Scrum is not a simple thing. Many people ask me questions on different Scrum topics. I will publish my answers here.
What are the two essential features a Scrum Team should possess?
- It should choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team
- It should have all competencies needed to accomplish the work without depending on others not part of the team
- It should use tools, processes and techniques approved by the Organization
- It should be flexible enough to complete all the work planned for the Sprint even if some team members are on vacation
Though the explanation mentions 1 &2 as the answer for this but shouldn’t option 3 also be the answer for this question. Development team should be using tools, process and techniques approved by organization and if there is any hindrance the scrum master should notice this as impediment and talk to respective stakeholders?
Mikhail: For me #3 looks like a contradiction to #1. As long as the team creates increments according to the DoD, it can use any techniques, tools, etc.
Mikhail: I think, Scaled Scrum does not prescribe any particular architecture. It only says the dependencies between teams should be minimized and we should inspect and adapt frequently. So, it is an ongoing process. Evaluating the current architecture and suggesting ways to improve it is a part of every Sprint.
As I remember, the open Scaled Scrum quiz contains only the following topics:
Q: A system is decomposed into elements like workflows, features, capabilities, etc. How it affects Scrum Teams on a scaled project?
A: It will be reflected in the implementation.
Q: Two ways how Dev Teams can ensure a good application architecture?
* Architecture is an ongoing discussion
* The DT should have a set of architecture principles and follow them
Q: How to start a big complex project?
A: Form 1-2 teams of best developers for implementing the core, add more teams later.
You see, there are no any specific architectural questions. So, nothing to read about this. 🙂
However, the exam contains references to SOA (service-oriented architecture). It is worth to get a high level view of SOA, or at least read its definition. For example at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-oriented_architecture
Mikhail: The idea is simple. Sprint is a special event that is nothing more than a time-box for other events. The Scrum Guide explains it in this way: “Other than the Sprint itself, which is a container for all other events, each event in Scrum is a formal opportunity to inspect and adapt something.”
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide says: “The Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of “done” appropriate for the product.” So, the correct answer is the Development Team.
From my point of view, DT owns DoD on behalf of the whole Scrum Team. So, it is possible to say “Scrum Team creates DoD”, however “Development Team creates DoD” is more precise.
Mikhail: The Product Owner is responsible for this.
In the Scrum Guide you can find that the PO is responsible for:
* Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next;
At the Sprint Review:
* The PO explains what Product Backlog items have been “Done” and what has not been “Done”;
* The entire group collaborates on what to do next, so that the Sprint Review provides valuable input to subsequent Sprint Planning;
The Product Owner is the Lead Facilitator of Key Stakeholder Involvement. The PO is responsible for identifying the key stakeholders for the product and involving them as necessary throughout the development effort.
Mikhail: Of course, the team can proceed. Right, PB is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product. If the Scrum Team does not understand what should be done next, it means the PB needs to be refined. The Product Owner should put his product vision as backlog items, maybe with help of the Development Team.
A product backlog item should contain everything necessary to be understood by any member of the Scrum Team. So, if a new UI markup needs to be developed, it should be a part (task) of some item (story) in the PB. When the markup is ready, it should be attached to the item.
So, the answer is not a simple “yes/no”. I would carefully look at the wording of the suggested answers to be maximally close to the point I described above.
Mikhail: I would say the PO should not usually do this. The PO must be the arbiter of product value and how it is represented to the team. Frequently key stakeholders do not know exactly what they want and how it can be achieved. This is a job for the PO to understand their needs, decide how they can be fulfilled with the maximum value.
Probably, in rare cases a key stakeholder can be invited as a domain expert to a product refinement session. However, the PO should have the final word.
Mikhail: No. The Scrum Glossary gives the following definition for Product Backlog: “It is an ordered list of the work to be done in order to create, maintain and sustain a product.” So, Scrum is not specific about exactly what a Product Backlog Item is or how it should be expressed. It is just “work to be done”.
The Scrum Guide gives a bit more details about a PBI: it should have the attributes of a description, order, estimate, and value. However, it does not change the “work to be done” definition much. For example, a Product Backlog can contain knowledge acquisition tasks, prototyping, technical chores etc.
However, there is one important moment: a Product Backlog should contain items that the Product Owner cares about, in the sense that they add clear business value and can be ordered by him or her. If there are some “Developer Stories”, i.e. removing technical debt, they can be introduced by the Development Team into their own Sprint Backlog, if they think such stories are necessary in order to help mitigate a technical risk.
Mikhail: The following points should be taken into the account:
1. The Development Team is responsible for the Definition of Done.
2. There is no direct requirement in the Scrum Guide for a formal approval of the DoD by the PO.
3. The PO as a member of the Scrum Team participates in the Sprint Retrospective where the DoD is revised and adapted.
‘No’ answer is more comfortable for the question. However, the PO can affect the DoD at the Sprint Retrospective by making suggestions for the Dev Team how to improve it. Also the PO can bring some non-functional requirements for the product and the Dev Team usually applies them via DoD. See 11. How to address non-functional requirements? and 46. Non-functional requirements, PO and DoD
Mikhail: The Scrum guide says:
The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog… The Product Owner may do the above work, or have the Development Team do it. However, the Product Owner remains accountable.
Creation of a PBI relates to PB management. So, certainly the PO is responsible for this. However, he can delegate this work to the Development Team.
If the Scrum Master combines his role with the Developer role (the most common situation), he is a part of the Development Team and can create PBIs when it is agreed with the PO. Otherwise, I think, he should not do it.
In my quizzes I have a similar question: who can change the PB? The answer is “The PO and the DT with permission of the PO.”
Mikhail: Non-functional requirements describe qualities of the system being developed. E.g. the system should be secure, extensible and have acceptable performance. The only way to meet such requirements is to have them as a part of the DoD and check every Increment against these criteria.
From my side I would mention that if some non-functional requirements relate only to a part of the Product (i.e. to some feature), most likely the requirements should be processed as a sub-task within this feature instead of the DoD.
Mikhail: The DoD helps to reveal the work necessary to complete a PB item. So, it helps to estimate how much time it will take. With better estimations the Development Team can better plan which items can be completed in the upcoming Sprint.
Mikhail: The whole Scrum Team should come to a solution about the first Sprint length before starting it. The length of the following Sprints can be changed (adapted).
There is no a formal event for this purpose. The Scrum Guide limits only the maximum length by one month. However, the following points can be taken into account:
- The pace at which the PO wants to have increments (new features implemented), demonstrate them to the Key Stakeholders and get feedback.
- Experience of the SM. What was the optimal length for teams doing a similar work.
- Experience of the DT. Too long Sprints make planning difficult. Too short Sprints do not allow to implement bigger features in one chunk, but give faster feedback.
From my experience, the optimal Spring length is 2 weeks.
Mikhail: A first Sprint requires no more than a Product Owner, a team, and enough ideas to potentially complete a full Sprint.
Mikhail: First of all, there is no Project Manager role in Scrum. So, the manager from the question is an external person for the team.
My best options are below:
a. Invite the manager to the next Sprint Review. There the manager will see what was completed in the Sprint, what is the feedback from the Key Stakeholders, what are the priorities for the next Sprint, get some review of the timeline and budget.
b. In agile practices the duty of all participants is to be transparent. Those who need information are responsible for getting it. They have a duty to ensure that the information they act on is obtained in a timely fashion and with minimal filtering.
So, the manager can investigate the artifacts of the Scrum Team: the Product Backlog, the Sprint Backlog, the Increment. The team is responsible for sharing these artifacts and any information radiators that can help to make the artifacts more transparent (e.g. burn down charts, story boards, etc.)
One more point is that proper use of Scrum makes sure that the most valuable features are implemented first and the proof of success lies in ongoing delivery and not in reporting.
Update: I got the suggested options for the question:
1) Scrum doesn’t have PMs
2) Share the PB and forecast for the sprint
3) Share the current roadblocks
4) Share the last stakeholder report by PO
I see the options fit well with my answer:
1) Scrum doesn’t have PMs
* Correct
2) Share the PB and forecast for the sprint
* Correct. Scrum Team artifacts should be transparent.
3) Share the current roadblocks
* Wrong. Sharing artifacts is much better.
4) Share the last stakeholder report by PO
* Wrong. The PO does not have duty to prepare a special report for the Key Stakeholders.
Mikhail: The most important individuals for maximizing value for the Product are the Key Stakeholders. The PO should identify and involve them as necessary throughout the development effort. The Key Stakeholders are typically customers, purchasers, users, and the people that fund the product’s development. These people may be internal or external to the Organization.
Mikhail: The PO can delegate writing Product Backlog Items.
The Scrum Guide contains:
The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog. Product Backlog management includes:
…
* Clearly expressing Product Backlog items;
…
The Product Owner may do the above work, or have the Development Team do it.
The PO is responsible for identifying the Key Stakeholders and involving them as necessary.
