SMC Practice Questions

The Scrum Master acts as a servant-leader and facilitator for the Scrum Team. A primary responsibility is to protect the team from external disruptions and to ensure the Scrum framework is followed correctly. Changing the Acceptance Criteria of a User Story that the team has already committed to and is working on within a Sprint is a form of scope creep. This disrupts the team's focus and jeopardizes the Sprint Goal. Therefore, it is the Scrum Master's duty to coach the Product Owner and shield the team from such changes, ensuring the stability of the Sprint Backlog.

A. Acceptance Criteria are objective, measurable, and testable conditions that remove ambiguity from a User Story, not add subjectivity.

B. The Product Owner, not the Scrum Master, is responsible for formally accepting or rejecting completed User Stories during the Sprint Review meeting.

D. The goal is to maintain a stable Sprint Backlog. While the team must be aware of any negotiated changes, their primary responsibility is not just to "track" changes but to focus on the committed work. The Scrum Master's role is to prevent such disruptive changes in the first place.

---

1. A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition.

For Correct Answer (C): Section 4.3.2

Scrum Master’s Responsibilities. It states

"The Scrum Master is also responsible for shielding the team from any distractions or interruptions that could affect its focus on achieving the Sprint Goal." Changing acceptance criteria mid-sprint is a significant interruption.

For Incorrect Option (A): Section 6.2.2

Acceptance Criteria. It defines

"Well-defined Acceptance Criteria are objective... They are a set of guidelines that can be used to confirm that the User Story has been completed and is working as intended." This confirms they are objective

not subjective.

For Incorrect Option (B): Section 3.3.2

Product Owner’s Responsibilities. It clarifies

"The Product Owner is the only person responsible for accepting the deliverables that meet the User Story Acceptance Criteria." This role does not belong to the Scrum Master.

For Incorrect Option (D): Section 8.2.1

Sprint Execution. The principle of a stable Sprint Backlog is emphasized. While collaboration exists

the framework discourages mid-sprint changes to committed items to protect the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master facilitates this stability.

The best solution aligns with the core Scrum principle of Self-organization. Scrum teams are empowered to manage their own work and processes to achieve the project's objectives. As a Scrum Master, your role is to be a facilitator and servant-leader who fosters an environment where the Development Team can form and organize itself. Allowing developers to self-organize promotes greater buy-in, motivation, and collective ownership of the work. This approach leverages the team's collective intelligence to create the most effective structure for delivering value, which is a fundamental tenet of the Scrum framework.

A. Recruit people from departments within the organization that can best support the project.

This describes a traditional, top-down management approach, which is contrary to the Scrum principle of empowering a self-organizing team.

B. Hire a Scrum Coach to help the developers become self-managing.

This is an action taken to improve an existing team's maturity and practices, not the primary method for the initial creation of the team.

D. Have the Development Team work directly with the customers of the project.

This is a valuable practice for a team that has already been formed (i.e., stakeholder collaboration), not a method for its initial formation.

---

1. A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition. VMEdu

Inc. (2017).

Section 2.5

Self-organization

p. 22: "The Scrum framework promotes a self-organized working style where the team has a high degree of autonomy and flexibility in accomplishing the project objectives... The team itself decides how to best accomplish the work

rather than being directed by others outside the team." This reference directly supports the principle behind allowing the team to self-organize.

2. A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition. VMEdu

Inc. (2017).

Section 6.2

Scrum Master

p. 96: "The Scrum Master is a facilitator who ensures that the Scrum Team is provided with an environment conducive to completing the project successfully. The Scrum Master guides

facilitates

and teaches Scrum practices to everyone involved in the project..." This defines the Scrum Master's role as a facilitator who would enable the team's self-organization rather than directing its formation.

The statement that impediments should be documented only by the team members is incorrect. While any member of the Scrum Team can identify and report an impediment, the Scrum Master holds the primary responsibility for ensuring they are documented in the Impediment Log and then facilitating their removal. The Scrum Master maintains the Impediment Log as a tool to track and manage these blockers, ensuring nothing is overlooked and the team remains productive. Restricting documentation solely to team members would create an unnecessary bottleneck and contradicts the Scrum Master's role as a facilitator and impediment remover.

