Taking the Certified Scrum Master exam is not easy. Preparing for the exam is difficult and time-consuming. Candidates for the Certified Scrum Master title must prepare thoroughly.
Preparation for the Certified Scrum Master (CSM, PSM) exam with sample questions
In this article, we share many sample situations and recommended reactions for the Scrum Master role.
Sprint Planning Meeting and Product Owner
At the end of the Sprint Planning meeting, your Product Owner states: Colleagues, please all of you now assume the success of the sprint by giving a score of 1 to 4 as one will mean that we will fail to achieve our goal, and 4 means that you assume high success for the sprint. Reference: “Preparation for CMS and PSM Certified Scrum Master exam with sample questions“, https://phron.org/preparation-for-cms-and-psm-certified-scrum-master-exam-with-sample-questions/
Reading the definition in English, I interpret it as something that would be good to happen, but not necessarily (SHOULD be able to). However, it is not clear who is the active party in the search for this information – whether the development team will be asked by the Product Owner / Scrum Master or the development team on its initiative will express an opinion. However, the task states that the Product Owner will explicitly ask. Reference: “Preparation for the Certified Scrum Master exam (PSM, CSM, BVOSM)“, https://mpmu.org/preparation-for-the-certified-scrum-master-exam-psm-csm-bvosm/
However, the lecture said that this should not be taken as an “interrogation” – in the sense that things are just “informative”, to “feel the ground” and “clarify the mood”. Nowhere is it mentioned that EVERYONE IS OBLIGED to answer this question (let alone answer clearly and argue for it). Learn more about Scrum.
There may be a situation in which some of the team are positive (give 4 points), others give 1, and others do not want to comment at all – and here comes the big question: for what purpose and what exactly information or conclusions Product Owner will make from this input. Reference: “Preparation for Scrum Master certification exam on Sprint event“, https://medfd.org/preparation-for-scrum-master-certification-exam-on-sprint-event/
At the end of the Sprint Planning meeting, your Product Owner says: Colleagues, it was exhausting sprint planning and we all worked hard all day. Would you be so kind as to send me and our Scrum Master tomorrow your presentation on how you would complete your sprint tasks and what your self-organization plan is? Thanks in advance. Reference: “Preparation for Scrum Master certification and tips for Scrum professionals”, https://www.kievpress.info/preparation-for-scrum-master-certification/
If I understand the assignment as if each team member sends an email to the Product Owner / Scrum Master:
I think it’s a bad practice. The idea is not for everyone to self-organize as individual members of the team, but for the whole team to self-organize together. Read more: “Preparation with sample questions for Scrum Master certification exam CSM & PSMI”, https://wikipedia-lab.org/preparation-sample-questions-scrummaster-certification-exam/
This is something that is decided together by all members of the team – after discussion and consensus (as far as possible). In no case will it be very effective for everyone to write their views in a separate e-mail – one will lean to the left, another to the right and it is meaningless.
If I understand the task as sending a GENERAL e-mail after the team has discussed and agreed on how the tasks will be developed, then I think everything is fine. The team decides how to solve the tasks anyway.
Sprint planning and development team
A sprint of three weeks awaits you, the team and the product owner have discussed the necessary details on unclear User Stories. It’s been an hour and a half. Read more: “Free preparation for the Scrum Master certification exam (CSM, PSMI, PSMII, BVOP)”, https://brightonbot.com/preparation-scrum-master-certification-exam/
For a sprint of 4 weeks, sprint planning is a maximum of 8 hours. For a sprint of 2 – maximum 4 hours. Let’s say that in 3 weeks then 6 hours will be laid. An hour and a half have passed, 4 hours and 30 minutes remaining.
After the meeting, you should be able to answer both questions:
What can be delivered at the end of the sprint?
How will the increment work be done?
We will assume that the first question has already been clarified.
As I believe that this meeting should greatly support the work of the development team, I would prefer to set aside a larger percentage of the meeting to clarify the second question – HOW we will achieve the goal of the sprint. This can be quite time-consuming, as there are usually dependencies between the functionalities being developed and things need to be well thought out and the work combined and synchronized as well as possible. There may also be purely technical ambiguities about HOW. I think that in an hour and a half it is good to focus on clarifying this issue only (provided, of course, that we already know WHAT exactly we need to deliver in the increment). Read more: “Free training to prepare for the Scrum Master Certification exam”, https://www.islandjournal.net/scrum-master-certification-exam/
At the sprint planning meeting, you have 6 members of the Development team. Everyone guesses with a number about the success of your sprint. You count the result and the total number is 15
I’m going back to the guides – everyone in the team is involved in this ‘estimation’ – not only the development team but also the Product Owner and Scrum Master. The scale used is 4-point – from 0 to 3.