The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the Scrum events.
Mikhail: There are several possible good answers. I would suggest the PO should focus on:
* Key Stakeholder Involvement
In order to maximize value, the PO should identify the key stakeholders for the product, and involve them as necessary throughout the development effort.
* Product Marketplace
The Product Owner should be expertly aware of the marketplace for the product. They should constantly be gathering and re-gathering information and data regarding the marketplace, so that the product value is maximized.
* Product Release Decisions
The PO is the one and only person who can decide whether to release the latest increment of the Product. In order for value to actually be captured, a release of the product must occur.
Mikhail: Of course not. This question is very similar to the question #17 above.
Who does the work of updating and managing the Product Backlog is a collaboration between the Product Owner and the Development Team. However, the Product Owner is solely responsible and accountable for the decisions in the Product Backlog.
For example, the PO can write nothing, but explain everything in detail to the Development Team. Then the team will create the required PB items and write down all the details.
- A. Writing clear, transparent User Stories
- B. Working with customers and stakeholders to identify the most important product requirements
- C. Being with the Scrum team all the time, just in case they need me to clarify a requirement
- D. Clearly communicating project or release status and strategies to customers and stakeholders
Mikhail:
- C is wrong because the PO does not have to spend all the time with the DT. The PO has other things to do. For example, communicating with Key Stakeholders. The main PO commitment is product value delivery. So, he or she should spend enough time (but not all the time) with the DT to meet that commitment.
- A is just partially right. Writing clear user stories is important, but the Product Backlog also contains many other things like features, functions, requirements, enhancements, etc. The PO is responsible for the whole management of the Product Backlog. Also the PO can ask the DT to write the stories.
- D is partially correct because the PO should communicate his product vision not only to the Key Stakeholders, but also to the Scrum Team.
- B is correct. Identifying the most valuable Product features one of the most important PO responsibilities.
- So, I would answer B and D.
Mikhail:
I think, in the broad sense the answer is “yes”. The PB is the source for the Sprint Backlog. The Sprint Backlog is the source of the Dev Team work. However, only the Dev Team knows how to implement Sprint Backlog Items. It can involve technical tasks, for example, removing some technical debt or even installing a development environment for a new developer.
Mikhail:
The Scrum Guide says: the SM helps the PO to understand and practice agility. Agility means using the most effective ways to collaborate. Direct collaboration between the PO and the DT is the most effective one. So, the best technique for SM is to monitor communications between the DT and the PO and facilitate direct collaboration.
Mikhail:
No. It is just one of the first steps to success. Success in Scrum is getting maximum value with the existing resources. Value, as defined in a Scrum context, is the financial (or social) benefit an organization receives or might receive by creating and releasing the product under development. In order for value to actually be captured, a release of the product must occur. The sooner you release, the sooner you can start capturing the value created by the product.
Increase in team’s velocity shows that the Dev Team became more mature and can do more in the same time frame.
Mikhail:
The Scrum Guide says: During the Sprint Review, the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate about what was done in the Sprint.
So, the answer is “the Scrum Team and stakeholders”.
A) Its productivity is likely to stay the same
B) Its productivity is likely to increase
C) Its productivity is likely to decrease
Mikhail: C.
In a short term the productivity will decrease because the new teams will spend time to get up to speed with the Product. The old team will spend a lot of time for communications with the new teams.
A) The frequency at which team formation can be changed
B) The organization has mandated similar length sprints
C) The risk of being disconnected from the stakeholders
D) The level of uncertainty over the technology to be used
E) The ability to go to market with a product release.
Mikhail: C, D, E.
A. is wrong because Development Teams in Scrum are self-organizing and can decide to change at any time.
B. is bad because Organization is not responsible for the Sprint length. It is determined by the Scrum Team. The PO and the Dev Team should agree on this. The SM may have some coaching duties to perform in that regard.
C. is good because the bigger part of interaction with the Key Stakeholders happens at the Sprint Review meeting. If the Sprint length is bigger, this feedback loop becomes longer.
D. Shorter Sprints is an effective way to hone in on the requirements or try out the technology before committing to a solution.
E. Shorter Sprints suppose that the Dev Team produces “done” increments more frequently. It allows the PO to release the increments more frequently too.
A) Manger would divide them depending on location, bonding between members and xyz…
B) Developers will form teams themselves.
C) Scrum master will assign them according to budget.
D) Understanding scrum encourage self organization, developers will organize themselves into teams based on skills.
E) Product owner brings all developer working on same product together for planning and depending on functionalities , developer with self organize themselves into teams.
Mikhail: All the options related to self-organization are correct: B, D and E.
Mikhail: Of course the answer is “True”. The PO comes to the Sprint Planning with an idea for the Sprint Goal and then all the Scrum Team crafts the final version of the Goal.
A) The scrum process and how it was used during the Sprint
B) Coding and Engineering practices
C) Sprint Results
D) All of the above
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide says “A Sprint Review is held at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog if needed.”
So, D. option would be great for the Sprint Retrospective meeting, but it is wrong for this question. All the topics related to the development process are discussed at the Sprint Retrospective.
So, the correct answer for this question is C. Sprint Results.
- In which meetings the Key Stakeholders are allowed to participate? The correct answer is “The Sprint Review”. The Sprint Planning was evaluated as wrong in this question.
- Select the two meetings in which people outside the Scrum Team are allowed to participate. The correct answers are “The Sprint Planning” and “The Sprint Review.”
The Key Stakeholders are people outside of the Scrum Team, so in the second question they are allowed to participate in the Sprint Planning, in the question #1 they are not. Is there an error in one of the questions?
Mikhail: The difference between “participate” (come to the meeting and speak) and “attend” (come to the meeting, but not speak) is a bit difficult. However, the real exam uses it for sure.
The question #1 is correct. The Sprint Review is the only formal Scrum event where the Key Stakeholders are allowed to take part in. They are invited by the Product Owner and actively give their feedback on the Product.
The question #2 is also correct. It looks like your confusion comes from mixing together concepts of “Key Stakeholders” and “technical experts”. The Key Stakeholders are typically customers, purchasers, users, and the people that fund the product’s development.
In “Sprint Planning” chapter the Scrum Guide says: “The Development Team may also invite other people to attend to provide technical or domain advice.” So, these people are not the Key Stakeholders. They are technical and domain experts. And these people give technical advice. It obviously means they can speak at the meeting. Using the word “attend” here looks like a little inconsistency between the Scrum Guide and the questions.
I hope, now you see the Key Stakeholders go to the Sprint Review and technical domain experts could go to the Sprint Planning. So, there are two meetings when people outside of the Scrum Team can come and speak.
A) It reduces long-term operational costs
B) It increases customer satisfaction
C) It is delivered on time
D) It has all the features that the Product Owner expected
Mikhail: The answers are A and B.
If you take a look at the Evidence Management Guide, you will find A and B among the Key Value Measures in Current Value section. C and D are absent in this list.
A) Managed by the Product Owner.
B) Ordered based on priority, value, dependencies, and risk.
C) An inventory of things to be done for the Product.
D) An exhaustive list of upfront approved requirements to be implemented for the system.
E) Only visible to the Product Owner and stakeholders.
Mikhail: I would choose A, B and C.
E is wrong because all the Scrum Team members can see the Product Backlog.
C and D answers are similar. I like C better because a Product Backlog is never complete, so it cannot be exhaustive. From the other side, if a requirement is in the Product Backlog, it is approved by the PO. So, “an exhaustive list of upfront approved requirements” could be also valid. I do not like this question much because of the ambiguous wording.
A) Customer satisfaction
B) Velocity
C) Time to market
D) Budget spent
E) Productivity
Mikhail: A and C are correct. If you take a look inside the EBM guide, you will find “Customer Satisfaction” KVM and “Time to Market” KVA. Budget, velocity and productivity do not contribute directly to capturing Product value.
A) Each task is estimated in hours.
B) It is a complete list of all work to be done in a Sprint.
C) Every item has a designated owner.
D) It is the Development Team’s plan for the Sprint.
E) It is ordered by the Product Owner.
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide contains
“The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal.”
“The Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal.”
A) Wrong because there is no requirement to have estimation in hours
B) Wrong because the team cannot foresee all the work in the beginning of a Sprint
C) Scrum does not require a designated owner for items
D) The best option here
E) Wrong because the Dev Team owns the Sprint Backlog
A) Developers on the Development Team work closely with business analysts, architects, developers and testers who are not on the team.
B) The Development Team is a virtual team drawing from separate team of business analysts, architects, developers and testers.
C) The Development Team includes not only developers but also business analysts, architects,developers and testers.
D) The Development Team includes cross-skilled individuals who are able to contribute to do what is necessary to deliver an increment of software.