A. Impediments are, by definition, obstacles or blockers that hinder the team's progress, thereby directly reducing their productivity and velocity.

B. Impediments can originate from various sources, including internal issues like technical debt or team conflicts, and external factors like organizational bureaucracy or dependency delays.

D. The Daily Standup meeting is a key event where Scrum Team members synchronize activities and report any impediments that are blocking their progress toward the Sprint Goal.

1. A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition.

Page 178

Section 8.4.2.3 (Impediment Log): "The Scrum Master maintains the Impediment Log and facilitates the removal of impediments. It is important that the Scrum Master addresses impediments as soon as possible... Any team member can identify an impediment." This text clarifies that the Scrum Master maintains the log

directly contradicting the exclusivity suggested in option C.

Page 42

Section 3.5.1 (Scrum Master): One of the key responsibilities of the Scrum Master is listed as "Removing impediments that are hampering the progress of the Scrum Team." This supports the Scrum Master's active role in managing the Impediment Log.

Page 196

Section 9.2 (Conduct Daily Standup): "During the meeting

team members discuss... Any impediments or risks they are facing that could prevent them from reaching their Sprint Goal." This confirms that the Daily Standup is an appropriate venue for raising impediments (validating option D).

Affinity Estimation is a technique specifically designed to quickly estimate a large number of User Stories. The team places stories on a scale (e.g., using T-shirt sizes like XS, S, M, L, XL) relative to each other. This process is often done silently at first to avoid lengthy discussions, allowing the team to rapidly sort a large backlog into groups of similar-sized items. This method directly addresses the team's requirement for a fast estimation process for a high volume of stories, making it the most suitable choice among the options.

A. Planning Poker is a consensus-based technique that involves detailed discussion for each story, making it thorough but significantly slower and less suitable for estimating a large number of items at once.

B. Wideband Delphi is a formal, multi-round estimation technique that aims for high accuracy through anonymous estimates and group discussion. It is generally more time-consuming than Planning Poker and not designed for speed.

D. Relative Sizing is a fundamental concept or principle used in many agile estimation techniques, including Planning Poker and Affinity Estimation. It is not a specific technique itself, making 'Affinity Estimation' a more precise answer.

1. SCRUMstudy. (2017). A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide) (3rd ed.). Section 8.3.4

Affinity Estimation

p. 163. The guide states

"Affinity Estimation is a technique used to quickly estimate a large number of User Stories."

2. SCRUMstudy. (2017). A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide) (3rd ed.). Section 8.3.2

Planning Poker

p. 162. The description of Planning Poker emphasizes discussion and reaching a consensus for each story

which contrasts with the speed-focused approach of Affinity Estimation.

3. Stellman

A.

& Greene

J. (2014). Learning Agile: Understanding Scrum

XP

Lean

and Kanban. O'Reilly Media. (Note: While a commercial book

its principles are widely taught in university-level software engineering courses and align with SBOK® concepts). Chapter 12 discusses estimation techniques

highlighting that affinity estimation is used "when the team needs to estimate a lot of items at once." This aligns with the academic understanding of the technique's primary use case.

Scrum embraces change through continuous refinement and reprioritization of the Product Backlog, managed by the Product Owner. While collaboration with the customer is key, Scrum does not use a formal process for managing "large numbers of Change Requests" typical of traditional project management. Instead, changes are incorporated as new or modified items in the backlog for consideration in future Sprints. Options B, C, and D describe core, direct benefits of collaboration in Scrum: collective risk management, shared responsibility for achieving Sprint Goals, and continuous process improvement through events like the Sprint Retrospective.

B. Collaboration is essential for risk management in Scrum. The team collectively identifies, assesses, and decides on responses to risks throughout the project lifecycle.

