Preparation for the Scrum Master certification exam usually takes a lot of time and expense. However, free online training can at least save you a considerable amount of money. However, you need to take the time. We present you with a large collection of questions that you will need to take your Scrum Master certification exam.
We invited several Scrum professionals to share their experiences. We sent them different cases. They returned their answers. Another part of the material is based on the experience of students preparing for their Scrum Master exam. As a result, we have compiled all the information in this report. Reference: “Free training to prepare for the Scrum Master Certification exam”, https://www.islandjournal.net/scrum-master-certification-exam/
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The preparation materials are suitable for BVOP, CMS, PSMI, and PSMII. Reference: “Sample Exam (Mock) Questions for the BVOP™ Certified Scrum Master Certification Test”, https://bvop.org/posts/scrumexamtestquestions/
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Issue: Your team is very eager to go on vacation and is asked to postpone the retrospective of your sprint to the beginning or end of the other sprint.
Answer: We check together whether all tasks are completed and whether the user story remains unfinished.
Then I seek the opinion of the Product Owner and accept his opinion, trying in case of a negative answer to serve most reasonably and easily to the Development team.
Issue: The client informs you that he is starting repair procedures in his office and asks you to send him a summary by e-mail from your meeting with the team and your opinions about the Sprint Review meeting. He trusts you completely for your analyzes.
Answer: I collect and verify that complete information is clear, concise, complete, and as easy to understand and read as possible.
Issue: Your director has heard that your Sprint is over, but there is unfinished business. He is angry and asks you to remove some large User Stories from the planned ones until the end of the sprint and replace them with smaller ones that you can find in the general list.
Answer: I agree to check and do everything possible but to present a solution by the end of the day.
I gather the team and tell everyone what is required of us.
We check current user stories and analyze whether it is possible.
After coordination between the Development Team and Product Owner, we find how to reorganize 2 of the big user stories into 4 smaller ones and separate them. And we divide into functionalities.
For a seamless demonstration, we will need 2 of them and 2 will return to the backlog for secondary evaluation.
Issue: The team informs you this morning that they are ready with all their work two days before the end of the sprint and asks you to arrange a meeting with the client to hold the Sprint Review meeting with him and start the new sprint tomorrow. While you are at the Sprint Review meeting, they will attend an interesting company training, but promise to make up for it by asking the HR department to give you an extra day off this year.
Answer: I coordinate the information with the Product Owner and we make a decision together.
Only the Product Owner can stop the sprint.
I object to the premature start of the next sprint.
SCRUM is flexible and practical but with clearly defined parameters.
Sprints do not change their length from the beginning to the end of the whole project.
Issue: The team informs you that they prefer not to work with a fixed time for sprints, but prefer each sprint to have a duration according to their work and judgment. They have already discussed this proposal with the Product Owner role and he said he has no claims.
Answer: I would gather the whole SCRUM team and talk and recall the pillars of SCRUM and how it is most effective.
Sprints do not change their length from the beginning to the end of the whole project
When planning the entire SPRINT Dev Team, they set their time this way.
Product Owner Chapter
Your assigned Product Owner on the project goes on a business trip to the client and sent you this morning Sprint Goal for the next sprint. He has also made a collection with all the user stories that the team will work on.
I provide the information to the team by analyzing the user story.
I make sure every day and monitor the progress of the team and the sprint.
The clearly defined task is easy to follow and clear. Teams should have no difficulty.
I am sending reports to the Product Owner for Daily Scrum
Planning in Scrum
The Product Owner role has told your team that some functionality is expected in a few months. Your team plans to do a technology study from now on to save yourself any problems and lack of competencies over time.
That’s good to plan. And it will bring great added value to the project and its scope. As well as the team itself.
I would agree if this does not disrupt the sprint schedule in any way and there will be no negative effects.
I want the Product Owner’s opinion and what he thinks.
Together, the whole team makes this decision.
The Product Owner role in your team goes on a business trip for 2 months in one of your customer support centers. No one has made any plans, no comments. The client has not shared anything more, the Development team does not know what they will work on and your colleagues are worried about the future of the project.
I contact the Product Owner and we clarify all the cases.
I have a meeting between Dev and Product to clarify where we are and what lies ahead.
All cards on the table and 100% transparency in the team.
Together we prepare an action plan and the risks taken by the lack of a Product Owner for 2 months.
After assessing the risk, the decision of the team, and the presentation of stakeholders, we decide how to proceed.
The Product Owner role requires the designer to increase communication with the product testing team.
The Product Owner’s judgment is extremely important. He is the control body for the performed tasks and the backlog. If he thinks that the additional communication will contribute to the development of the product and adds value then I support 100% I would talk to the Product Owner about his motives and what motivates him for that.