Mikhail: The best option is D. Scrum recognizes just one role “Developer” within the Development Team. The Scrum Guide tells:
– Development Teams are cross-functional, with all the skills as a team necessary to create a product Increment;
– Scrum recognizes no titles for Development Team members, regardless of the work being performed by the person;
– Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole.
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide says: “When the values of commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect are embodied and lived by the Scrum Team, the Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation come to life and build trust for everyone.”
So, the answer will be: commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect.
Mikhail: The same as in question #36, the answer will include some of these: commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect. For me the most suitable answer looks like focus (focusing on the most important things) and openness (the PB items and their values are transparent to everyone).
I would disagree because the Teams must do integrated increment in the end of the Sprint. It means Sprint length of all the Teams must be the same.
Mikhail: The Scrum framework does not require the same Sprint length or aligned Sprints for all teams. The Nexus framework is built on top of the Scrum and also has no requirements regarding this.
However, if several teams work together using the Nexus Framework, they work in the same Nexus Sprint, have common Nexus Sprint Planning and other events. You are right, the teams should use (but do not have to) the same Sprint length and all Sprints should start and finish together to avoid inefficiency.
Usually the emphasis is placed on having a shared Definition of Done. Another option could be when one team has 2 week sprint length, whereas another teams use 4 weeks.
One of the best things about Nexus – it is less prescriptive when compared to SAFe & LeSS. Usually there are many ways to solve the inefficiencies. But definitely not by making something prescriptive.
Mikhail: The PO is the lead facilitator of Key Stakeholder involvement. The PO should involve them as necessary throughout the development effort. The PO is responsible for making sure that the Key Stakeholders attend and interact in the Sprint Reviews, but really the Stakeholders can be involved with the Scrum Team any time where it’s valuable to have the stakeholder input.
Product ownership is not a committee. The PO is responsible for the product value and how it is represented to the team. So, in the case of any contradiction, the issue must be explained to the PO as soon as possible. Then the PO will communicate with the Stakeholders, resolve it and communicate solution back to the team.
It is an anti-pattern if someone does the PO work for the Dev Team.
Mikhail: I completely agree that any valuable idea how to make the product better should be added to the backlog. However, only the top items for one or two next Sprints should be refined enough (be in “ready” state).
With bigger backlogs it becomes harder to order the items and find dependencies. However, there are helping techniques. For example, the stories could be grouped into epics.
Mikhail: It is because of two reasons:
1. All the previous work is required for the Increment done in this Sprint to have value and to be potentially releasable
2. An Increment must be tested adequately. This includes regression testing.
Mikhail: First of all, the Scrum Guide tells: “The result of the Sprint Review is a revised Product Backlog that defines the probable Product Backlog items for the next Sprint. The Product Backlog may also be adjusted overall to meet new opportunities.”
The second option relates to the Daily Scrum: “The Development Team uses the Daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and to inspect how progress is trending toward completing the work in the Sprint Backlog.”
I agree, at the Sprint Review the PO explains what Product Backlog items have been “Done” and what has not been “Done”. However, what is more important, the whole group collaborates on what to do next, so that the Sprint Review provides valuable input to subsequent Sprint Planning.
1. Who is responsible for creation of ‘Definition of Done’?
– Answer is mentioned as ‘Development Team’
2. What belongs solely to the Development Team?
– Answer is only “The Sprint Backlog” and it didn’t include ‘Definition of Done’
If the answer for #1 is Development Team, the answer for #2 should also include “Definition of Done” as per my understanding. Can you please throw some light on the answers to these questions?
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide contains: “Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint, and it belongs solely to the Development Team.”
and
“the Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of “Done” appropriate for the product.”, “This is the definition of “Done” for the Scrum Team and is used to assess when work is complete on the product Increment.”
So, the DoD is for the whole Scrum Team. However, the DT is responsible for it (on behalf of the Scrum Team).
There is no any contradiction.
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide contains: “Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. “
So, the answer is “False”.
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide clarifies it: “The Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal.
As new work is required, the Development Team adds it to the Sprint Backlog. As work is performed or completed, the estimated remaining work is updated. When elements of the plan are deemed unnecessary, they are removed.“
So, the answer is “No”, not frozen.
Q1: The Product Owner wants to apply some non-functional requirements to the Product. What is the best way to proceed?
A1: Add the non-functional requirements to the DoD and check every Increment against these criteria
Q2: Who is responsible for creation of the Definition of “Done”?
A2: The Development Team
Mikhail: It looks like your confusion is like this:
The Product Owner wants to apply some non-functional requirements… The best way is to add the non-functional requirements to the DoD… The Dev Team is responsible for the DoD. How the PO can add the requirements into the DoD?
Well, there is no any contradiction.
Non-functional requirements describe qualities of the system being developed. E.g. the system should be secure, extensible and have acceptable performance.
The PO explains the requirements to the Dev Team. The team has two options how to handle these requirements:
1. Add a new sub-task for every Product Backlog Item to make sure the non-functional requirements are met for this particular item (feature)
2. Add the non-functional requirements to the DoD. So, every Increment will be validated against these requirements.
The second way looks more robust because having the requirements as part of the DoD won’t allow the team to forget about them when working on new items. It also will increase transparency.
So, the PO does not change the DoD. He asks the Dev Team to produce Increments that meet the non-functional requirements. The Dev Team adds the new requirements to the DoD because it is more robust way of doing the work.
You can also check my answer for 9. Should the PO approve the DoD?
A) The stakeholders haven’t been using the Sprint Reviews to actively engage , and inspect and evaluate progress
B) Changes to the project plan were not adequately documented and shared. The change request procedure was not diligently followed
C) The PMO and its project managers have not been engaged adequately causing the project plan to become inaccurate
D) The Product Owner has not been interacting frequently with stakeholders keeping them aware of the progress.
E) The stakeholders were not allowed to attend daily scrum
F) The scrum master has not ensured transparency
Mikhail: Let’s go through all the options:
A) Looks good except that the PO is responsible for Key Stakeholder engagement. Probably there are better answers.
B) Wrong because Scrum does not have a “change request procedure”.
C) Wrong. Scrum does not have a Project Manager role.
D) The best option.
E) Wrong. Stakeholders have nothing to do at Daily Scrums.
F) Good enough. The whole team is responsible for transparency, however the SM should notice if there is a lack of transparency and help the team to address it.
A) The Development Team uses some time in each Sprint to analyse, estimate and design high ordered Product Backlog items.
B) A separate Scrum Team of business analysts and functional testers analyse high-ordered requirements one sprint ahead of development.
C) The Product Owner works with the stakeholders to prepare Product Backlog items outside of the sprint so the development team will not be disrupted.
D) The analysts on the Development Team document high ordered Product Backlog items during a Sprint when they are not busy working on the forecast.
Mikhail: A) Correct. The name of this activity is Product Backlog Refinement. However, why the PO is not mentioned here? The Scrum Guide says “Product Backlog refinement is the act of adding detail, estimates, and order to items in the Product Backlog. This is an ongoing process in which the Product Owner and the Development Team collaborate on the details of Product Backlog items.”
B) Wrong. Scrum does not have separate teams for business analysts.
C) This is a good option, but it won’t get enough clarity at the Sprint Planning. When the PO is ready with a new PB item, the PO should discuss it with the DT to make sure it is understood well before taking it into the next Sprint.
D) Wrong. Scrum recognizes only Developer role in the Development Team.
It looks like the correct answer is A. However, if it were my question, I would mention the PO in this option.
A. Prepare it by himself
B. Tell the PO to prepare and submit to the Manager
C. Ask the DT to include the report into their Sprint Backlog
D. Tell the Manager that status will be visible during the Sprint Review
Mikhail: The best option is D (status will be visible at the Sprint Review).
A duty of the Scrum Team is to be transparent. Those who need information are responsible for getting it. So, the manager can investigate the artifacts of the Scrum Team (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog) and visit the next Sprint Review.
A. False
B. True and they should be available 100% dedicated to the Scrum Team
C. True and the productivity and progress depends on their availability
Mikhail: C is correct. PO, SM and even Dev Team members can work on more than one Product at the same time, but productivity will suffer because of switching focus.
(not sure about other options)
A. tell the DT to figure out themselves
B. Ask the PO to adjust the PB items according to the technical expertise of the DT, so they can plan the work.
Mikhail: A is correct. The Scrum Guide says: Teams in Scrum are self-organizing and cross-functional. Self-organizing teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team. Cross-functional teams have all competencies needed to accomplish the work without depending on others not part of the team.
Mikhail: No, the statement is incorrect.
The Scrum framework does not require the same Sprint length or aligned Sprints for all teams. So, the start date can be different.
a. An increment of working software that is done
b. An increment of software with minor known bugs in it
c. Some sort of documentation
d. Failing unit test, to identify acceptance tests
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide contains:
“At the end of a Sprint, the new Increment must be “Done,” which means it must be in useable condition and meet the Scrum Team’s definition of “Done”.
a. Perfectly suits to this definition
b. Wrong because we do not know the DoD of the team in the question. So, we cannot tell are the minor bugs acceptable for a “Done” Increment.
c. and d. are wrong because the Scrum Guide says:
“Development Teams deliver an Increment of product functionality every Sprint.”
