PSM I Scrum Practice Test Questions and Exam Dumps
Question No 1:
In the context of Agile Scrum methodology, the Sprint Backlog is a dynamic artifact that evolves throughout the Sprint. At what point should new work items or further decomposition of existing Product Backlog Items (PBIs) be added to the Sprint Backlog, and who is responsible for updating this information?
A. When the Product Owner identifies new work.
B. As soon as possible after the new work is identified or existing items require further decomposition.
C. When the Scrum Master is available to enter the updates.
D. During the Daily Scrum, but only after the Development Team agrees to the changes.
Correct Answer: B. As soon as possible after the new work is identified or existing items require further decomposition.
Explanation:
In Scrum, the Sprint Backlog is not a static document—it is a living artifact that evolves during the Sprint as the Development Team gains a better understanding of the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal. As such, when new tasks or further decomposition of existing Product Backlog Items (PBIs) becomes necessary, these updates should be made as soon as they are identified. This ensures the Sprint Backlog remains an accurate and up-to-date representation of the team's current work.
The responsibility for managing and updating the Sprint Backlog lies with the Development Team. They have full ownership of the Sprint Backlog and are empowered to adjust it throughout the Sprint. This includes breaking down work into smaller, more manageable tasks and adding any new work that becomes apparent as development progresses.
While the Product Owner may identify new requirements or insights, and the Scrum Master may help facilitate discussions or remove impediments, it is ultimately the Development Team’s responsibility to decide how they plan to meet the Sprint Goal. They do this by updating the Sprint Backlog continuously, not waiting for formal meetings or external approvals.
This dynamic adjustment does not mean adding new Product Backlog Items to the Sprint without careful consideration. Changes must still align with the Sprint Goal and not disrupt the team’s focus. However, decomposition and adaptation are essential to iterative and incremental progress.
In summary, the Sprint Backlog should be updated as soon as new work or further decomposition is identified, allowing the team to maintain transparency, accuracy, and alignment with the Sprint Goal.
Question No 2:
In a Scrum framework, the Daily Scrum is a critical event designed to promote transparency, inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal, and adapt the Sprint Backlog as needed.
What is the primary purpose of the Scrum Master's presence at the Daily Scrum, and how should their role be interpreted during this event?
A. To gather status updates and progress metrics to report to stakeholders or management.
B. To document Sprint Backlog updates, including task additions, and track the team's burn-down progress.
C. The Scrum Master is not required to attend but must ensure the Development Team conducts the Daily Scrum.
D. To ensure that every team member answers the three standard Daily Scrum questions.
Correct Answer: C. The Scrum Master is not required to attend but must ensure the Development Team conducts the Daily Scrum.
Explanation:
The Daily Scrum is a time-boxed 15-minute event held every day of the Sprint. Its primary goal is to allow the Development Team to synchronize, inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal, and make adjustments to their plan for the next 24 hours. While the Scrum Master plays a critical role in facilitating and supporting the Scrum process, their direct participation in the Daily Scrum is not mandatory.
According to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master’s main responsibility regarding the Daily Scrum is to ensure that the event takes place and that it remains focused and effective. This involves coaching the Development Team on the purpose and structure of the Daily Scrum, especially if they are new to Scrum or not yet self-managing effectively. Once the team becomes proficient, the Scrum Master typically steps back and allows the Development Team to conduct the meeting independently.
The Daily Scrum is meant to be a team-centric event where developers inspect and adapt their work collaboratively. It is not a status meeting for management or an opportunity for the Scrum Master to micromanage or enforce rigid formats like the “three questions” (What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? What impediments do I face?).
In summary, while the Scrum Master should ensure that the Daily Scrum occurs and that it serves its intended purpose, their presence is not mandatory. Their role is more of a facilitator and coach, helping the team become more autonomous and self-organizing.
Question No 3:
Your organization is transitioning from a traditional software development approach to Scrum. Currently, there are six established teams, each responsible for a specific technical layer of the system—such as the front-end, back-end, middle tier, and interfaces. These teams are structured as component teams, where each team focuses on a particular part of the system's architecture rather than delivering complete user-facing features.
As you explore Scrum practices, you learn that feature teams, which are cross-functional and capable of delivering end-to-end customer features, are typically recommended. However, you're considering starting with the existing component team structure to ease the transition.
Given this situation, what is the main advantage of initially keeping the component teams when transitioning to Scrum?
A. There’s less initial disruption than organizing into new teams. As they start, they will discover what works best, and how to potentially re-organize towards this.
B. Component teams generally have the skills needed to create a working Increment of software that provides business value.
C. Because they have worked together for some time, they are likely able to start producing shippable Increments faster than new feature teams would.
D. There are fewer cross-team dependencies than working in feature teams.
Correct Answer: A.
There’s less initial disruption than organizing into new teams. As they start, they will discover what works best, and how to potentially re-organize towards this.
Explanation:
When an organization adopts Scrum, one major change involves how teams are structured. Scrum favors feature teams—cross-functional units that can deliver a complete product increment, including all the layers (UI, logic, data). This approach improves flow, accountability, and ability to release shippable increments regularly.