You are returning from vacation. The team and the Product Owner of the project tell you that there is no time and the sprint should start without planning, as the team will work independently and will choose User Stories, ranked at the top of the Product Backlog collection.
I urge you to take even a little time, but to spend it on planning, this is extremely important and there is no way to follow good practices and everything that brings SCRUM as business value.
The very fact that a situation has arisen in which we are out of schedule and imposes such harsh measures gives a clear indication that something is wrong or not planned properly.
I strongly oppose such a step and urge the Product Owner to rethink it.
User Stories Chapter
A member of your team who is planning to go on vacation soon has just started working on User Story, which is expected to be planned for the next sprint
To what extent does his leave coincide with the date of the Sprint Review
We coordinate this User Story with the Product Owner and ask if we can replace it with a little, which the colleague can finish in time before the holiday.
Is there a colleague who will take over his job so that the sprint does not suffer?
Can we divide it into smaller and separate user stories?
A member of the team expresses dissatisfaction with the idea that everyone knows what the other is doing. He is used to solitude. He prefers to work without explaining exactly what or his work to be seen in software systems. It guarantees that it will deliver very good results and just in time.
I find a convenient time for my colleague and tell him exactly how SCRUM works.
I give him good examples and what a positive contribution he has when the work is transparent. The clear goal and clearly defined tasks provide security and time to react in a stressful situation. Micromanagement, although in itself, is not accepted in SCRUM.
SCRUM Team we are all together and a team.
A colleague of yours, Scrum Master from your organization, meets you in the hallway and asks for advice on the length of his team’s sprint. None of the teams can offer a duration for their sprint. He asks you to recommend a time for their sprint.
I will ask my colleague to tell me in detail and show me Sprint planning. What he has set so far as his sprint time frame and why they don’t work now.
What is the opinion of the development team and what worries them?
SCRUM practices teach us that the maximum length for a Scrum sprint should be no more than a calendar month.
I would give advice but I need a good basis on which to make an analysis.
The Product Owner role of your team wants to change the duration of the sprint to 6 weeks as you start integrating very complex systems and does not want to discredit yourself, your team, and the organization in front of the client with sprints where you risk not being able to deliver real work done.
I strongly believe in good practices and they say no more than a calendar month.
Product Owner has the most accurate view of the entire sprint.
I would discuss all possible options with him and the team.
I will support the whole team in a mutual decision.
There are always exceptions and it’s always better to have a few extra days of integration than not to finish the sprint.
Stakeholder Chapter
You receive an email from your client’s Project Manager. He asks you if there is a problem if your sprint is 6 working days. He expects a quick response so he knows what to pass on to his superiors.
If the project has started and we have already defined our sprints and the teams have determined the necessary time windows, I will delicately refuse, assuring the client’s project manager that we will do everything possible to speed up our work but will not change the working days.
Your director tells you that he has read a lot of information on the Internet about Scrum and asks you to set a time for your sprints to be one working week to reduce any risk.
I would discuss with him everything he has read and how it is in practice.
I would show the work so far and I would justify what was useful when.
Of course, I would take the practice for a 7-day sprint as long as it is the best solution.
I will explain in detail the big risks we will take if we choose the 7-day sprint as the standard of all our projects.
Scrum Business stakeholders
Business stakeholders share the view that the product is not progressing as expected.
I speak to the business about their exact expectations at this stage. We check together our plan from the beginning and the deadlines.
I meet with the team and we explain the situation. Observing all the rules and values of SCRUM, we will be on time and with completed tasks.
We set business goals.
The team decides together whether this can be done and whether it will be a problem in the current work.
When assessing the situation and the presented data, I apply it to the business and they decide whether to continue with the project or to stop here so as not to suffer losses.
Your client is not happy with the tests and wants to urgently increase the number of QA specialists in your team, with an additional 6 people as soon as possible. He wants three more senior programmers to join the team by the end of the week. The project budget has been increased accordingly.
We will make a detailed analysis of the situation and what led to this to eliminate it.
The inclusion of new staff is both a risk and a benefit. It would cause problems and delay deadlines until they get to work and it is distributed. In perspective, the additional people will shorten the deadlines for future tasks.
The additional appointments are aggravated by the already made budget and it should be clarified whether the cost will be borne by us or by the client.
The director wants you to move temporarily, for about a month, to another team. He has discussed moving your role with the Product Owner, who will take over the Scrum Master function in a month, as he said he has time for that.
If the work of the PO will not suffer and accordingly there will be no delay in the sprint, then this is a possible option temporarily.