They cannot deliver only documentation or an unit test.
a. Ask the Development Team to think about whether they can add these features to the current Sprint
b. The Scrum Master add these features to the current Sprint
c. Add it to the Product Backlog
d. Introduce these features at the next Daily Scrum
Mikhail: c. is definitely correct because the Product Backlog is the single source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product.
b. is wrong because the Scrum Guide says: “Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint.”
d. is wrong because the PO cannot introduce the features at the Daily Scrum because he or she does not participate in it
a. is correct because the Sprint scope can be re-negotiated if the Sprint Goal and quality are out of danger (see a quote from the Scrum Guide below)
During the Sprint:
* No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal;
* Quality goals do not decrease; and,
* Scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development Team as more is learned.
a) Talk to the Dev team, challenge and inspire them to complete all the work so that they meet their commitment to the PO and have the forecasted velocity.
b) Advise the product owner that the dev team owns the Sprint Backlog and it is up to them to meet the commitment. No one tell the Dev team how to turn Product backlog into increment of potentially releasable functionality.
c) Add more people to Dev team to meet the commitment to PO.
d) Coach the PO that with complex software development you cannot promise the entire scope that was forecasted during Sprint planning. As more is learned during the sprint, work may emerge that affects the Sprint backlog.
Mikhail:
a) is not a good option. The Dev Team has no commitments to the PO. There is no goal in Scrum to meet the forecasted velocity by any price.
b) is correct. The Scrum Guide says: “No one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality;” So, it up to the Dev Team to meet the commitment.
c) is definitely wrong because adding more people to a team decreases productivity in a short term and won’t help to meet the commitment.
d) Fair enough. Sometimes the Dev Team discovers completely unpredicted work during a Sprint and cannot deliver all the items. In this case the Sprint Scope should be negotiated with the PO as soon as possible.
Mikhail: This question is about handling external dependencies in Scrum. The rule of thumb here is not to take any work into a Sprint if there are some unresolved external dependencies. The reason is the Dev team cannot take a commitment to finish the item in this case.
Another point to keep in mind is a piece of functionality should be delivered in every Sprint.
In real life I would ask the following questions at the Sprint Planning in this situation:
* Will the external component be delivered during this Sprint? Rarely the answer is “yes” if there is a person representing the external team and making the commitment.
* If the component is not delivered, will work on this item produce some valuable functionality for customers?
If the answers to the both questions are “no”, the dev team will take the next items from the Backlog into the Sprint.
The primary concern of the PO is the flow of value reflected in the ordering of product backlog. Timeline of the flow might be affected by such dependencies but doesn’t necessarily change the ordering.
Mikhail: Scrum addresses the most of the risks involved in software development.
For example, Scrum addresses timescale of the planned work via Sprint Planning and fixed Sprint length. Scrum guarantees the best possible value will be delivered in the specified time frame.
Scrum addresses the risks related to the Team: missing skills or bad relationships. The Scrum Guide tells: “Development Teams are cross-functional, with all the skills as a team necessary to create a product Increment;” and “teams are self-organizing”. It means if some skills are missing, the team can organize itself to gain them. The same is with bad relationships. Teams can overcome them by ourselves with a help from the Scrum Master.
Scrum allows to mitigate the risk of an unstable or complex technology through Product Backlog management. The most risky items will be identified and put close to the top. They will be addressed early that guarantees minimal loses in the case if something goes wrong with the technology.
Complexity and unpredictability of requirements are addressed by Scrum via constant work of the PO with the Key Stakeholders and the Development Team (Sprint Reviews, Backlog refinement sessions, etc.)
As the Scrum Master what will your do (choose two)?
a) Raise a concern to HR and get Jason removed from the team.
b) Take Jason aside and express your concern over this behavior. Tell him to act as team player and comply to team decision.
c) You suggest to open it up with full team now so that is does not further worsen. You propose to help initiate this discussion but not being the one to start it.
d) You observe this in Retrospective whether discussion on design and architecture is initiated, if not then check how comfortable is everyone with the way it is handled in project.
Mikhail: This question relates to the group of questions where a team member behaves in a wrong way. There are following ideas for the Scrum Master how to handle this:
* As the Scrum Master you are responsible for supporting Scrum, facilitating Scrum events as requested and removing impediments. So, you definitely should take an action.
* Do not immediately suspect lack of commitment. It can be unfair and even harmful. Try to understand what’s going on. Find it out by asking the individual (privately) or someone who knows the individual (discreetly).
* Scrum Teams are self-organizing, so they can handle this for themselves. You should bring it up in the next Retrospective and try to come to a solution that everyone is happy with.
So, the correct answers are c and d.
Definitely, it needs to be discussed with the team. However, it is worth to understand what’s going on before this. Sometimes the root cause of the bad behavior is very different than it seems. In many questions about harmful developer behavior B would be a good option if it was formulated like “Take Jason aside and ask why does he behave in this way”.
As usually, there is no need to wait for a formal event to inspect and adapt. This can be done as soon as the issue is identified.
a) Tell the PO that dev team owns the DoD and it is their duty to decide on acceptable performance standard
b) Encourage the PO to bring this up to the team so that team can come up with improved DoD, with strong SLA requirements for performance issues
c) Wait till retrospective because this is the appropriate time for dev team to re-consider the DoD
Mikhail: Of course, the PO needs to bring up the concerns to the team. I think it is better to do as early as possible.
However, changing the DoD during a Sprint seems not a good practice because of 2 reasons:
* If the DoD is strengthen in a middle of a Sprint, it could affect the Sprint Goal because items from the Sprint Backlog will require more time to be completed.
* Sometimes a Dev Team could desire to weaken the DoD in a middle of a Sprint to make some unfinished items “complete”. In my opinion it could endanger quality.
So, the best time to change the DoD is at the Retrospective right before the next Sprint.
a. Focus
b. Commitment
c. Courage
d. Respect
e. Openness
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide itself does not contain details about the Scrum Values. However, I found a very good series of articles on this topic at Scrum.org that explains every value:
Focus
Openness
Courage
Commitment
Rspect
I think the following values were touched in the question: openness, courage and respect (c, d, e):
Openness:
Openness enables team members to share their perspectives, feel heard by their peers, and be able to support team decisions.
Courage:
It takes courage to share a dissenting opinion with a team member and engage in productive conflict.
It takes courage to admit our mistakes. This could apply to our technical work, our decisions, or how we conduct ourselves.
Respect:
When there is respect for all opinions and perspectives, we can ensure everyone has the opportunity to be heard. When we feel we have been heard, it is possible to fully support team decisions even if the decision was not our preference.
A. Sales Executive or Sales Leader
B. CEO
C. Customers and Prospects
D. Market research results and analyst reports
E. Development Team
Mikhail: Actually, the Product Owner can work with anyone any time (possibly during Product Backlog Refinement and other activities) who can supply good ideas to capture more value for the Product.
In order to maximize value, the PO should identify the Key Stakeholders for the Product, and involve them as necessary throughout the development effort.
There is a good article at Scrum.org that explains everything about the Key Stakeholders. It divides the Key Stakeholders into three broad categories:
- The Users – The human people who actually use the Product. Sometimes the Development team acts as a “Production Support Engineer” user
- The External Customers – The people responsible for paying to use the Product
- The Internal Customers – The people responsible for making the funding decisions for the Product development effort
The Scrum Glossary gives a definition:
A Key Stakeholder is a person external to the Scrum Team with a specific interest in and knowledge of a product that is required for incremental discovery. Represented by the Product Owner and actively engaged with the Scrum Team at Sprint Review.
So, the PO might consider all the suggested options. However, we can try to arrange them:
C. Customers and Prospects (The Users)
B. CEO (The Internal Customers)
A. Sales Executive or Sales Leader (specific interest in and knowledge of the Product)
E. Development Team (sometimes acts as a “Production Support Engineer” user, can give useful feedback during Product Backlog Refinement and other activities)
D. Market research results and analyst reports
(A): You identify the dependencies and re-order the Product Backlog for them.
(B): You work with the Development Teams on how to best parse the work.
Mikhail: Actually, it is easy to answer using the Nexus Guide. It has special events for identifying and minimizing dependencies between the teams and forecasting which team will deliver which Product Backlog items: Refinement and Nexus Sprint Planning. Both meetings involve representatives from all the teams.
So, the correct answer is B.
There is a good paper describing this process in detail: Cross-Team Refinement in Nexus™
A. Add at least one high priority item into the Product Backlog
B. Add at least one high priority item into the Sprint Backlog
C. Aim for highest priority item to be implemented in the next Sprint
D. Add the highest priority item into the Product Backlog
Mikhail: A and D are wrong because they suggest adding a team process improvement directly into the Product Backlog. Remember, the Product Backlog lists all features, functions, requirements, enhancements, and fixes that constitute the changes to be made to the product in future releases.