However, completely reorganizing existing component teams into feature teams right at the beginning can be highly disruptive. People may lose team familiarity, established working patterns, and productivity may temporarily suffer during the adjustment.
By starting with component teams, the organization minimizes initial disruption. These teams already have domain knowledge in their specific technical areas and existing collaboration habits. This makes it easier to begin practicing Scrum fundamentals (e.g., sprints, retrospectives, daily stand-ups) without overwhelming the team with too much change at once.
Over time, as teams mature in Scrum practices and encounter challenges like cross-team dependencies and integration bottlenecks, they can organically move toward a better structure—usually feature teams. This gradual evolution is often more effective and sustainable than a forced, immediate transformation.
Therefore, the biggest advantage of keeping component teams initially is that it provides a smoother transition into Scrum, allowing the organization to adapt incrementally rather than abruptly. Option A best reflects this rationale. The other options either misrepresent component team limitations (B and D) or assume faster output (C), which may not hold true if dependencies slow down delivery.
Would you like me to create a visual or summary chart for this?
Question No 4:
In a large-scale Scrum environment, multiple Scrum Teams are working together on the same product and sharing a single Product Backlog. Each team is cross-functional and delivers potentially shippable increments of the product at the end of each Sprint.
As Sprint Planning approaches, the question arises: How should Product Backlog Items (PBIs) be selected by each team from the shared Product Backlog to ensure alignment, collaboration, and effective progress toward the product goal?
What is the correct way to approach this situation?
A. The Scrum Team with the highest velocity pulls Product Backlog items first.
B. The Development Teams pull in work in agreement with the Product Owner.
C. The Product Owner should provide each team with its own Product Backlog.
D. Each Scrum Team takes an equal number of items.
E. The Product Owner decides which items each team takes.
Correct Answer: B.
The Development Teams pull in work in agreement with the Product Owner.
Explanation:
When multiple Scrum Teams work together on the same product, it's essential to maintain one single Product Backlog to ensure transparency and a unified direction. Scrum does not encourage separate Product Backlogs per team, as it fragments the product vision and creates silos.
During Sprint Planning, each Scrum Team collaborates with the Product Owner to select Product Backlog Items (PBIs) they believe they can complete during the Sprint. This is a pull system, where teams pull work based on their capacity and capabilities—not a push system where items are assigned.
Option B correctly reflects this principle: teams pull in work collaboratively with the Product Owner, ensuring alignment with priorities, clarity on goals, and realistic Sprint plans. The Product Owner brings product knowledge and priorities, while teams bring technical insights and capacity estimates. This joint effort promotes shared ownership and accountability.
Other options are incorrect for the following reasons:
A (velocity-based pulling) promotes competition and undermines collaboration.
C (separate backlogs) breaks transparency and leads to disjointed product development.
D (equal division) assumes all work is equal and ignores team capacity and skill sets.
E (Product Owner assigning work) turns Scrum into a command-and-control model, violating the self-managing nature of teams.
In summary, Product Backlog items should be selected through collaboration between the Product Owner and each team, maintaining both autonomy and alignment. This fosters better planning, team engagement, and product delivery.
Would you like a visual workflow for how this process looks during Sprint Planning?
Question No 5:
In an organization using Scrum, maintaining team stability is generally encouraged, as consistent team membership supports improved collaboration, communication, and performance over time. However, there are situations where team composition may need to change—due to skill requirements, personal changes, organizational restructuring, or scaling challenges.
Given this context, what is the most appropriate approach to changing Scrum Team membership?
A. As needed, while taking into account a short-term reduction in productivity.
B. Never, because it reduces productivity.
C. As needed, with no special allowance for changes in productivity.
D. Every Sprint to promote shared learning.
Correct Answer: A.
As needed, while taking into account a short-term reduction in productivity.
Explanation:
Scrum encourages stable team membership because over time, teams improve their collaboration, communication, and velocity. Familiarity among team members allows for smoother workflows and deeper trust—key elements for high-performing teams.
However, team changes may sometimes be necessary, such as when specific skills are required, people leave or join the organization, or teams are restructured for scaling or other business needs. In these cases, changing team members is acceptable as long as the potential short-term impact on productivity is acknowledged and managed.
Option A provides a balanced approach. It allows flexibility to adapt team structures when needed while recognizing that any change in team composition may temporarily lower productivity as new members are onboarded and team dynamics reset. This reflects reality and supports thoughtful decision-making.
Option B is too rigid. While stability is valuable, never allowing change can harm adaptability and growth.
Option C ignores the practical impact of team changes, which is unrealistic and can set poor expectations.
Option D, rotating teams every Sprint, undermines team cohesion and Scrum values like commitment and focus. Constant shuffling prevents teams from maturing and reduces their effectiveness.
In short, Scrum Team membership should remain stable as much as possible, but when changes are needed, they should be made intentionally, while anticipating a temporary dip in team performance. Over time, well-managed changes can lead to stronger, more effective teams.
Would you like help drafting a communication plan for when teams need to change members?
