Scrum Master practice questions, with answers.

Question 1A city council wants to replace its paper permit process with an online service. Nobody is sure how applicants will actually use it, and early prototypes keep revealing new requirements. Why is this a good fit for Scrum?

1. The work is complex: what is needed only becomes clear by building, delivering and observing
2. Scrum provides a detailed method for gathering every requirement before development begins
3. Scrum guarantees the service is delivered by a fixed date because Sprints have fixed lengths
4. The council can skip stakeholder involvement because the Scrum Team decides everything internally

Question 2A new Scrum Master is asked by a director to provide 'the official Scrum estimation technique' so all teams estimate the same way. What is the most accurate response?

1. Story points with the Fibonacci sequence, since that is the estimation scale the Scrum Guide specifies
2. Scrum defines no estimation technique; each team chooses practices that work within the framework
3. Hours per task, because the Guide requires items to be broken into work of one day or less
4. The Product Owner estimates each item so that the Developers can focus on delivery

Question 3Eight months into a twelve-month plan, a programme has produced detailed documents but nothing anyone can use. A second team working in Sprints has released something usable every two weeks. Which team is better placed to forecast what it will deliver next quarter, and why?

1. The planned programme, because a detailed long-range plan contains more information
2. Neither, because forecasting is not compatible with an empirical approach
3. The Sprint team, because its forecasts rest on evidence from delivered Increments
4. The planned programme, because its scope has been fixed since the start

Question 4The Sprint Backlog shows almost every task as in progress because Developers move cards as soon as they think about a task. Stakeholders read it as a sign the Sprint is going well. What is the main risk?

1. The board is too detailed, which slows down the Daily Scrum
2. Decisions are being made on a picture that hides how little is finished
3. Stakeholders are not allowed to see the Sprint Backlog during the Sprint
4. The Scrum Master is not updating the board on the Developers' behalf

Question 5A team has finished between six and nine items per Sprint over its last eight Sprints. About forty items remain before a planned release. Which forecast best reflects empiricism?

1. Exactly five Sprints, based on the best Sprint so far
2. Roughly five to seven Sprints, revisited each Sprint
3. No forecast, since complex work cannot be forecast
4. Whatever date the sponsor has already announced

Question 6In the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams, what does work item age measure?

1. Time from start to finish of completed items
2. Items finished per unit of time
3. Time since an unfinished item was started
4. Time an item spent in the Product Backlog

Question 7A team of six Developers routinely has fifteen items in progress. Cycle times are long and unpredictable. What does the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams suggest considering first?

1. Lowering the amount of work in progress
2. Starting more items so that idle time is avoided
3. Adding Developers to raise throughput
4. Lengthening the Sprint to fit the longer cycle times

Question 8A team using Kanban starts a new item only when its work in progress drops below its agreed limit. What is this called?

1. A push system
2. A pull system
3. A Sprint Backlog
4. A release train