B (add a process improvement into the Sprint Backlog) looks good. However, the current Sprint is almost over at the time of Retrospective. The scope of the next Sprint will be defined at the following Sprint Planning. So, B is not the best choice.
The Scrum Guide contains: The Sprint Backlog makes visible all the work that the Development Team identifies as necessary to meet the Sprint Goal. To ensure continuous improvement, it includes at least one high priority process improvement identified in the previous Retrospective meeting.
So, C option is the best.
A. Report daily progress to stakeholders
B. Do the work planned in the Sprint Backlog
C. Increase velocity
D. Pull Product Backlog items for the Sprint
E. Reorder the Product Backlog
F. Set the time for the Daily Scrum
Mikhail: A. Wrong. There is no such a duty.
B. Correct
C. Wrong. There is no a formal commitment for this.
D. Correct. The Guide states: “The number of items selected from the Product Backlog for the Sprint is solely up to the Development Team.” I would rephrase it as the DT pulls items from the PB until it feels it is enough.
E. Wrong. This is a PO responsibility.
F. Correct
Check 1 Answer:
A. The productivity of the first team decreases
B. The productivity of the first team increases
C. The productivity of the first team remains unchanged
Mikhail: The correct answer is A. Productivity will decrease because the first team should spend time on interaction with the other team and resolve dependencies. In the very beginning the productivity will drop even more because members of the first team will have to do some knowledge transfer to the new team.
A. Facilitating and also participating as a Scrum team member.
B. Summarizing and reporting the discussions to management.
C. Acting as a scribe to capture the Development Team’s answers.
D. Prioritizing the resulting action items.
Mikhail: A. Correct. The Scrum Guide states: “The Scrum Master ensures that the meeting is positive and productive. The Scrum Master participates as a peer team member in the Retrospective from the accountability over the Scrum process.”
B. Wrong because management is not part of Scrum
C. Wrong because there is no Scribe role in Scrum
D. Wrong because the whole team should do it
A. During Sprint Planning.
B. After they have been discussed and agreed to at the Sprint Retrospective.
C. Whenever needed.
D. Before a Sprint begins.
E. Prior to starting a project.
Mikhail: The correct answer is C. Teams in Scrum are self-organized. There is no need to wait until a formal event. Scrum events give formal opportunities to inspect and adapt. However, any adjustments to practices or processes can be made whenever it is needed.
A. When the Product Owner identities a new work.
B. When the Scrum Master has time to enter them.
C. As soon as possible after they are identified.
D. During the Daily Scrum after the Development Team approves them
Mikhail: The correct answer is C “as soon as possible”. The Scrum Guide clarifies it:
“As new work is required, the Development Team adds it to the Sprint Backlog.”
“The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint”
There is no need to wait for the Daily Scrum to approve it.
A. As much as the Product Owner and Development Team agree is necessary to create enough ready Product Backlog Items
B. Up to 10% of the capacity of the Development Team
C. As much as the Product Owner deems necessary to create enough ready Product Backlog Items
D. Up to 10% of the capacity of the Development Team in a typical Sprint, but as much as 90% in early Sprints
Mikhail: At first glance it seems that answer should be B. However, it is A. The Scrum Guide states:
“This is an ongoing process in which the Product Owner and the Development Team collaborate on the details of Product Backlog items.”
“Refinement usually consumes no more than 10% of the capacity of the Development Team.”
So, Refinement takes as much time as the PO and the DT agree. Usually, it takes not more than 10% of the total Sprint time.
A. Instruct the Development Team to split into 2 teams with 5 Developers in each
B. Instruct the Development Team to split into 2 teams, they should decide the appropriate sizes
C. Raise the increased team size as a potential impediment and help the Development Team decide what to do about it
D. Do nothing, the Development Team must fix its own issues
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide advises optimal team size of 3 to 9 people. A and B are wrong because teams are self-organizing. C is better than D because the Dev Team can be not aware of the potential risks. Your job as the Scrum Master is to clarify it and facilitate coming to a solution.
A. Development team plans work for next 24 hours
B. Inspect work since last daily scrum
C. Forecast upcoming sprint work
My confusion: A and B looks correct. C is not clear to me, do they mean upcoming work of the current sprint or the work of upcoming sprint?
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide contains “The Daily Scrum is held every day of the Sprint. At it, the Development Team plans work for the next 24 hours. This optimizes team collaboration and performance by inspecting the work since the last Daily Scrum and forecasting upcoming Sprint work.”
So, all the options are correct.
A. No, that is far too hard and must be done in a hardening Sprint.
B. No, each Scrum Team stands alone.
C. Yes, but only for Scrum Teams whose work has dependencies.
D. Yes, otherwise the Product Owner (and stakeholders) may not be able to accurately inspect what is done.
Mikhail:The Nexus Guide states: “A Nexus consists of multiple cross-functional Scrum Teams working together to deliver a potentially releasable Integrated Increment at least by the end of each Sprint.”
So, all the teams should integrate their increments by the end of each Sprint. The answer is D.
A. True
B. False
Mikhail: True (A). The Scrum Guide states: “The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created.”
Q1 :Who creates the Increment?
A1: Only members of the Development Team create the Increment.
Q2: What belongs solely to the Development Team?
I think, the answer here should include “Increment”, but the answer was : The Sprint Backlog
Mikhail: I think, there is no any contradiction between the questions. The Scrum Guide contains:
“Only members of the Development Team create the Increment.”
“Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint, and it belongs solely to the Development Team.”
So, according to the Scrum Guide, the both answers are correct.
It is not written in the Guide, but in fact, when the Increment is created, it does not belong to the Dev Team anymore. For example, someone hired a dev team to create a product. When the job is done, the product belongs to the person who funded the project.
Which output from Sprint Planning provides the Development Team with a target and overarching direction for the Sprint? for this I am confused with Sprint goal or Sprint backlog as answer
@ Kumarit84
It should be Sprint Goal.
As per Scrum Guide
The Sprint Goal is the single objective for the Sprint. Although the Sprint Goal is a commitment by the
Developers, it provides flexibility in terms of the exact work needed to achieve it. The Sprint Goal also
creates coherence and focus, encouraging the Scrum Team to work together rather than on separate
initiatives.
It also says
The Sprint Goal is created during the Sprint Planning event and then added to the Sprint Backlog
If two Scrum Teams are added to the development of a product that previously had only one Scrum Team, what will be the immediate impact on the productivity of the original Scrum Team?
is that productivity will decrease or remains same in this case
stay the same or unknow until a Sprint has run….?
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Productivity will decrease of existing scrum Team as they might spend some time on grooming/helping team members of new team.
On of the questions in Learning mode
How frequently should scrum users inspect Scrum artifacts and progress towards a sprint goal?
A. As frequently as possible
B. Frequently, but it should not get in the way of the work
C. At the Sprint Review
D. After the Daily Scrum.
‘B’ was marked as correct answer but should it not be ‘C’
Scrum Guide says Inspection should be frequent but through scrum events. In the above options, only matching Scrum event is ‘Scrum Review’. Should that not be correct? Please advise
Inspection
The Scrum artifacts and the progress toward agreed goals must be inspected frequently and diligently to
detect potentially undesirable variances or problems. To help with inspection, Scrum provides cadence
in the form of its five events.
I would say A- as frequently as possible
One of the questions in Learning mode
Who is responsible for creation of the Definition of Done?
A. The Product Owner
B. The scrum Master
C. The Development team
D. The Scrum Team
The option ‘C’ is mentioned as correct answer but should it not be ‘D’-The scrum Team.
The Scrum guide says,
If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.
I just went through the 2020 Scrum guide, page 12 – “… the scrum team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.” and so option ‘D’ is correct, right?
These questions are based on the 2017 guide, 2020 guide questions are in progress. As per 2017 its ‘C’ is correct, as I quote from 2017 Scrum Guide Page 18:
“If “Done” for an increment is not a convention of the development organization, the Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of “Done” appropriate for the product. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working on the system or product release, the Development Teams on all the Scrum Teams must mutually define the definition of “Done.” “
I’m thinking of 2 ways like this:
(1) Who is responsible for creation of the Definition of Done?
A. Product Owner
B. Scrum Master
C. Development Team
D. Scrum Team
–> My answer will be C because it’s using terminology of 2017 Scrum Guide, “Development Team”
(2) Who is responsible for creation of the Definition of Done?
A. Product Owner
B. Scrum Master
C. Developers
D. Scrum Team
–> Then, my answer is D, Scrum Team as 2020 Scrum Guide mentioned, “Developers”
Yes I second option D.
