Professional Scrum Master The Scrum Team Roles Questions and Answers

Question 1

An organization is adopting Scrum and suggests forming separate 'front-end' and 'back-end' teams that must coordinate to deliver a single Increment. Why does this organizational structure conflict with the Scrum framework's definition of a Scrum Team?

Accepted Answer

It introduces dependencies between teams, which can impede the creation of a 'Done' Increment within a single Sprint.

Answer

Scrum Teams are designed to be cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create a valuable, 'Done' Increment each Sprint. Creating specialized component teams introduces hand-offs and dependencies, which goes against this principle and can prevent a fully integrated Increment from being completed.

Question 2

Who is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint?

Accepted Answer

The entire Scrum Team.

Answer

The Scrum Guide explicitly states, 'The entire Scrum Team is accountable for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint.' While each role has specific accountabilities that contribute to this outcome, the creation of the Increment is a shared, collective responsibility.

Question 3

A key stakeholder frequently asks individual Developers to work on 'small, urgent fixes' not in the Sprint Backlog, disrupting progress toward the Sprint Goal. What is the most effective initial action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Coach the stakeholder on how their requests impact the team and direct them to collaborate with the Product Owner.

Answer

A key part of the Scrum Master's role is serving the organization by helping stakeholders understand which interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which are not. Coaching the stakeholder is a constructive action that educates them on the Scrum process, respects their position, and reinforces the Product Owner's accountability for the Product Backlog.

Question 4

Which of the following is an exclusive accountability of the Product Owner?

Accepted Answer

Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal.

Answer

The Scrum Guide states that the Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes 'Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal.' While other tasks like writing PBIs may be delegated, the accountability for the Product Goal itself rests solely with the Product Owner.

Question 5

During Sprint Planning, the Developers estimate that they can only complete half of the items the Product Owner wants in the Sprint. The Product Owner is concerned about meeting stakeholder expectations. What should the Developers do?

Accepted Answer

Allow the Product Owner to select the items for the Sprint Backlog as long as it does not exceed their capacity.

Answer

The Developers are accountable for creating the plan for the Sprint (the Sprint Backlog). They pull work from the Product Backlog based on their forecast of what they can accomplish. While the Product Owner's input on priority is crucial, only the Developers can determine how much work they can take on in a Sprint. They collaborate with the Product Owner, who respects their final selection.

Professional Scrum Master Practice Test

Professional Scrum Master Practice Test

Professional Scrum Master The Scrum Team Roles Questions and Answers