Professional Scrum Master Coaching and Facilitation 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Scrum Master is facilitating a large-group Sprint Retrospective with a team of 12. Which facilitation approach is MOST effective for generating diverse input?
- Have the entire group discuss each topic sequentially
- Divide into small groups for discussion then reconvene to share findings with the whole team (Correct answer)
- Let the most experienced team members lead each discussion topic
- Use a single spokesperson to represent the whole team's views
Correct answer: Divide into small groups for discussion then reconvene to share findings with the whole team
Breaking large groups into smaller sub-groups increases participation, reduces social loafing, and surfaces more diverse perspectives before reconvening to synthesize.
Question 2: The Scrum Master notices the team avoids discussing failures at Retrospectives and focuses only on what went well. Which technique BEST addresses this?
- Instruct the team to only discuss failures to balance past retrospectives
- Create a blameless postmortem culture by framing failures as learning opportunities and modeling psychological safety (Correct answer)
- Remove team members who avoid discussing failures
- Invite a senior manager to the Retrospective to ensure accountability
Correct answer: Create a blameless postmortem culture by framing failures as learning opportunities and modeling psychological safety
Blameless postmortem culture and psychological safety allow teams to discuss failures openly as learning opportunities, which is the foundation of continuous improvement.
Question 3: A Product Owner frequently changes priorities mid-Sprint, causing the team significant disruption. How should the Scrum Master coach the Product Owner?
- Tell the Product Owner that mid-Sprint changes are absolutely forbidden under Scrum rules
- Help the Product Owner understand that protecting the Sprint Goal gives the team focus while major scope changes can be addressed in the next Sprint (Correct answer)
- Ask the Development Team to accept all changes to keep the Product Owner satisfied
- Suggest the Product Owner attend all Daily Scrums to manage changes in real time
Correct answer: Help the Product Owner understand that protecting the Sprint Goal gives the team focus while major scope changes can be addressed in the next Sprint
The Scrum Master coaches the Product Owner on how the Sprint Goal provides focus and why mid-Sprint scope changes undermine the team's ability to deliver a coherent increment.
Question 4: What is the PRIMARY purpose of the Scrum Master facilitating the Daily Scrum when asked by the team?
- To collect status updates for reporting to stakeholders
- To ensure the event stays within 15 minutes and that all three questions are answered
- To enable the Development Team to inspect and adapt their plan for the day while keeping the event effective (Correct answer)
- To resolve any technical impediments identified during the meeting
Correct answer: To enable the Development Team to inspect and adapt their plan for the day while keeping the event effective
The Daily Scrum's purpose is for the Development Team to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan; facilitation serves this purpose, not status collection.
Question 5: A Scrum Master wants to help the team improve its estimation accuracy. Which coaching approach is MOST consistent with Scrum values?
- Require the team to use story points and set a minimum velocity target
- Facilitate team reflection on past estimates versus actuals and coach the team to refine its estimation technique collaboratively (Correct answer)
- Assign estimation tasks to the most experienced team member for accuracy
- Replace relative estimation with time-based estimates to improve precision
Correct answer: Facilitate team reflection on past estimates versus actuals and coach the team to refine its estimation technique collaboratively
Coaching teams to reflect on their own estimation history and refine their approach builds sustainable capability aligned with Scrum's empirical principles.
Question 6: Which of the following is a sign that a Scrum Master is acting as a coach rather than a traditional project manager?
- Tracking individual team member hours and reporting utilization
- Assigning Sprint Backlog items to specific developers based on skill
- Asking the team powerful questions that lead them to discover solutions themselves (Correct answer)
- Creating a project plan with milestones for stakeholders
Correct answer: Asking the team powerful questions that lead them to discover solutions themselves
Coaching manifests through powerful questions that build team capability; project management behaviors like assigning work and tracking hours contradict the servant-leader role.
Question 7: A Scrum Team's retrospective actions are never completed before the next retrospective. What should the Scrum Master do?
- Stop holding retrospectives until the team demonstrates it can complete actions
- Limit retrospective action items to one or two high-priority improvements per Sprint and track them visibly (Correct answer)
- Assign action items to the Scrum Master to ensure they are completed
- Add a standing agenda item to blame members who failed to complete their actions
Correct answer: Limit retrospective action items to one or two high-priority improvements per Sprint and track them visibly
Limiting retrospective actions to one or two priority items and making them visible increases follow-through by preventing overcommitment and maintaining focus.
Professional Scrum Master Coaching and Facilitation 5
A Scrum Master is facilitating a large-group Sprint Retrospective with a team of 12.
Which facilitation approach is MOST effective for generating diverse input?