C. The principle of collective ownership, fostered by collaboration, means team members assist each other to ensure the Sprint Goal is met, even if individual tasks face delays.

D. The Sprint Retrospective is a dedicated, collaborative event where the Scrum Master facilitates the team's discussion on process improvements for subsequent Sprints, embodying continuous improvement.

1. A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition.

For Correct Answer (A): Section 8.3.1

"Managing Changes in a Scrum Project

" explains that changes are handled by the Product Owner who maintains the Prioritized Product Backlog. The guide contrasts this flexible approach with the formal change control procedures of traditional project management

which deal with "Change Requests."

For Incorrect Option (B): Chapter 7

"Risk

" particularly Section 7.1

describes risk management as an iterative and collaborative process involving the entire Scrum Team to identify

assess

and respond to risks.

For Incorrect Option (C): Section 3.7

"Collaboration

" emphasizes that the Scrum Core Team works together to create deliverables. This principle underpins the team's ability to self-organize and align to meet Sprint commitments.

For Incorrect Option (D): Section 11.4

"Retrospect Sprint

" details the collaborative meeting where the team discusses what went well and what did not

creating actionable improvements for the next Sprint

which is a cornerstone of continuous improvement.

The Impediment Log is a tool primarily for the Scrum Master and the Scrum Team to track and manage the resolution of impediments. While the Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring transparency and may need to communicate with stakeholders to resolve certain issues, there is no formal Scrum rule stating that the Impediment Log must be shared with all stakeholders. This log can contain sensitive information regarding team dynamics or organizational issues, and its distribution is at the discretion of the Scrum Master, who must balance transparency with the team's psychological safety and effectiveness.

A. An impediment is any hindrance or hurdle that reduces the productivity of the Scrum Team.

This is the correct definition of an impediment as per the Scrum framework.

B. Impediments can be internal or external to the team.

This is true. Impediments can arise from within the team (e.g., conflict) or from external sources (e.g., organizational policies, technical dependencies).

D. Impediments should be formally recorded by the Scrum Master in an Impediment Log.

This is a primary responsibility of the Scrum Master, who maintains the Impediment Log to ensure issues are tracked, prioritized, and resolved.

1. SCRUMstudy

A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition.

Section 7.4

Page 151: Defines an impediment as "any hindrance or roadblock that can reduce the productivity of the Scrum Team." This supports the correctness of option A.

Section 3.4.1.3

Page 51: States that the Scrum Master "maintains the Impediment Log and works to remove any impediments or roadblocks to the team’s progress." This confirms that the Scrum Master formally records impediments

supporting option D.

Section 7.4

Page 151: The guide discusses various types of impediments

including "lack of knowledge

" "unstable environments

" and "interpersonal conflicts

" which illustrates that impediments can be both internal and external

supporting option B.

The SBOK® Guide does not contain any prescription that the Impediment Log must be shared with stakeholders. It is presented as a tool for the Scrum Master and the team. The absence of this mandate makes statement C not true.

The primary objective of the Retrospect Sprint Meeting is to inspect the previous Sprint with regard to the processes, tools, people, and relationships within the Scrum Team. The team collaboratively discusses what went well, what could be improved, and creates a plan for implementing process improvements in the next Sprint. This meeting is focused on improving the team's effectiveness and quality of work (how the team works). Identifying new product features (what the team builds) is outside the scope of this meeting; that function is managed in the Product Backlog and addressed during events like Product Backlog Refinement and Sprint Planning.

A. Identifying process improvements is a core objective of the Sprint Retrospective, as the team seeks to adapt and enhance its way of working.

B. Identifying best practices is part of reflecting on what went well, ensuring that successful techniques are continued in future Sprints.

D. Identifying process problems and bottlenecks is a fundamental purpose of this meeting, allowing the team to address impediments and improve workflow.

1. SCRUMstudy

A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide)

3rd Edition.