Hi Mikhail,
I have gathered some additional questions that everyone would benefit if you could answer them 🙂
You are the Scrum Master for four teams working from the same Product Backlog. Several of the developers come to you complaining that work identified for the upcoming two sprints will re-quire full time commitment from Phil, an external specialist. As the scrum master what should you do to solge this upcoming problem? (best answer)
A) Prepare the Sprint Backlogs each day for the teams so Phil can spend some time in each team.
B) Allocate Phil to one team per Sprint so that over four Sprints every team will have had the support it requires.
C) As needed, consult with all Developers on how they want to manage this problem, and help them implement their preferred solution.
D) Ask Phil for a plan to hire and train additional people in his domain, and in the meantime work with the Product Owner and Development Teams to re-prioritzize the work so that tasks not depending on Phil can be done first.
User documentation is part of your definition of Done. However, there are not enough technical writers for all teams. Your scrum Team does not have a technical writer. What needs to be done? (best answer)
A) Let the user documentation remain undone and accumulate until after the last development Sprint. It will then be done by any available technical writer.
B) Form a separate team of technical writers that will work on an on-demand basis for the various product owners. Work order will be first in, first out.
C) Your scrum Team is still accountable for creating user documentation. In this case, the developers will write it.
Which four of the following risks to product development are addressed by Scrum? (4 answers)?
A) The timescale of the planned work.
B) The stability and complexity of the technology.
C) The complexity and unpredictability of the requirements.
D) The skills and working relationships of the people on the teams.
E) The definition of incentive and bonus strategies by Human Resources for all team members.
F) The clear definition of stages and gateways in the overall governance model.
During the sprint review the product owner introduces the functionality that is likely to be done over the next sprints. The chief security officer reminds everyone that through the envisioned functionality, sensitive personal user data will be stored. This might be the subject of external security audits. He reminds everyone of the important non-functional requirements with regards to security. These were not applicable and not considered previously.
What are two effective ways the Scrum Team can manage these high-security concerns? (best 2 answers).
A) During the Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team assesses how to add these expectations to the Definition of Done so every future Increment will live up to these requirements If needed they can work with external specialists to better understand the requirements.
B) They should be managed by a separate specialist team in a parallel Sprint, so they van be specifically resolved through an improved application design without hindering functional development.
C) They are discussed, determined, and documented in parallel sprints to not disturb te actual feature development. Once analyzed, they should be applied to the work already done before further feature development can continue.
D) The impact of these security concerns on past AND future work needs to be determined before new Sprints can start. A list of security-related Product Backlog items needs to be passed on the product owner before starting the next sprint with the development team.
E) They are added to the product backlog and addressed throughout the next sprint, combined with creating the business functionality in those sprints, no matter how small that business functionality.
You are the Scrum master of a scrum team that has one developer who disagrees with team decisions. Their disagreements are becoming disruptive and slowing progress. The developer often returns to earlier team decisions and re-opens the issue.
What are two ways to go about this problem? (2 best answers).
A) You go to the Human resources department and ask them to have a conversation with the developer based on the issues the team has raised.
B) You organize an offsite team building activity to establish a foundation of trst. You observe whether the problem persists after the offsite activity.
C) You take the developer aside to express concern over their disagreements and tell them to act as a team player and to comply with the team’s decision.
D) To every team member expressing this concern you suggest raising this with the full team. You offer to help initiate the conversation but not to resolve the concern yourself.
E) At the Sprint retrospective you observe whether the topic is raised. If it does not happen, you check on how comfortable everybody is with the way team decisions are made.
At the seventh sprint review, the stakeholders seem disappointed and angry. When asked about it, they say the product being built ill not meet their needs and will cost more than they anticipated spending. What factors may have led to this? (best 3 answers).
A) The Scrum master has not ensured transparency.
B) The project management officer (PMO) and its project managers have not been adequately engaged, causing the project plan to become inaccurate.
C) The Product Owner has not been interacting frequently with the stakeholders and kept them aware of the progress of the project.
D) The stakeholders have not been using the sprint Reviews to actively engage and inspect and evaluate progress.
E) Changes to the project plan were not adequately documented and shared. The change request procedure was not diligently followed.
F) The stakeholders were not allowed to enter the development area, or be present at the daily scrum.
Where should the daily scrum be held according to the scrum Guide? (best answer)
A) In the room that is reserved by the Scrum master
B) Around the scrum board.
C) Wherever the developers think is best.
D) In a room where management can listen in.
E) In the coffee corner to confirm this is an informal gathering.
A scrum team selected a product backlog item during sprint planning. However, at the end of the sprint the work does not meet the definition od Done. What two things should happen with this incomplete product backlog item? (the best 2 answers)
A) Only the stakeholders decide over acceptance of undone work and whether to release it
B) It is put on the product backlog for the product owner to decide what to do with it.
C) The team is not included in the increment for this sprint.
D) Review the item, add the done part of the estimate to the velocity and create a story for the remaining work.
Your scrum team has been working together for over a dozen sprints. The scrum team consists of 10 members. Each sprint taked four weeks. As a scrum master, you observe that the developers are hardly collaborating: during the sprint, members are primarly working on their own items. You als notice that the items on the sprint backlog are mostly unrelated. You suspect that the lack of a sprint goal might be the cause.
Although you have encouraged the use of a sprint goal, both the product owner and the developers have concluded that they are unable to create sprint goals based on the wide variety of items on their product backlog.
What might explain why this scrum team is struggling to craft a sprint goal?
(Choose all that apply)
A) Scrum might not be the best framework for the work done by this team.
B) The product owner is not communicating the product goal that they want to achieve in upcoming sprints.
C) The scrum team is too big.
D) The product owner does not have the mandate to make decisions about items on the product backlog nor their ordering.
E) The sprints are too long.
You are a scrum master and one of the developers approaches you and says: every sprint we are not completing regression testing for all of the selected product backlog items in the sprint, but regression testing is part of the definition of done. We have discussed with the product owner and during the sprint we decided to change the definition of done to remove regression testing. Which two actions are appropriate in this situation? (choose best 2 answers).
A) Agree with altering the definition of done, if both the developers and product owner agree.
B) Ask the developers and the product owner if removing regression testing from the definition of done allows the team to produce useful and valuable increments at the end of every sprint?
C) Ask the developers and the product owner what problem they are going to solve by altering the definition of done during the sprint to remove regression testing. Will this raise transparency or improve quality?
D) Disagree with the decision and tell them tat having a stringent definition of done is important for the quality of the product, and they need to follow it.
Self-management is more effective when it happens within boundaries.
Select two relevant boundaries for self-management provided by the scrum framework. (choose best 2 answers).
A) Having an even number of members in a scrum team to be able to do pair programming and be more productive.
B) Clearly defining sub-responsibilities and handovers within the scrum team.
C) Timeboxing work to allow for frequent inspection.
D) Creating a valuable and useful increment by the end of each Sprint.
A scrum team has been using the daily scrum to report sprint progress to the product owner, because the product owner wants to track what every developer is working on every day. What is the best thing for the scrum master to do? (choose the best answer).
A) Ask the product owner to stop attending the daily scrum.
B) Coach the product owner and the developers on the purpose of scrum events and let them figure out how to deal with this situation.
C) Start attending the daily scrum so that whenever the developers have a conflict with the product owner, the scrum master can resolve the conflict.
D) Nothing. The product owner cn continue to track progress at the daily scrum.
Eight months ago your company started developing a new product consisting of several major components. You are the scrum master on the team building the “core” component of the product; your component also integrates all the other components.
The scrum teams work in monthly sprints, and the team has forecast that it will deliver the integrated product in three springs. Recently the team’s progress slowed because of changes to the other components that they integrate. The program manager is extremely upset when they find out that the team will need two more springs. The project managers of the other components confirm their adherence to the original forecast.
As a scrum master, what could you do to help the product owner? (choose the best answer).
A) You remove all items from the product backlog for which development is forecast to be beyond the expected date.
B) You calculate how many additional developers it would take to increase velocity yo make the original date. You inform the program manager of the additional budget for these developers. This would then allow meeting the original forecast.
C) You lengthen your sprints to accommodate the delays.
D) You suggest working with the program manager and the project managers of the other components on the ordering and the value of your open product backlog items to redefine the possible delivery date.
What can the scrum value of openness easily impact? (choose the best answer)
A) Collaboration.
B) Product quality
C) Employee satisfaction
D) Time to market
E) Stakeholder trust
F) All of the above
Five new scrum teams have been created to build one product. A few of the developers ask the scrum master who will coordinate the work between the different scrum teams. What should the scrum master do? (choose the best answer).
A) Collect the sprint tasks from the teams at the end of their sprint planning and merge that into a consolidated plan for the entire sprint.
B) Advise the teams to reduce interdependence by working in separate branches and organizing a specific sprint every four development sprints to manage integration.
C) Tach the product owner to work with the lead developers on ordering product backlog in a way to avoid too much technical and development overlap during a sprint.
