Professional Scrum Master Facilitating Scrum Events 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a Sprint Review, the Product Owner announces a major market shift that invalidates half the Sprint's work. What should the Scrum Master facilitate next?
- End the Sprint Review early and start a new Sprint immediately
- Facilitate a discussion between stakeholders and the Development Team to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog accordingly (Correct answer)
- Have the Development Team defend their completed work before accepting any changes
- Postpone the Sprint Review until the Product Owner has a revised plan
Correct answer: Facilitate a discussion between stakeholders and the Development Team to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog accordingly
The Sprint Review is an inspect-and-adapt event; the Scrum Master should facilitate open dialogue so stakeholders and the team can examine what was built and update the backlog to reflect new reality.
Question 2: A Scrum Master notices that the Daily Scrum consistently runs 20–25 minutes. What is the most appropriate action?
- Allow extra time since thorough discussion is valuable
- Coach the Development Team on techniques to keep it within the 15-minute timebox (Correct answer)
- Remove the Daily Scrum from the schedule since it is not working
- Assign a timekeeper from management to enforce the timebox
Correct answer: Coach the Development Team on techniques to keep it within the 15-minute timebox
The Daily Scrum is timeboxed to 15 minutes; the Scrum Master's role is to coach the team on self-managing within that constraint.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective?
- To demonstrate the Increment to external stakeholders and gather feedback
- To plan the next Sprint's backlog items and assign tasks to team members
- To inspect how the last Sprint went regarding people, relationships, process, and tools, and create a plan for improvements (Correct answer)
- To review the Definition of Done and determine if the Increment is releasable
Correct answer: To inspect how the last Sprint went regarding people, relationships, process, and tools, and create a plan for improvements
The Sprint Retrospective focuses on continuous improvement by inspecting the team's process and relationships and creating actionable improvement items.
Question 4: During Sprint Planning, the Development Team says they cannot forecast how much work they can complete because requirements are unclear. What should the Scrum Master do?
- Tell the team to estimate anyway and commit to a Sprint Goal
- Facilitate a conversation between the Product Owner and Development Team to clarify backlog items until the team can make a reasonable forecast (Correct answer)
- Cancel Sprint Planning and ask the Product Owner to refine the backlog before reconvening
- Escalate the issue to senior management to get clearer requirements
Correct answer: Facilitate a conversation between the Product Owner and Development Team to clarify backlog items until the team can make a reasonable forecast
The Scrum Master facilitates collaboration between the Product Owner and Development Team so that backlog items are clear enough for the team to confidently forecast Sprint work.
Question 5: A stakeholder insists on attending every Daily Scrum to monitor team progress. How should the Scrum Master handle this?
- Welcome the stakeholder since transparency is a Scrum pillar
- Allow the stakeholder to observe but ensure they do not disrupt the event or turn it into a status report (Correct answer)
- Block the stakeholder from attending because Daily Scrum is only for the Development Team
- Schedule a separate daily status call for stakeholders instead
Correct answer: Allow the stakeholder to observe but ensure they do not disrupt the event or turn it into a status report
Observers may attend the Daily Scrum, but the Scrum Master must ensure the event remains the Development Team's planning meeting and does not become a status report for management.
Question 6: What is the primary outcome the Scrum Master should ensure comes out of Sprint Planning?
- A fully detailed task breakdown for every backlog item
- A Sprint Goal and a Sprint Backlog representing the team's forecast for the Sprint (Correct answer)
- Signed-off estimates from each team member for their assigned tasks
- A risk register documenting all potential impediments for the Sprint
Correct answer: A Sprint Goal and a Sprint Backlog representing the team's forecast for the Sprint
Sprint Planning must produce a Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog that give the team a shared purpose and a plan for delivering the Increment.
Question 7: During a Sprint Retrospective, team members are reluctant to speak openly because the manager is in the room. What should the Scrum Master do?
- Proceed normally since transparency is required regardless of who attends
- Politely ask the manager to leave and explain that the Retrospective is a safe space for the Scrum Team only (Correct answer)
- Cancel the Retrospective and reschedule when the manager is unavailable
- Ask the manager to take notes and share them with the broader organization
Correct answer: Politely ask the manager to leave and explain that the Retrospective is a safe space for the Scrum Team only
The Sprint Retrospective requires psychological safety; the Scrum Master should protect the team's safe space by facilitating without uninvited observers who could inhibit honest feedback.
Professional Scrum Master Facilitating Scrum Events 2
During a Sprint Review, the Product Owner announces a major market shift that invalidates half the Sprint's work.
What should the Scrum Master facilitate next?