Question No 6:
In the context of Scrum, who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that all team members complete their assigned tasks during a Sprint?
A. The Project Manager
B. The Product Owner
C. The Scrum Master
D. The Scrum Team
E. All of the above
Correct Answer: D. The Scrum Team
Explanation:
In Scrum, a framework used to implement Agile practices, the responsibility of completing tasks within a Sprint lies with the Scrum Team as a whole—not with a single individual. Scrum emphasizes self-management and collaboration, which means that no one person is accountable for making sure others do their work. Instead, the team collectively owns the Sprint Goal and works together to achieve it.
Let’s break down the roles to clarify:
The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the Product Backlog, but they do not assign or track tasks during the Sprint.
The Scrum Master serves as a servant-leader, coaching the team and removing impediments, but does not act as a task enforcer or manager.
The Project Manager is not a recognized role within Scrum. Scrum replaces traditional project management roles with a cross-functional team and shared responsibility.
The Scrum Team, which includes Developers, the Scrum Master, and the Product Owner, is accountable for delivering the Sprint Goal. Developers in particular self-organize to determine how they will achieve the work committed to in the Sprint Backlog.
Scrum relies heavily on transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Daily Scrums allow the team to assess progress and re-plan their work if necessary. Trust and mutual accountability are key; each team member is expected to take ownership of their work and support others to ensure the team succeeds as a unit.
Therefore, the correct answer is D. The Scrum Team—because in Scrum, success is a shared responsibility.
Question No 7:
At what point in the Scrum process should the Development Team revise the Definition of “Done” to reflect improved practices, tools, or quality standards?
A. During Sprint Planning
B. Before the beginning of a new Sprint
C. During the Sprint Retrospective
D. Before initiating a new project
Correct Answer: C. During the Sprint Retrospective
Explanation:
In Scrum, the Definition of “Done” is a crucial artifact that ensures all team members have a shared understanding of what it means for work to be considered complete. This includes coding, testing, documentation, and any other activities necessary to deliver a potentially shippable product increment.
The most appropriate time for the Development Team to update or revise the Definition of Done is during the Sprint Retrospective. The Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. This makes it the ideal time to evaluate whether the current Definition of Done is still effective and whether it should be enhanced to meet evolving quality standards or incorporate new tools and practices.
For example, if during a Sprint the team realizes that automated testing could improve code quality and reduce bugs, they might decide to include this in the Definition of Done moving forward. Similarly, if deployment processes have improved, they might add criteria to reflect faster or more secure deployment practices.
Making changes during the Retrospective ensures that the whole team is involved in the discussion, aligning on the new standards before the next Sprint begins. This avoids disruption during Sprint execution and maintains clarity for Sprint Planning.
Changing the Definition of Done outside of the Retrospective, such as during Sprint Planning or mid-Sprint, can lead to confusion or inconsistency in delivery expectations. Therefore, the Retrospective provides the most thoughtful and structured opportunity to make such adjustments.
Question No 8:
In Scrum, the Daily Scrum is a critical event that occurs every day to facilitate communication, transparency, and progress tracking within the Development Team. Suppose a team decides to hold the Daily Scrum only once every two or three days instead of daily.
What could be three significant negative impacts of this reduced frequency on the Scrum Team and the Sprint's success? Choose the three most appropriate concerns from the list below.
A. Opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are lost.
B. Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly.
C. The Product Owner cannot accurately report progress to the stakeholders.
D. Too much work is spent updating the Scrum board before the meeting.
E. The Scrum Master loses the ability to update the Gantt chart properly.
F. The Sprint plan may become inaccurate.
Correct Answers:
A. Opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are lost.
B. Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly.
F. The Sprint plan may become inaccurate.
Explanation:
The Daily Scrum is a time-boxed event held every day during a Sprint, typically lasting 15 minutes. Its primary purpose is to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal, identify blockers, and adapt the plan to maximize the likelihood of delivering value by the end of the Sprint.
If this event is held less frequently—say every two or three days—the team loses the daily rhythm of inspection and adaptation. One of the main concerns (Option A) is that opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are lost. Without daily updates and adjustments, the Sprint Backlog may quickly become outdated, leading to misalignment within the team.
Another critical issue (Option B) is that impediments are raised and resolved more slowly. The Daily Scrum serves as a platform for surfacing issues early. Delaying this event means potential blockers remain unresolved longer, which could slow down progress and reduce productivity.
Lastly, (Option F) the Sprint plan may become inaccurate. In Scrum, planning is ongoing, and the Daily Scrum plays a vital role in enabling the team to re-plan daily, ensuring the Sprint Goal remains achievable. Without this, there's a risk of deviating from the plan, missing critical dependencies, or focusing on the wrong tasks.
Incorrect options such as C, D, and E involve misunderstandings of Scrum. The Product Owner doesn't rely solely on the Daily Scrum for progress updates, Scrum doesn't use Gantt charts, and updating the Scrum board is an ongoing task, not a meeting-specific one.
In summary, reducing the Daily Scrum frequency undermines Scrum’s core principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation, ultimately affecting the team's ability to deliver value effectively.