I will collect all current requests, inquiries, and suggestions. I will categorize my work by priority and introduce it in detail to the Product Owner.
I will also explain to the manager the negative impact and the risks of having two roles performed by one person. Often the personal assessment of the volume of someone else’s work is deeply underestimated.
If necessary, I am available for any assistance and information.
Chapter “Development Team”
One of the programmers in the team asks the designer for regular adjustments to the visual concepts he offers.
Decisions and changes are discussed before each and after each sprint
General decisions and changes are made with the Product Owner
Micromanagement is not tolerated
The QA specialists on your product testing team plan to integrate additional technologies, tools, and testing procedures. According to the product owner, this will double the work and the progress after the sprints will decrease.
I organize a meeting between all teams
QAs express their side as well as PO and together we assess whether this slows down progress and how critical it is.
A decision is made and presented and agreed upon with stakeholders.
The designer and the programmer have decided to exchange part of their work on their initiative. The designer will take on some of the easy programming tasks, and the programmer will do parts of the interface.
If the deadlines and quality do not change and the teams do not mind, then this is not a problem.
If the work suffers and the teams suffer accordingly, I will gather my colleagues and find a common solution. We will make the changes for the next project or the next stage of the project development. But we will not allow there to be a change in quality and deadlines due to internal requests. There will be a solution in one way or another. The common good before individual demands.
QA specialists
QA specialists want you to assign them good testing tools for the next sprints, as you will already be developing new components that require a different type of test.
I pay attention to the following topics:
- Will the tools change the budget?
- How will they help the project?
- Will there be a change in the work of the other units and will there be a delay in integration?
- If accepted, within what period will they return the investment and are 100% needed for the project?
Synchronization between the whole team and the Product Owner in front of business stakeholders.
The development team wants to replace a major software part of your product. We currently use the paid Enterprise popular environment. The license is paid by your customer, who does not think that the cost is a problem.
I will meet with the team and they will explain what and why it is necessary.
If there will be a benefit and the deadlines for the sprint are met and the whole team is aware and agrees then the Product Owner will make the final decision.
Chapter “Scrum Sprint Review” event
Your colleague, a beginner Scrum Master, asks you a question. He asks you if, for their 3-week sprints, they can accept the Sprint Review event lasting 2 and a half hours.
As a rule, it should be 3 hours.
I will ask my colleague why he thinks he will not need this time.
These meetings are very, very often followed by additional discussions, questions, and ideas.
I believe that he must follow the rules and as a Scrum Master, he is the one to observe this.
Project Manager
You gather at the usual place for your Sprint Review event. Attendees are You as the Scrum Master, the development team without a new budding colleague, the Project Manager from the client, their Product Manager, Business Analyst, and a hired external usability consultant.
In such a situation, I will react immediately and apologize for the absence of my colleague Product Owner.
I will take on this role and I will do my best to cover his work or at least not to feel his acute absence.
Dev Team colleagues will also help with site incremental clarifications if needed.
I will try to reach a consensus with my colleagues from the Dev Team when choosing tasks for the next sprint.
A project manager from your organization came to your Sprint Review event. He listens carefully and watches. He is pleased that the work is going well. Finally, he turns to you and asks you when you expect as a guide to releasing the latest finished developments to a real product in a living environment.
I rely on the already made plan for the deadline and try not to define an exact date but to vaguely confirm the already available information.
In the case of a secondary question and urgency, I also asked the Product Owner to express his opinion.
The Sprint Review
The Sprint Review event begins. Shortly after greeting each other, the customer’s product manager opens a topic about the project budget. He is not sure if his organization’s resources will be enough to continue working on the product for another 6 months. Ask your Product Owner for comment and advice on their Roadmap.
The Product Owner is the competent authority on this topic in Scrum. He can make assumptions based on business analysis and how he has distributed the tasks and speed of the team.
At the Sprint Review event, business people and all representatives outside your Scrum team review what has been achieved and tell you that they have no questions or any other comments or suggestions, and prepare to leave the meeting.
I would like to ask my colleagues from the Scrum Team if they have a question for the business.
Your client’s Account Manager will contact you and ask if you can demonstrate your product one day before the end of your sprint because they need to prepare presentations.
I will send him all the available information to prepare his presentation but the demonstration will be Review’s day. The team has defined exactly, and it is clear when it will be ready with its tasks and I will not break the rule not to press them.
I will share with the colleagues in Scrum the team about my decision.
Definitions of Done
Your customer’s product manager disapproves of Definitions of Done for one of your User Stories and refuses to accept work on it. Everyone is staring at you, including your product owner.
I will ask him to tell us what worries him and why he does not approve of it.
