Mixed Deck — All CSM Topics Flashcards

Each Scrum Artifact contains a commitment to enhance transparency and focus. Which pairing of artifact and commitment is correct?

Answer: Increment and Definition of Done

The Scrum Guide specifies three artifacts, each with a commitment: The Product Backlog's commitment is the Product Goal. The Sprint Backlog's commitment is the Sprint Goal. The Increment's commitment is the Definition of Done.

Who decides how many Product Backlog items to include in a Sprint?

Answer: The Developers

The Developers select how much work to pull into the Sprint from the Product Backlog, as they are best positioned to forecast their own capacity.

What is the purpose of the Sprint Review in the Scrum framework?

Answer: To inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary

Explanation: The Sprint Review is a Scrum event where the Scrum Team and stakeholders inspect the product increment resulting from the Sprint and discuss how to adapt the product backlog if needed. It focuses on feedback, collaboration, and alignment to ensure the product increment meets the Sprint Goal and customer expectations.

Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the Scrum Master?

Answer: Assigning tasks to team members

The Scrum Master acts as a servant-leader and facilitator, not a manager who dictates work. The Development Team is self-organizing and manages its own work, including deciding how best to accomplish the Sprint Goal and who performs which tasks. The Scrum Master's role is to support the team, remove impediments, and ensure adherence to Scrum principles, not to assign tasks.

What event allows for team reflection and improvement?

Answer: Sprint Retrospective

The Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. It occurs after the Sprint Review and before the next Sprint Planning. This event focuses on processes, tools, and interactions to enhance effectiveness and quality, fostering continuous improvement within the team.

What is the goal of Sprint Planning?

Answer: Define Sprint Goal and tasks

Sprint Planning is the first event of a Sprint, where the Scrum Team collaborates to define what they will deliver in the upcoming Sprint and how they will achieve it. This involves creating a Sprint Goal and selecting Product Backlog items to form the Sprint Backlog, breaking them down into actionable tasks. The primary outcome is a clear understanding of the Sprint Goal and the work required to meet it.

What is one technique a Scrum Master can use to improve team dynamics?

Answer: Team-building exercises

Team-building exercises are an effective technique a Scrum Master can use to improve team dynamics by fostering collaboration, communication, and trust among team members. These activities help strengthen relationships, resolve conflicts, and build a cohesive unit focused on shared goals. Unlike individual assessments or mandatory overtime, team-building focuses on collective improvement and positive interaction, leading to a more harmonious and productive team.

A Scrum Master observes that the Developers are consistently struggling to meet their Sprint Goals. Upon investigation, they find that the team is frequently interrupted by requests from stakeholders for new features. Which of the following is the MOST effective action for the Scrum Master to take?

Answer: Coach the Product Owner on techniques for stakeholder management and Product Backlog prioritization.

The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by facilitating stakeholder collaboration as needed and serves the organization by removing barriers between stakeholders and Scrum Teams. A key part of this is coaching the Product Owner on how to manage stakeholder expectations and effectively order the Product Backlog to maximize value, ensuring that the Scrum Team can focus on the Sprint Goal without disruptive interruptions. The other options are counterproductive to Scrum principles.

A Development Team member insists on doing all the testing alone because 'that is my job.' What Scrum principle does this attitude violate?

Answer: Cross-functionality and collaboration

Cross-functional teams share responsibility; rigid specialization prevents collaboration and limits the team's ability to deliver a Done Increment.

The Scrum Master _____:

Answer: Removes barriers between stakeholders and the Scrum team

Explanation: The primary responsibility of the Scrum Master is to remove barriers between stakeholders and the Scrum Team. This involves facilitating communication, resolving conflicts, and ensuring that the team can work efficiently without impediments from external sources. This fosters collaboration and helps the team achieve its goals effectively.

What is the difference between velocity and capacity in Scrum?

Answer: Velocity is historical throughput; capacity is available time/effort for a Sprint

Velocity is a historical measure of work completed per Sprint, while capacity refers to the available working time and effort Developers have in an upcoming Sprint.

What is the Sprint Review time-box for a one-month Sprint?

Answer: 4 hours

The Sprint Review is time-boxed to 4 hours for a one-month Sprint, with shorter Sprints typically having proportionally shorter reviews.

During the Daily Scrum, which of the following is the primary focus for the Developers?

Answer: Inspecting progress toward the Sprint Goal and creating an actionable plan for the next day.

The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for the Developers to inspect their progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary. It is a 15-minute event for planning the next 24 hours of work, not a status meeting or a problem-solving session.

Which Scrum value encourages team members to do the right thing and work on tough problems even when it is difficult?

Answer: Courage

Courage is the value that encourages Scrum Team members to tackle difficult challenges and speak truth openly.

The Product Owner has resigned and left the organization. What should happen next?

Answer: A Stakeholder or Developer can step into the Product Owner role

Explanation: In the absence of the Product Owner, a Stakeholder or Developer may temporarily step into the Product Owner role to ensure continuity in the project. While it's not ideal to have a prolonged vacancy in the Product Owner role, the Scrum Team can continue working with temporary measures until a suitable replacement is found. This ensures that the project can progress without unnecessary delays.

Several stakeholders approach the Developers during a Sprint with new, urgent feature requests. What should the Developers do?

Answer: Redirect the stakeholders to the Product Owner to discuss adding the items to the Product Backlog.

The Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog and stakeholder expectations. To maintain transparency and proper ordering, all changes to the Product Backlog should go through the Product Owner. The Developers should focus on the Sprint Goal and the existing Sprint Backlog.

A Product Owner is having difficulty communicating the Product Goal and ordering the Product Backlog items to maximize value. How can the Scrum Master best serve the Product Owner in this situation?

Answer: Help find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management.

The Scrum Guide explicitly states that the Scrum Master serves the Product Owner by helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management. The Scrum Master acts as a coach and facilitator, empowering the Product Owner rather than taking over their accountabilities.

What should a Scrum Team do if they complete their Sprint Backlog work before the Sprint ends?

Answer: Collaborate with the Product Owner to pull in more work from the Product Backlog

If a team finishes early, they should work with the Product Owner to bring additional Product Backlog items into the Sprint that align with the Sprint Goal.

During Sprint Planning, the Developers select several Product Backlog items to work on. They then craft an objective for the Sprint. This objective is known as the:

Answer: Sprint Goal

The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. It is created during the Sprint Planning event by the entire Scrum Team and is then added to the Sprint Backlog. It provides focus and encourages the Scrum Team to work together.

What does a Sprint burndown chart track?

Answer: The remaining work in the Sprint Backlog over time

A Sprint burndown chart visualizes the amount of remaining Sprint Backlog work over time, helping the team see whether they are on track to meet the Sprint Goal.