D) Visit the five scrum teams each day to facilitate alignment and synchronization of their sprint backlogs.
E) Teach them that it is their responsibility to form scrum teams with the skills and knowledge to create an increment by the end of every sprint.
A scrum team has been working together for nine sprints. A new product comes in, unsure about his responsibilities. As the scrum master you have observed how the functional and business insights of the developers have grown over the past sprints. The product owner however is relatively new to the company and to the product. What are two activities you would direct the new product owner wards focusing on? (choose the best 2 answers).
A) You tell the product owner to make sure that there are no ambiguities or possible misunderstandings in the items on the product backlog when they are handed over to the scrum team. This is best done by capturing the functional requirements during an analysis phase, resulting in documents that are considered as the working product of such analysis sprints.
B) You advise the product owner to start building a good relationship with the stakeholders of the product. On-going interaction with them is important to regularly align with changing organizational or market expectations. The product owner is also expected to invite the appropriate stakeholders to the sprint review.
C) You advise the product owner to rely on others in the scrum team and the stakeholders to formulate the product backlog, as they are the ones that are up to speed. By questioning them and working with them the product owner will quickly become more productive.
D) You inform the product owner that, in today’s highly competitive markets, it is important that the developers are updated on changing business priorities on a daily basis. It is why scrum has this daily meeting. At this daily scrum the developers can adapt to the changes in scope without delay.
What are two signs that a scrum team is self-managing? (choose the best two answers)
A) Management understands the team’s daily tasks at all times.
B) The scrum team can resolve conflicts and continue working.
C) Creativity flourishes and new possibilities are explored.
D) The developers always know the status of the assigned work needed to deliver the tasks committed in the sprint plan.
In the sprint review, one of the stakeholders highlights the money spent this year, and that due to market changes, the funding may run out. An argument follows this statement, with raised voices and strong emotional statements. As a scrum master, what are your two best options? (choose the best 2 answers).
A) Ask for a short break for people to calm down and be objective.
B) Argue that the scrum team needs to be kept busy while the finding is confirmed.
C) It is the product owner’s meeting, so do nothing.
D) Defend the budget, asking the stakeholders to support the funding of the work.
E) Encourage the stakeholders to focus on delivering the highest value items for the next sprint.
You are scrum master helping to establish five scrum teams that will be building a product. You discuss with them the high level of integration that the product increment will require by the end of their spring. It is a highly anticipated product, both by consumers and by the organization. Of the options raised by the future scrum team members, which option do you encourage? (choose the best answer).
A) Each scrum team delivers done increments in its own area of responsibility. Upon functional acceptance at the sprint review, the code is isolated for future stabilization. The release date is adjusted according to the expected work and time of such integration phase.
B) In the first sprint, integration is less important. The goal is to deliver business value. Functionality that is not integrated with the work of other scrum teams by the end of a sprint is still reviewed to assess its potential business value. It can still be released at the product owner’s discretion, and silent consent of the stakeholders.
C) All scrum teams agree on a shared definition of done that describes all work needed to deliver an increment that is the integrated sum of the work from all scrum teams.
D) Each scrum team provides a separate increment with the functionality added by the individual team. The sprint review is used to identify the work needed to integrate with the other scrum teams. This work is then added to the product backlog.
You are the scrum master for three scrum teams working on the same product. There is a single product backlog that all three scrum teams select from. Management is eager to improve the productivity of the teams and wants to standardize velocity across all three teams so that they can see how each team is delivering value. When responding to management, which two statements are appropriate? (choose the best two answers).
A) Velocity is the amount of business functionality that a scrum team creates in a sprint. It is unique to that team and used as an input to sprint planning.
B) Incentivizing teams based on velocity can boost the scrum team’s motivation to create more value.
C) Standardizing velocity across teams van help with understanding which teams are creating more value.
D) Velocity has no direct relationship with value.
A scrum team is struggling over the fact that not all developers work full time and that other developers regularly work from home. To solve the difficulties in aligning daily, at the sprint retrospective two developers suggest having the daily scrum every three days, when everyone is in the office.
What would be three key concerns if the frequency of the daily scrum were to be lowered? (choose the best 3 answers).
A) Less progress information will be shared, causing the plan for the sprint to become inaccurate and transparency over progress toward the sprint goal is reduced.
B) The scrum master loses the ability to update the Gantt chart properly, thereby obscuring the scrum master’s tracking of sprint progress.
C) The product owner cannot accurately report progress about the state of the forecasted work to the stakeholders.
D) Opportunities to inspect and adapt the sprint backlog are reduced. Re-aligning is bound to become even more difficult.
E) Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly which might impact productivity and progress.
What conditions are most likely occurring if you feel you need a “Quality Assurance and Release Sprint”?
(choose the best 3 answers)
A) The definition of Done is not being met every Sprint.
B) You are following Scrum and the concept of a Hardening Sprint.
C) The definition of Done is weak or incomplete, allowing technical debt to accumulate.
D) Scrum has been modified in an acceptable manner to introduce “Quality Assurance and Release Readiness Sprints”.
E) The developers find it nearly impossible to create a valuable, useful product increment in a sprint.
Which two statements are true regarding the nature of large-scale product development with scrum?
(choose the best two answers).
A) Scrum team members must be working full time on a team.
B) Changes to the core scrum framework are needed to be successful with scrum at large scale.
C) A person working on multiple scrum teams at the same time is often less productive than when that person can focus on the sprint backlog of a single scrum team.
D) A well-structured product backlog can minimize and often eliminate developers working on multiple scrum teams during a sprint.
After some small experiments with scrum, your company decides to do a complete project with scrum. As scrum master, you have been invited to the “project kick-off meeting” with IT and product management.
The product owner asks how many sprints IT will need to first figure out architecture and infrastructure issues. What are two options to explain how such work is managed using scrum?
(choose the best 2 answers).
A) You explain that technical risks are best controlled when architecture and infrastructure emerge alongside the development of functionality. The additional advantage is that business value is created faster and sooner.
B) You educate the product owner to add this work to product backlog to uphold transparency. Ask the developers to plan work during the first several sprints to estimate these items, while also creating some business functionality in these early sprints.
C) You explain that product management should not worry about such typical IT work. You inform them that you will assure that the team members reach out to the right people within the IT organization when needed. During each sprint planning event they will keep the product owner updated about the additional effort it will take for that sprint. That effort will come on top of the effort for the forecasted functional development.
D) You thank product management for understanding that these efforts indeed require effort and budget. You confirm that architecture and infrastructure are best addressed before starting scrum, but that the exact budget is difficult to calculate upfront. You say you will organize this work in timeboxed sprints of no more than 30 days to limit risk and be transparent toward product management on the actual progress.
A few members of the scrum team discuss work that is not being done. Some say it is part of the definition of done, others say it is not. After an hour an angry discussion, someone starts making personal insults and anger levels rise. What is the best action for the scrum master to take?
(choose the best answer).
A) Conduct a session to help the scrum team resolve the conflict and create a uniform definition of done. Remind the other members of the scrum team that conflicting ideas are natural but making it personal does not help.
B) Defuse the conflict. Take the definition of done and tell the other members of the scrum team how to interpret it, so they can autonomously decide whether the debated work is or is not part of it.
C) Take the people involved aside. Ask them to resolve the situation outside of the scrum team, if required through their managers. The goal is to maintain stability in the team.
D) End the discussion. Make the call whether the work is or is not part of the definition of done. Identify who is involved in the conflict and decide on their further presence on the scrum team.
You are a scrum master entering an organization that wants to “evolve” their product development to scrum. The organization’s teams are organized into component teams. This means that teams address one single application layer only (for example, front end middle tier, back end, and interfaces).
You introduce the concept of feature teams, where teams have the skills to work on multiple layers throughout a s print and deliver working software every spring. What are two things you take into consideration when moving away from component teams toward feature teams? (choose the best 2 answers).
A) Feature teams will require time to become productive as people from the different layers and components become accustomed to working and delivering unified functionality together, as one scrum team.
B) With feature teams, it is easier to calculate and compare the productivity per team. Incentives on productivity are likely to speed up the transition to feature teams, and therefore the adoption of Scrum.
C) Productivity, in terms of lines of code or story points, will probably suffer during the transition, although even then delivery of business value is still likely to increase.
D) You cannot do scrum without feature teams. Do not continue adopting scrum until teams are reorganized in feature teams.
A developer from the scrum team is always missing the daily scrum. She feels that if she is doing her job well, it does not matter whether she attends or not. The other developers on the team have not doing anything about it. As the scrum master how should you respond to this situation? (choose the best answer)
A) Teach the developers how to deal with this situation by attending the daily scrum yourself.
B) You do not intervene. The developers own the daily scrum, so they should deal with any issues with attendance.
C) Talk to the developers who is missing the daily scrum and ask her to always attend the daily scrum.
