PSM II Professional Scrum Master II

Question #: 1
Topic #: 1
A Scrum Master is not only a servant-leader to the Scrum Team and organization, it’s also considered a management position.
Which three activities describe what a Scrum Master manages as reflected by the Scrum Guide? (Choose three.)

A. Reporting on the performance of the Sprint.
B. The way Scrum is understood and enacted within the organization.
C. Managing the capacity and utilization of each Development Team member.
D. Managing the process in which Scrum is applied.
E. Managing the Product Backlog items and work in the Sprint Backlog.
F. Removing organizational impediments that limits the team’s progress and productivity.

Selected Answer: BDF

Question #: 2
Topic #: 1
An organization has just hired you as a new Scrum Master to help them transition their teams from their current traditional process to Scrum. The teams are currently structured to specialize in a single function. This is also known as component teams where a team would only address a single layer (i.e. design, frontend, backend, database, testing, etc.). You’ve introduced the concept of cross-functional teams where all the skills needed to produce business functionality, from end to end, are inside of a single team.
What should you keep in mind when transitioning from siloed teams to cross-functional teams? (Choose two.)

A. It is easier to compare the performance between cross-functional teams in order to identify to which teams to assign tasks and which teams need additional coaching.
B. Newly formed teams will need time to stabilize before reaching their peak performance. During the initial stages of forming, performance will suffer and productivity may be low, although even then delivery of business value is still likely to increase.
C. Without feature teams, you cannot do Scrum. Postpone Scrum adoption until the teams are reorganized in feature teams.
D. People from the different layers and components will need time to become accustomed to working and delivering unified functionality together as one Scrum Team thus productivity may suffer.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 3
Topic #: 1
Paul is a Product Owner for multiple products. Each product is allocated a dedicated Scrum Team and a set budget. Based on the average velocity of a previous product release, Paul had estimated a new product to take 9 Sprints to complete. The average velocity of the previous product release was 50 completed units of work per Sprint. Over the first 3 Sprints, the Development Team reported an average velocity of 40 completed units per Sprint, while not fully completing the required integration tests. The Development Team estimates that integration testing would require additional effort to make the increments shippable. The
Development Team is unsure if the required velocity is achievable.
What is the most effective way to recover?

A. In the next Sprints, the Development Team strives to make the selected work as close to ‘done’ as possible and at the minimum 90% completed. Any undone work is divided into new Product Backlog Items that will be deferred to the last Sprint in order to maintain stable velocity.
B. The Development Team informs Paul that the progress he has perceived to date is not correct. The Increment is not releasable. They give Paul their estimate of the effort it would take to get the previous work ‘done’, and suggest doing that work first before proceeding with new features. The team also re-estimates the effort to make the remaining Product Backlog items ‘done’, including all integration effort. In the end, it is Paul’s call to continue the project or to cancel.
C. The Scrum Master will manage the Sprint Backlog and assign work to the Development Team members to ensure maximum utilization of each member. He/ she will keep track of unused resources so that it does not impact the budget. Unused budget can be allocated for additional Sprints if needed.
D. The Scrum Master sets the open work aside to be performed in one or more release Sprints. They remind Paul to find funding for enough Release Sprints in which this remaining work can be done. Up to one release Sprint per three development Sprints may be required. It is Paul’s role to inform users and stakeholders of the impact on the release date.

Selected Answer: B

Question #: 4
Topic #: 1
Paul, a Product Owner of one of the Scrum Teams, has been attending the Daily Scrum. During the Daily Scrum, the Development Team members have been reporting their daily work to Paul so that he is aware of their Sprint progress and what each member is working on.
What is the best action for the Scrum Master to take?

A. Ask Paul to stop attending the Daily Scrum.
B. Coach Paul and Development Team members on the purpose of the Scrum events and let them figure out what to do in this situation.
C. Allow the Paul to participate in the Daily Scrum as he is responsible for the success of the product.
D. Facilitate the Daily Scrums to avoid any conflicts between the Development Team members and Paul.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 5
Topic #: 1
Steven, the Scrum Master, is approached by one of the Development Team members saying that they are not completing regression tests for all of the work they are performing to the level defined in the Definition of Done. They have discussed this with the Product Owner and decided to remove regression testing from the
Definition of Done.
Which two actions are the most appropriate for Steven to take? (Choose two.)

A. Reject the decision as the long term maintainability of the product will be negatively impacted by modifying the Definition of Done.
B. Accept the decision as a mutual agreement has been made between the Development Team and the Product Owner.
C. Ask the Development Team and the Product Owner what problem they are trying to solve by altering the Definition of Done and removing regression testing from it. In what ways will this decision impact transparency and quality?
D. Ask the Development Team and the Product Owner if they are still able to produce potentially shippable product increments by altering the Definition of Done?

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 6
Topic #: 1
At the end of the eighth Sprint, the internal sponsors are upset and angry with the progress of the product being built. The current state of the product is not as expected and will require additional Sprints and more budget than originally anticipated at the start of the project.
What factors may have led to this? (Choose three.)

