideal, strategic changes should be made when necessary, with an understanding that these changes can temporarily affect productivity. Over time, thoughtful changes can lead to stronger and more effective teams.
Question No 6:
In the Scrum framework, who holds the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that all team members complete their tasks during a Sprint?
A. The Project Manager
B. The Product Owner
C. The Scrum Master
D. The Scrum Team
E. All of the above
Correct Answer: D. The Scrum Team
Explanation:
In Scrum, responsibility for completing tasks during a Sprint is shared by the entire Scrum Team, rather than being assigned to any one individual. The framework promotes self-management, meaning that team members collectively own the Sprint Goal and are accountable for achieving it together.
Let’s look at the roles:
The Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog and ensuring it aligns with the product vision, but they do not track individual tasks during the Sprint.
The Scrum Master serves as a servant-leader, facilitating Scrum processes, removing impediments, and coaching the team. However, the Scrum Master does not enforce task completion.
The Project Manager is not a recognized role within Scrum, as traditional project management roles are replaced by the self-managing Scrum Team.
The Scrum Team includes the Developers, Scrum Master, and Product Owner. While the Developers are primarily responsible for the work, the entire team is accountable for achieving the Sprint Goal. During the Daily Scrum, the team assesses progress and adjusts their plans to ensure the goal is met.
Scrum’s principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation guide the team towards continuous improvement. Mutual accountability is key; each team member is expected to take ownership of their tasks and support others to ensure success.
Therefore, the correct answer is D—the Scrum Team as a whole is responsible for completing the work, ensuring that all tasks are accomplished during the Sprint.
Question No 7:
At which stage in the Scrum process should the Development Team revise the Definition of “Done” to reflect updated practices, tools, or quality standards?
A. During Sprint Planning
B. Before the start of a new Sprint
C. During the Sprint Retrospective
D. Before beginning a new project
Correct Answer: C. During the Sprint Retrospective
Explanation:
In Scrum, the Definition of "Done" is an essential artifact that ensures all team members have a shared understanding of what constitutes a completed task. It typically includes all necessary activities such as coding, testing, documentation, and other activities that lead to a potentially shippable product increment.
The most suitable time for the Development Team to update or refine the Definition of Done is during the Sprint Retrospective. This event provides a structured opportunity for the team to reflect on the previous Sprint and discuss areas for improvement. The Retrospective is designed to foster continuous improvement, which makes it the perfect time to assess whether the Definition of Done is still relevant and to make adjustments in line with evolving practices, tools, or quality standards.
For example, if the team discovers that implementing automated testing could enhance code quality and minimize defects, this could be added to the Definition of Done for future Sprints. Similarly, if the deployment process has become more efficient, the criteria for deployment could be updated to reflect these improvements.
Making such changes during the Retrospective ensures that all team members are aligned and aware of the new expectations before the next Sprint begins. This prevents confusion and misalignment during Sprint Planning and ensures that changes are not made in the middle of a Sprint, which could disrupt workflow.
Changing the Definition of Done outside of the Retrospective—such as during Sprint Planning—may lead to misunderstandings, inconsistent expectations, and miscommunication. Therefore, the Sprint Retrospective is the optimal setting for this kind of adjustment.
Question No 8:
In Scrum, the Daily Scrum is a key event held every day to enhance communication, transparency, and progress tracking within the Development Team. If the team decides to hold the Daily Scrum every two or three days instead of daily, what could be three major negative consequences for the Scrum Team and the Sprint’s success.
Choose the three most relevant concerns from the options below?
A. Opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are lost.
B. Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly.
C. The Product Owner cannot accurately report progress to stakeholders.
D. Too much work is spent updating the Scrum board before the meeting.
E. The Scrum Master loses the ability to update the Gantt chart properly.
F. The Sprint plan may become inaccurate.
Correct Answers:
A. Opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are lost.
B. Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly.
F. The Sprint plan may become inaccurate.
Explanation:
The Daily Scrum is a brief, time-boxed event held every day during a Sprint. Its main purpose is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal, identify obstacles, and adapt the plan to maximize the likelihood of delivering value by the end of the Sprint. Reducing the frequency of this event can undermine the core principles of Scrum, such as transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
Option A highlights one of the key issues: if the Daily Scrum occurs less frequently, the team misses regular opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog. Without daily check-ins, the backlog may become outdated, leading to misalignment or confusion within the team. The absence of regular updates can delay necessary adjustments, impacting the team's ability to respond quickly to changing circumstances or new insights.
Another significant concern is Option B—impediments are raised and resolved more slowly. One of the main advantages of the Daily Scrum is that it allows the team to surface and address blockers quickly. If the team meets only every two or three days, unresolved impediments will persist for longer periods, potentially delaying progress and reducing overall team productivity.
Lastly, Option F discusses how the Sprint plan could become inaccurate. Scrum emphasizes ongoing planning throughout the Sprint, with the Daily Scrum serving as a key event for re-planning. If the event is held less frequently, the team might deviate from the plan or overlook critical dependencies, which could make it difficult to achieve the Sprint Goal.