D) Ask the developers, what value they get by having the daily scrum with all team members present and what might go wrong if all developers do not attend.
Your organization has announced a release to tis user base three sprints from now. To be able to include all functionality in the release, work needs to accelerate. The product owner puts some testing from the definition of done on hold for the next three sprints, while adding a generic item to the product backlog to resolve this in a future release.
The developers object that this will lead to technical debt. Select two ways that explain the impact of technical debt to the product owner.
(choose the best two answers).
A) A generic product backlog item is not good enough. The amount of technical debt will have to be calculated and estimated much more precisely, so the total amount of extra work that needs to be budgeted is well known.
B) As development progresses and functionality is added upon the reduced definition of done, unknown errors will cree in. The system becomes more difficult to stabilize. Work for the actual release as well as future releases will be slowed down in unpredictable ways.
C) Releasing the version creates false assumptions about the actual state of the system. This is likely to result in interruptions during future sprints in order to react to unforeseen problems arising from not having met the definition of done.
D) Feature development of a next release is snot allowed to start as long as there is technical debt from the current release. The product owner should first accept this impact before the definition of done can be reduced.
A multi-national company is using scrum from product development of their five major product. What alternatives should the company consider to decide how many product owners are needed for these five products? (choose the best 2 answers)
A) There is one product owner for each product (five in total). Each product owner may delegate to others for specific value, capabilities, and functionality within their product. The five product owners share and align work via product backlog.
B) There is one product owner responsible for all five products. This person may delegate work to others for specific value, capabilities, and functionality within each product scale their accountability.
C) There is one product owner for all five products. This person may not delegate work to others for specific value, capabilities, and functionality, given these are all the product owner’s individual responsibility.
D) There are as many product owners as needed to analyze, document, and explain expectations and requirements with all Scrum Teams.
A scrum team consists of developers working from globally distributed locations. Organizing the scrum events requires conferencing tools that are not easily available within the organization. The developers propose doing a daily scrum only on Tuesdays. Which are the most appropriate responses for their scrum master? (choose the best 2 answers)
A) Coach the developers on why a daily frequency is important as an opportunity to update the sprint plan and how it helps the team organize work toward achieving the spring goal.
B) Have the developers vote to make sure there is consensus within the team.
C) Help the developers understand that lowering the frequency of communication will only increase the feeling of disconnect between the team members.
D) Acknowledge and support this self-managing team’s decision.
Best regards,
Adrian
Anyone has the answers or hints to those questions? Also can anyone please share some PSPO 2 questions? thanks
Good afternoon,
I am wondering what is the answer to that question:25. A product owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product that is the result of the work of the scrum team. Which of the following can be delegated to others, while the product owner remains accountable for the work?
a. Attending the sprint retrospective
b. Attending the sprint review
c. Ordering product backlog items
d. Developing and communicating the product goal
I am guessing A and C but somebody can confirm?
Thanks,
Isabelle
Just C.
It is C and D.
â—Ź Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;
â—Ź Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;
â—Ź Ordering Product Backlog items; and,
â—Ź Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.
The Product Owner may do the above work or may delegate the responsibility to others. Regardless, the
Product Owner remains accountable.
Your comment from Item 4 above clarifies who creates the DoD to be
Mikhail: The Scrum Guide says: “The Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of “done” appropriate for the product.” So, the correct answer is the Development Team.
From my point of view, DT owns DoD on behalf of the whole Scrum Team. So, it is possible to say “Scrum Team creates DoD”, however “Development Team creates DoD” is more precise.
BUT the 2020 scrum guide says this:
“If the Definition of Done for an increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product…”
I believe your answer is incorrect
to expand, it also states “The Developers are required to conform to the Definition of Done. “
Im kind of confuse about one question. the question is:
What are the topics that developers discuss about in a daily scrum while they are trying to inspect and achieve the sprint goal.
A) What did we learn since yesterday and what are the ways we can modify our plan to achieve the sprint goal
B) Are there any impediments which is blowing my work toward the sprint goal
C)What will I be working on tomorrow?
D)Why are you late?
E) Are there any resolutions that need to be made to maintain progress toward the sprint goal?
Im sure about option A and B but confused between C and E. which ones should be the right answers?
Only B is the correct answer
There is a question which refers on improvements. That at least one improvement should be included in the next sprint backing coming out of sprint retrospective. This is pre 2020 guide
2020 guide says that’s not the case. We can form a sprint backlog without any improvements as compulsory. Developers have complete freedom to choose if they can choose or not choose to add improvements.
Below description comes from your blog “How to become a certified Scrum Master” https://mlapshin.com/index.php/2015/09/08/psm-exam/
you mentioned Scrum Practitioner Open assessment below, where is it ? Could you please provide the link? if no this assessment, any other place to learn more complex questions (similar complex questions appear in the PSM I exam) now for PSM1 exam ?
“Note, there are 4 open assessments: PSM, PSPO, PSD and Scrum Practitioner. You should easily pass the first two assessments. PSD is also useful, but it contains a bit of programmer questions which are not asked in the real PSM exam. Certainly try the Scrum Practitioner Open to get feeling of more complex questions. A couple of similar questions will definitely appear in the PSM exam. “
Hi Mikhail!,
I have the next question: When should user stories be written, at what stage in a scrum project?. Also, when should these be groomed and refined to be ready for sprint planning?.
Hi Mikhail,
I have a question regarding who should be writing the user stories. I have found that not necessarily the PO but also the DT, which makes sense to me, being that some requirements may be non functional. However I haven’t found anything about “stakeholders” or “customers” writing, at least a simple user story and a mockup of what he/she wants in the system. After all, they are the ones who know the specific areas of the business better than any PO.
Yes I second option D for Question 63 as per Scrum guide 2020
For Question 26 – What part of the capacity of the Development Team does Product Backlog Refinement usually Consume
A – Not more than 20%
B – Not more than 10%
C – The Development Team is not authorized for Product Backlog Refinement
D – Not more than 5%
C is marked incorrect. Isn’t Product backlog refinement accountability of Product Owner? Could someone please help.
Hi, Mikhail
If I have achieved 100% accuracy in bothopen-assessments of scrum.org and your quiz, can I pass the PSM I test at one time? thank you.
Is anybady answer the question? thx
I am not sure why I keep getting this question wrong
Where can Scrum be used? Check all the applicable items.
Research and identifying of viable markets, technologies, and product capabilities
Development and sustaining of Cloud and other operational environments
Development of products and enhancements
Development of almost everything we use in our daily lives as individuals and societies
I did not choose these two below
Managing the operation of an organization
Development of software and hardware
Those were my selections and it came up incorrect.
And this was the response on my answer
Incorrect
Right answer below
Scrum has been used to develop software, hardware, embedded software, networks of interacting function, autonomous vehicles, schools, government, marketing, managing the operation of organizations and almost everything we use in our daily lives, as individuals and societies.
Scrum has been used extensively, worldwide, to:
Research and identify viable markets, technologies, and product capabilities;
Develop products and enhancements;
Release products and enhancements, as frequently as many times per day;
Develop and sustain Cloud (online, secure, on-demand) and other operational environments for product use; and,
Sustain and renew products.
Can someone tell me what I am missing?
Never mind, I answered it! I think the questions need to be improved.
Hi Mikhail
Hi Mikhail,
in one of the PSPO question
In which meetings the Key Stakeholders are allowed to participate?
Ans was Sprint Review.
wasn’t Sprint planning should be also there as the Scrum team invite people outside scrum in this and key stakeholders can also be part of this. Pls explain
On question 12 – who is responsible for creating DoD? The answer Says – Development team.
Based on Scrum Guide – Is it not the Scrum Team?
In the 2020 Scrum Guide, the Definition of Done is created by the Scrum Team. It states that:
If the Definition of Done for an increment is part of the standards of the organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If it is not an organizational standard, the Scrum Team must create a Definition of Done appropriate for the product.
Your scrum team has been working together for over a dozen sprints. The scrum team consists of 10 members. Each sprint takes four weeks. As a scrum master, you observe that the developers are hardly collaborating: during the sprint, members are primarily working on their own items. You also notice that the items on the sprint backlog are mostly unrelated. You suspect that the lack of a sprint goal might be the cause.
Although you have encouraged the use of a sprint goal, both the product owner and the developers have concluded that they are unable to create sprint goals based on the wide variety of items on their product backlog.
What might explain why this scrum team is struggling to craft a sprint goal?
(Choose all that apply)
A) Scrum might not be the best framework for the work done by this team.
B) The product owner is not communicating the product goal that they want to achieve in upcoming sprints.
C) The scrum team is too big.
D) The product owner does not have the mandate to make decisions about items on the product backlog nor their ordering.
E) The sprints are too long.
Hey Mikhail,
Can you please help me with the answer please?
Or someone else who knows this.
According to me it should be A and B. But not very sure!
Thanks in advance.
Isnt all of them?