It would be interesting to look at and compare the product Owner’s assessment of the development team’s estimates, for example, and how homogeneous the development team’s estimates alone are. It would be strange if the total of 15 is high (because it is high, the maximum was 18), because of the high rating of Product Owner and for comparison low rating of developers, for example. Read more: “Best Scrum Master Certifications for 2022 and 2023“, https://eduwiki.me/best-scrum-master-certifications-for-2021-and-2022/
However, it is unlikely that there will be large discrepancies in the points – purely mathematically it does not work, and a high score of Product Owner (3) or a score of Product Owner of 2 does not make much difference in the final result. So maybe 15 is a good sign of sprint attitudes.
On the other hand, if Product Owner and Scrum Master give a high score (6 in total), that’s more than a third of the score, but they’re not the people to develop. Difficult question. Read more: “Best Scrum Master certification online”, https://scrumtime.org/best-scrum-master-certification-online/
During your planning meeting, you notice that a novice member of the Development Team systematically throws cards that have numbers 1 or 3 and always puts his card last. Other members choose much larger cards. This provokes a discussion every time that ends quickly. Then this colleague of yours plays card 13 every time. Why do you think he does it? What exactly would you do? Reference: MuzoNet Management and Business: https://www.muzonet.com/
He does it precisely because he is a beginner and does not assume what problems he may encounter in performing the tasks. If others are throwing such high cards, then things are expected to be more complicated in practice than he thinks, and less often – he has some very smart super fast, and easy solutions to problems (although it’s new!)
However, even he is not sure, as he changes his approach and jumps directly to the highest card after that.
I will talk to him – I would even prefer him to be open to the whole team, and I will predispose him to tell how he would solve the problem in the answer from 1 to 3. Maybe he knows something that others do not know? We will continue with the game and when he starts throwing only 13, I will ask him why things suddenly become so complicated. I will ask others for input so that their answers can be harmonized.
After each “play” to select Story Points on each User Story, the team discusses the differences in card numbers. After the discussion, they take the assumption of the participant with the highest value on the card.
It depends on the argument of the one with the high cards. If the team considers his arguments to be close to the truth, it should not be a problem. However, not everyone should rely solely on his arguments and blindly accept his assumptions.
Maybe some will suggest a new way to solve the problem, something that the one with the high cards has not thought about. To contribute with experience or observations. Or even with adjustments if he thinks things take so long just because they’re done the wrong way.
It also depends on how much experience people have in both extremes – whether the one with the high cards is experienced (but here we must note the comment in the previous situations!). You don’t have to choose the highest card just to ‘make sure’ you have time. The assessment must be as objective as possible according to the experience, situation, and resources available.
During your Sprint Planning, a senior member of the Development team openly complained about the User Story, prioritized at the top of the backlog, and carefully prepared for the Development team. All information is available and well described.
A senior member of the Development team said that if they do so in this sprint, they are likely to damage important architectural decisions. Your Product Owner emphasizes that it is his responsibility to take care of the backlog, and the development team to develop the product.
Product Owner’s responsibilities
Product Owner’s responsibilities are also to ensure that the product being developed is meaningful and works, not just prioritized. That the product is developing in this direction, which he and the customer have judged.
If the Product Owner considers it good for the product, it is damaged by other architectural solutions – approx. But this is something that the Product Owner should consider after receiving this remark from the developer (maybe he didn’t know it before).
The development team has a Velocity of 103 points. For Sprint Backlog they choose User Stories with Story Points from 3, 5, 1, 8, 21, 13, 1, 21, 8, 8, 13, 5
The total is 107. But these estimates are relative. They may be close to 103, but they may be well over 103. I would listen to the development team – do they think that the 4 points above, once they are familiar with the specific tasks, are bearable, or is it impossible.
At the planning meeting, the team rolls cards 8, 8, 13, 5, 5, 8. They average the points and score Story Points for that User Story from 8-time points.
There are 3 eights, 2 fives, and 1 thirteen. The team tends to be more complex than easy. If we remove the 13th, it is still in favor of a more complex task. I’m not sure (I don’t remember) if there was a card between 8 and 13 in poker, but I would be inclined to think that the task is a little more complicated than 8. Maybe not even 13, but more than 8. It also depends on who gave it. 13 (previous situations).
At the planning meeting, the team rolls cards 3, 5, 5, 13, 21, 8. They average the points and score Story Points for that User Story of 13-time points.
3 low grades and 3 high. It cannot be judged immediately, I would allow discussion.
In the middle of a Sprint planning meeting, you are on your 5th sprint. The development team is taking their seats and you hear people talking about changing some of the technology they use for the product.
It needs to be clarified whether this is something that will directly reflect on the items that the Product Owner has identified for development in this sprint and whether he is even aware of this idea.