If not accepted, it will return to product backlog Items for completion of the next sprint or will be dropped altogether.
At the next Daily Scrum, I will find time to talk to the team about what prevention we can do to avoid such a situation and what they think about it.
Shortly before the Sprint Review event, a team member told you that User Story covers all definitions of completeness, but the finished work visually differs from the sketches included in the Product Backlog item.
I will inform the Product Owner immediately and decide how to react to this situation.
In any case, if it does not interfere in any way with the increment, we will declare it an improvement and a necessary change for the better.
I will praise the team for this technical solution and highlight technical facts that positively present this difference. We will try to make the client accept it as a big plus.
While browsing the Product Backlog items, the customer project manager interrupts the conversation and asks a question to your Product Owner. He asks him why two very similar items are rated with Story Points 3 and 13. Your product is looking at you.
The difference in these points is due to the related processes in one story
The story with a smaller number of points is no less important, but it is a ready segment that we have done many times and is not an obstacle.
For User Story with a large number of points is the assessment of the whole team that will have to be tested by all and related processes.
Chapter “Scrum Master Role”
Presentation
The Scrum Master role is an integral part of the fast-growing environment and business.
In our company, the role of Scrum Master has become established with its proven benefits for business. The added value of each product, the good and smooth work, the quick solutions, and the removal of any obstacles for the implementation of the agreed product and term. The Scrum Master role is crucial in the flexible project management model and business development. In the dynamic environment of a developing project, there are always emerging cases, difficult communication, joining between teams, and requirements. This in turn leads to risks for implementation in time, budget, and quality. For us, they are kept to a minimum and this is taken care of by Scrum Master.
The Development team
The Development team shares your idea that they want to nominate you for a Product Owner appointment and take over its functions, and for the Product Owner assigned to your team to go to another team and not have contact with it.
I would first clarify the nature of the problem between the team at the moment and the reasons for this proposal.
Also, I will provide clear information about SCRUM’s values and the sharing of roles and the risks they lead to.
I would say the same with the product owner and the team together to clear up the misunderstandings.
If the situation requires it and only temporarily, as a last resort, I would be willing to accept
After 2 days you have a meeting to present the current progress of the product. Your Product Owner role and most of the Development team are on leave for another 5 days.
This situation is very poorly managed. I would only allow it if it is guaranteed that we finish the sprint on time and the tasks are over.
Faced with such a situation, I would try my best to gather all the information and pass it on to the Product Owner and ask him to check it and approve it accordingly.
References
“Advanced Certified Scrum Master Certification Training” by Ashton Williams, Scrum Time, ISSN 2652-5445, https://scrumtime.org/advanced-certified-scrum-master-certification-training/
“How to become a Scrum Master?”, 2020, https://brightonbot.com/how-to-become-a-scrum-master/
“Professional Scrum Master vs Professional Scrum Developer”, 2019, https://stc-montreal.org/professional-scrum-master-vs-professional-scrum-developer/
“Scrum example team and projects scenarios”, 2020, https://phron.org/scrum-example-team-and-projects-scenarios/
“Best Scrum Master Certifications for 2021 and 2022”, 2020, (EduWiki.me), https://eduwiki.me/best-scrum-master-certifications-for-2021-and-2022/
“Certified Scrum Master vs Professional Scrum Master”, 2029, https://wikipedia-lab.org/certified-scrum-master-vs-professional-scrum-master/
“Advanced Certified Scrum Master training course. Free, online and modern”, 2019 (PGOV), https://pgov.org/advanced-certified-scrum-master-training-course-free-online/
“What is Scrum and why use this methodology” by Samantha Rhine, https://www.businesspad.org/what-is-scrum-and-why-use-this-methodology/
“Why do you want to be a certified Scrum Master?” by Rita Gavelis, https://www.mmrls.org/why-certified-scrummaster/
“What is it like to be a Scrum Master?”, https://projectmanagers.edublogs.org/2020/09/14/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-scrum-master/
“Scrum Sprint Review meeting Questions and Answers”, policymatters.net, https://www.policymatters.net/scrum-sprint-review-meeting-questions-and-answers/
“Problems of the Scrum Master role with the Sprint Review and Scrum Sprint Retrospective meetings”, https://www.polyscm.com/problems-of-the-scrum-master-role-with-the-sprint-review-and-scrum-sprint-retrospective-meetings/
“The Scrum Master role in real project teams”, 2020, https://bpedia.org/the-scrum-master-role-in-real-project-teams/
Kind regards,
The Brightonbot.com team
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I would like to ask if the questions are a substitute for taking a course on Scrum.org or BVOP.org and do you have more of them? Thanks