Incorrect options like C, D, and E reflect misconceptions about Scrum practices. The Product Owner does not rely solely on the Daily Scrum for progress updates, and Scrum does not use Gantt charts. The Scrum board is continuously updated, not just during meetings.
In summary, reducing the frequency of the Daily Scrum undermines Scrum’s core principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation, ultimately affecting the team’s ability to deliver value effectively and meet Sprint objectives.
Question No 9:
Which of the following is the primary responsibility of the Scrum Master in a Scrum Team?
A) To assign tasks to team members and ensure they are completed on time.
B) To ensure the Scrum process is followed and remove impediments for the team.
C) To prioritize the Product Backlog and make sure all items are delivered in each sprint.
D) To create the project plan and monitor the project’s progress.
Answer: B
Explanation:
The Scrum Master plays a crucial role in the Scrum Team by ensuring that Scrum practices are correctly followed and helping the team improve their processes. Here’s a breakdown of the options:
A) To assign tasks to team members and ensure they are completed on time.
This is not the responsibility of the Scrum Master. Scrum is based on self-organizing teams, which means that the team members themselves decide who works on which tasks. The Scrum Master doesn’t assign tasks but helps remove impediments that may hinder the team’s ability to complete their work.
B) To ensure the Scrum process is followed and remove impediments for the team.
This is the correct answer. The Scrum Master’s primary responsibility is to serve the Scrum Team and the organization by ensuring that Scrum is being properly applied. The Scrum Master acts as a coach to the team, helping them understand and implement Scrum practices effectively. Additionally, the Scrum Master helps remove any obstacles that may be blocking the team’s progress, allowing them to be more effective and efficient in their work.
C) To prioritize the Product Backlog and make sure all items are delivered in each sprint.
This is the responsibility of the Product Owner, not the Scrum Master. The Product Owner is responsible for defining and prioritizing the items in the Product Backlog. The Scrum Master does not make decisions about the product content but focuses on helping the team function within the Scrum framework.
D) To create the project plan and monitor the project’s progress.
The Scrum Master does not create a project plan in the traditional sense or monitor the project’s progress in terms of timeline or scope. In Scrum, the focus is on delivering incremental value through Sprints, and the Scrum Master ensures that the Scrum process is followed to achieve this. Tracking the team’s progress during each Sprint is done by the team itself, often through tools like Burndown Charts, with guidance from the Scrum Master.
The Scrum Master’s main role is to act as a servant leader, ensuring that the Scrum framework is being followed correctly and helping the team to overcome obstacles. This enables the team to work more effectively and efficiently, ultimately leading to better product delivery.
Question No 10:
During a Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team identifies a problem with communication between the Development Team and the Product Owner. What is the Scrum Master’s role in addressing this issue?
A) The Scrum Master should instruct the Product Owner to communicate more effectively with the Development Team.
B) The Scrum Master should immediately resolve the communication issue by making decisions on behalf of the team.
C) The Scrum Master should facilitate the discussion, help the team come up with solutions, and ensure that actions are taken to improve communication.
D) The Scrum Master should avoid getting involved and let the Development Team and Product Owner handle it themselves.
Answer: C
Explanation:
In Scrum, the Scrum Master’s role is to help the team identify and address obstacles, but not to directly make decisions for the team or interfere in their communication. Let’s break down the options:
A) The Scrum Master should instruct the Product Owner to communicate more effectively with the Development Team.
While the Scrum Master might help identify that communication is an issue, simply instructing the Product Owner on how to communicate is not the best approach. The Scrum Master should not act as a top-down authority figure giving orders, but rather as a facilitator, encouraging open dialogue and collaboration within the team to find the root cause of the communication breakdown.
B) The Scrum Master should immediately resolve the communication issue by making decisions on behalf of the team.
This approach is incorrect. The Scrum Master should never make decisions on behalf of the team. Scrum emphasizes self-organization, and the Scrum Master’s role is to guide the team in solving problems and improving their own processes, not to impose solutions. The Scrum Master facilitates discussions and empowers the team to find solutions themselves.
C) The Scrum Master should facilitate the discussion, help the team come up with solutions, and ensure that actions are taken to improve communication.
This is the correct answer. The Scrum Master’s primary role is to act as a facilitator. In this situation, the Scrum Master should help the team reflect on the problem, guide them through a constructive conversation, and encourage them to come up with solutions to improve communication. The Scrum Master also ensures that these solutions are followed up on and implemented in future Sprints, fostering continuous improvement.
D) The Scrum Master should avoid getting involved and let the Development Team and Product Owner handle it themselves.
This is not the correct approach. While the team should indeed take ownership of their issues, the Scrum Master has a responsibility to guide the team in improving their processes. If communication issues persist, the Scrum Master should be involved in facilitating the resolution, rather than remaining passive. The Scrum Master can help by creating an environment where open communication is encouraged and improvement can take place.
The Scrum Master plays an essential role in fostering a collaborative, transparent environment. They guide the team through identifying and resolving issues but do not impose solutions or decisions. In this case, the Scrum Master’s responsibility is to facilitate the team’s discussion and help them work together to improve communication. This reflects Scrum’s value of self-organizing teams and continuous improvement.