This is not something that is solved quickly and easily, usually, the transition from one technology to another is planned independently as a self-defined task. If this task is in the Product Owner’s sprint plan – approx. If not, the Product Owner must consider whether and to what extent this new technology must be introduced and from which sprint. Read more: “Sample Exam (Mock) Questions for the BVOP™ Scrum Master Certification Test“
It may be that a lot of the tasks already developed will have to be rewritten – this also needs to be planned, but this is not something that needs to be discussed at this meeting, as it sounds like ‘just a rumor’ at first. , secondly, the decision has not been made and it is not known how many resources it will take and how important it is (and whether it is prioritized).
Sprint planning has a certain time – during this time a lot of other things need to be discussed, so it is not a good idea to be distracted by irrelevant tasks.
Your director is calling you. He wants to hear as a guide how many User Stories and which ones your team can do next sprint.
If he called after the sprint planning meeting, I will probably be able to answer him. Otherwise, it’s a bit ‘honestly’. If I possibly know the cycling city and the capacity of the team, I can tell him this, but not exactly which user stories, as this is determined by the sprint planning meeting (maybe the Product Owner has not prioritized them at all yet).
The development team is discussing the idea of stopping work on the preliminary graphic design of elements of the project because they already have a known collection of developed components. Senior team members offer the new designer in the team to stop design work and start checking the usability of the product. More on the topic: “Professional Scrum Master Certification Online“
That’s ok, but I don’t see his connection to sprint planning. If it is only a discussion at the level of the development team and if the goal is to achieve something with this discussion, then the time for the task should be planned and most importantly, the task should be prioritized.
The development team may think the task is important, but they need to make sure that they don’t consume the time allotted to develop something else. The result of the preliminary graphic design work can be especially important for the Product Owner – if it is recorded as an item and is expected to be developed in the sprint, then the development team can not just delete it from the list without communicating the solution with Product Owner.
If the argument (that there are already enough developed components) is enough for the Product Owner and he agrees to drop the item, then that would be ok. The suggestion of the senior members to the new designer to stop and start something new is also OK – insofar as this is not contrary to the above. But it should be borne in mind that the Product Owner may consider it more appropriate for the new designer to do something else, something more important than usability testing.
However, it is difficult to judge, as it is not clear whether all this (the work on preliminary design and the task of checking usability) is not part of some voluminous item. If, however, it was planned that this more voluminous item, with all its subtasks, would be completed in the sprint, then the team can decide to stop and switch to something else within this item. And in this sense, there is no problem in the fact that members of the development team offer it and set it as a task for another member of the team (in terms of roles).
Your Product Owner is on a business trip again. He will not attend the Sprint Planning meeting. He told the team to calmly choose a job for their Sprint Backlog list and set Story Points. According to him, there is no interesting information that can provide to them and his departure will not negatively affect anyone.
Sounds a bit like the whipping situation from one of the previous lectures. He again escaped responsibility.
The problem is that the team can find items that the committee does not want to run out of (due to missing information, inaccuracies in the specifications, or just the amount of work). This would be to bring the Owner to the knowledge so that he can decide what to do instead. Is it ok not to develop this item and what consequences it will have for the client?
Or maybe it’s important to develop it? Only he can judge that. Even if he thinks he has provided all the information and has nothing else interesting to add, he cannot be sure of that, or at least that technically things can be worked out as he expects and as he has described. Or that there are no dependencies with any other items that may not have been prioritized before he went on a business trip.
After 5 minutes, your Sprint Planning meeting begins. Your Product Owner tells you at the last minute that your client’s project manager will be present at the sprint planning meeting because he expects some information from him.
According to the lecture, this should not be a problem, although it is a rare practice. Pop principle prefers the Product Owner to clarify everything related to customers before the meeting, but if customers want to attend the meeting (without of course interfering with the program in any way), I do not think it is a problem.
The emphasis, however, is that, after all, it is the Product Owner who provides the missing information to the team (not the customers directly to the development team).
You have a sprint of 1 week. You settle in comfortably for your sprint planning and the product owner presents the Product Backlog items he has chosen for the Development team to develop during the sprint. All items look clear and understandable. The team has no questions about them and suggests starting a quick forecast of the time of the items for the next sprint.
Clarification: I’m not sure how to understand the last sentence. Predicting the next sprint? Or the upcoming sprint that is planned for this meeting. In all cases, only the upcoming sprint, the sprint you enter, is planned, not any future sprints. If so, I have no comment on that. Forecasting is the next step.
Maybe the development team has claims about some items (there are cases where the Product Owner may be planning a certain number of items, but some of them will not be accepted by the development team for many reasons). This is something that becomes clear either before or during the estimation of the items.
Project Management, Agile and Certifications 