CSM Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CSM exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CSM Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CSM Topics to Study (21)
✍️ Sample CSM Questions & Answers
1. Each Scrum Artifact contains a commitment to enhance transparency and focus. Which pairing of artifact and commitment is correct?
The Scrum Guide specifies three artifacts, each with a commitment: The Product Backlog's commitment is the Product Goal. The Sprint Backlog's commitment is the Sprint Goal. The Increment's commitment is the Definition of Done.
2. Who decides how many Product Backlog items to include in a Sprint?
The Developers select how much work to pull into the Sprint from the Product Backlog, as they are best positioned to forecast their own capacity.
3. What is the purpose of the Sprint Review in the Scrum framework?
Explanation: The Sprint Review is a Scrum event where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the product increment resulting from the Sprint and discuss how to adapt the product backlog if needed. It focuses on feedback, collaboration, and alignment to ensure the product increment meets the Sprint Goal and customer expectations.
4. Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the Scrum Master?
The Scrum Master acts as a servant-leader and facilitator, not a manager who dictates work. The Development Team is self-organizing and manages its own work, including deciding how best to accomplish the Sprint Goal and who performs which tasks. The Scrum Master's role is to support the team, remove impediments, and ensure adherence to Scrum principles, not to assign tasks.
5. What event allows for team reflection and improvement?
The Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. It occurs after the Sprint Review and before the next Sprint Planning. This event focuses on processes, tools, and interactions to enhance effectiveness and quality, fostering continuous improvement within the team.
6. What is the goal of Sprint Planning?
Sprint Planning is the first event of a Sprint, where the Scrum Team collaborates to define what they will deliver in the upcoming Sprint and how they will achieve it. This involves creating a Sprint Goal and selecting Product Backlog items to form the Sprint Backlog, breaking them down into actionable tasks. The primary outcome is a clear understanding of the Sprint Goal and the work required to meet it.