Professional Scrum Master Scrum Theory and Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the three pillars of empiricism does a Sprint Review primarily support?
- Transparency
- Inspection (Correct answer)
- Adaptation
- Collaboration
Correct answer: Inspection
The Sprint Review is an inspection event where stakeholders and the Scrum Team inspect the Increment and progress toward the Product Goal.
Question 2: Scrum is founded on empirical process control theory. What does this mean in practice?
- Decisions are based on detailed upfront planning
- Knowledge comes from experience and decisions are based on what is observed (Correct answer)
- Processes are fully defined before execution begins
- Teams follow a fixed algorithm to deliver software
Correct answer: Knowledge comes from experience and decisions are based on what is observed
Empiricism means knowledge emerges from actual experience and observation, so Scrum teams make decisions based on what they observe rather than speculation.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of the Sprint Retrospective in the context of Scrum's empirical pillars?
- To inspect the Increment for quality defects
- To adapt the team's processes and practices for future Sprints (Correct answer)
- To plan the work for the next Sprint
- To demonstrate working software to stakeholders
Correct answer: To adapt the team's processes and practices for future Sprints
The Sprint Retrospective is focused on adaptation — the team identifies improvements to their processes and plans to implement them.
Question 4: A Scrum Team is debating whether to shorten their Sprint length. Which Scrum value best supports making this decision through experimentation?
- Commitment
- Courage (Correct answer)
- Focus
- Openness
Correct answer: Courage
Courage supports Scrum Team members doing the right thing and working on tough problems, including trying new approaches even when uncertain.
Question 5: In Scrum, what does 'transparency' require from the Scrum artifacts?
- They must be stored in a shared digital tool
- They must be accessible only to the Scrum Team
- They must be visible and understandable to all who inspect them (Correct answer)
- They must be reviewed by management before each Sprint
Correct answer: They must be visible and understandable to all who inspect them
Transparency requires that artifacts and important information are visible and understood by everyone with a stake in the outcome.
Question 6: Which statement best describes the Scrum framework's approach to complexity?
- It provides a complete methodology that eliminates complexity
- It uses a lightweight structure to address complex adaptive problems (Correct answer)
- It reduces complexity by requiring detailed upfront requirements
- It assigns complexity management solely to the Scrum Master
Correct answer: It uses a lightweight structure to address complex adaptive problems
Scrum is a lightweight framework designed to help teams address complex adaptive problems while delivering valuable products.
Question 7: The Development Team discovers mid-Sprint that a key assumption was wrong. According to Scrum values, what should they do?
- Continue with the original plan to maintain commitment
- Silently adjust their approach without informing anyone
- Raise the issue transparently and adapt their plan with the Product Owner (Correct answer)
- Wait until the Sprint Review to disclose the problem
Correct answer: Raise the issue transparently and adapt their plan with the Product Owner
Transparency and openness require surfacing problems immediately, and empiricism demands adaptation when new information is discovered.
Professional Scrum Master Scrum Theory and Principles 2
Which of the three pillars of empiricism does a Sprint Review primarily support?