Page 295

Section 12.3: The guide states

"The purpose of the Retrospect Sprint Meeting is for the Scrum Team to inspect the previous Sprint

identify what went well and what did not

and make improvements for future Sprints." It explicitly focuses on process

not product features. The outputs listed are "Agreed upon Actionable Improvements" and "Updated Scrum Guidance Body Recommendations

" which relate to process enhancement.

2. Schwaber

K.

& Sutherland

J. (2020). The Scrum Guide.

Page 10

"Sprint Retrospective": "The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness. The Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went with regards to individuals

interactions

processes

tools

and their Definition of Done." This definition clearly excludes the discussion of new product functionality.

3. Stray

V.

Sjøberg

D. I.

& Dybå

T. (2016). The daily stand-up meeting: A grounded theory study. Journal of Systems and Software

114

101-124.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2016.01.004

While focused on the daily stand-up

this and similar academic studies on Scrum meetings consistently differentiate the purpose of each ceremony. The retrospective is universally defined in academic literature as a mechanism for process improvement and team reflection

distinct from product planning activities.

According to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide), the Scrum framework is organized into five phases. The activity of drafting a Sprint Backlog occurs during the Sprint Planning Meeting. This meeting is a core part of the Plan and Estimate phase. In this phase, the Scrum Team selects committed User Stories from the Prioritized Product Backlog and breaks them down into specific, actionable tasks. This collection of tasks, which the team plans to complete during the Sprint, constitutes the Sprint Backlog. Therefore, helping the team draft the Sprint Backlog places the process squarely within the Plan and Estimate phase.

A. Initiate: This phase focuses on project conception, vision creation, and forming the initial Prioritized Product Backlog, which precedes the creation of any Sprint-specific backlog.

C. Implement: This phase involves the execution of tasks listed in the Sprint Backlog to create the product increment; it happens after the Sprint Backlog is created.

D. Review and Retrospect: This phase occurs at the end of a Sprint to inspect the completed work and the process, well after the Sprint Backlog has been created and executed.

---

1. SCRUMstudy. (2021). A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide) (4th ed.). VMEdu

Inc.

The "Create Sprint Backlog" process is explicitly listed as the final process within the Plan and Estimate phase. See Chapter 4

Section 4.7

p. 155.

The overall Scrum process flow diagram clearly places "Create Sprint Backlog" within the "Plan and Estimate" phase. See Chapter 2

Figure 2-3

"Scrum Flow

" p. 31.

Descriptions of the other phases confirm they do not include this activity. See Chapter 2

Section 2.4

"Scrum Phases and Processes

" pp. 29-30.

The Scrum of Scrums (SoS) meeting is a mechanism for coordinating multiple Scrum Teams working on a large project. According to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide), which is the primary reference for the ScrumStudy SMC certification, this meeting has a defined structure. Representatives from each team attend the SoS meeting and answer four specific questions to ensure alignment and address inter-team dependencies. The options A, B, C, and D correspond exactly to these four standard questions, which cover past progress, upcoming plans, existing impediments related to dependencies, and potential future impacts on other teams. Therefore, all listed questions are answered in the meeting.

A. C and D: This option is incorrect because it omits the questions regarding what the team has been working on (A) and what they will do next (B), which are essential for context and planning.

B. A and B: This option is incorrect as it leaves out the critical questions about unfulfilled dependencies (C) and potential impacts on other teams (D), which are the primary reasons for the meeting.

C. A, B, and D: This option is incorrect because it excludes the question about what other teams were counting on that remains undone (C), a key element for identifying and resolving impediments.

1. SCRUMstudy. (2017). A Guide to the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK® Guide) (3rd ed.). VMEdu

Inc.

Reference Details: Chapter 7: Scale Scrum to Large Projects

Section 7.4: Scrum of Scrums Meeting. This section explicitly lists the four questions that are asked during the Scrum of Scrums meeting:

1. What has my team been working on since we last met?

2. What will my team do until we meet again?

3. What were other teams counting on our team to finish that remains undone?

4. What is our team planning to do that might affect other teams?

This directly validates that options A

B

C

and D are all correct.