A. The Product Owner has not been engaging with sponsors frequently enough and has not been kept aware of the overall progress of the project.
B. The sponsors haven’t been using the Sprint Reviews to actively engage, and inspect and evaluate progress.
C. The scope changes have not been tracked adequately and the change request process has not been followed properly.
D. The stakeholders have not been using the Daily Scrum effectively to track the Development Team’s progress.
E. The Scrum Master has not ensured transparency.
F. The project plan proposed to the sponsors at the start of the project followed stringently.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 7
Topic #: 1
Three Development Teams are currently building a single product and pulling work from the same Product Backlog. All three teams have identified that they will need Dan, a database specialist, to work full time in their team for the next several Sprints.
What should Steven, the Scrum Master, do to solve this potential problem?

A. Manage the items in the Sprint Backlogs so that Dan can be utilized evenly for each team.
B. Assign Dan to the team with the most urgent tasks first and then move him to the next team and so on until the required support is completed.
C. Facilitate a discussion with all Development Teams on how they want to deal with this issue, and help them implement their preferred solution.
D. Ask Dan to work with the HR department to recruit and hire additional database specialists. In the meantime, have the Product Owner move items that do not depend on Dan to the top of the Product Backlog.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 8
Topic #: 1
An organization wants to apply Scrum to build a new product and has hired Steven to be the Scrum Master of three new teams that will build the first release. The organization is new to Scrum and asks Steven for advice on how to start.
Which two things should Steven first advise? (Choose two.)

A. Each Scrum Team has its own Product Backlog with items only their team will be working on.
B. One Product Backlog to represent all of the known work needed to be done for the product.
C. Three Product Owners, one for each Scrum Team.
D. Having one Product Owner to be accountable for maximizing the flow of value throughout the development process and provide transparency on the overall progress.

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 9
Topic #: 1
A Development Team has a total of six members, 4 members who work full time in the office and 2 members who work part time at home. The Development Team is complaining that it is too difficult to synchronize every day and has suggested having the Daily Scrum every other day instead.
What would be three key concerns if the Daily Scrum is held less frequently? (Choose three.)

A. Impediments are raised and resolved more slowly.
B. Opportunities to inspect and adapt the Sprint Backlog are reduced.
C. Less information about the progress will be shared causing the Sprint plan to become inaccurate and reducing transparency over progress toward the Sprint Goal.
D. The Scrum Master loses the ability to update the burndown chart adequately.
E. The Product Owner cannot accurately inspect utilization of the individual team members.

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 10
Topic #: 1
Steven is a Scrum Master asked to assist in creating five new Scrum Teams that will be working to build a highly anticipated product. He talks with them about the importance of being able to integrate their Increments by the end of their Sprints. This includes the first Sprints. The product is very important to both the end users and the organization.
Of the choices raised by future team members, what would Steven encourage?

A. Each Scrum Team delivers Increments in its own code branch. After UAT is performed at the Sprint Review, the code branch is isolated until enough Increments are considered acceptable. All code branches will then be merged during the release phase.
B. Each Scrum Team delivers functionality at the end of each Sprint. New Product Backlog items will then be added to the next Sprint Backlog to integrate their functionality with the other teams to create a unified Increment.
C. All Scrum Teams agree on a mutual understanding of ‘done’ that defines all work necessary to deliver a potentially shippable Increment that includes all previous Increments delivered for the product.
D. Wait until enough of the infrastructure and architecture is in place before starting the first Sprints. This will increase the success of delivering integrated Increments in Sprint 1.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 11
Topic #: 1
According to the values of Scrum, which is the best way to create Development Teams?

A. The Product Owner will create a skills matrix according to what is needed for the project and work with the technical leads to allocate resources to the team.
B. Work with the leadership team to allocate members according to skills, seniority and experience to ensure that all Development Teams are balanced fairly.
C. Provide boundaries to the developers and allow them to self-organize into Development Teams.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 12
Topic #: 1
When multiple Scrum Teams are working from the same Product Backlog, also known as scaled Scrum, they must still work in conformance of the Scrum guide.

A. True
B. False

Selected Answer: B

Question #: 13
Topic #: 1
In Scrum, how would budgeting and financial forecasting be performed? (Choose two.)

A. Frequently inspect the outcomes of the delivered Sprint Increments to understand how much value is being produced per investment spent.
B. A single release may be funded with several Sprints where every Sprint is producing shippable increments.
C. Budgeting is not necessary as the only funding necessary is the operational costs of the Scrum Teams.
D. Fixed budgets are not allowed in Scrum.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 14
Topic #: 1
Steven is a Scrum Master that was hired to help an organization, that is new to Scrum, understands and enacts Scrum effectively.
Which three activities would be acceptable? (Choose three.)

A. Require all teams in the organization to start using Scrum as soon as possible.
B. Arrange 1:1 coaching sessions to discuss any identified concerns Steven may have.
C. Schedule formal trainings.
D. Penalize any Scrum Team members who are not staying within the Scrum Framework.
E. Educate stakeholders and clients about Scrum.
F. Extend Retrospectives to include formal training.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 15
Topic #: 1
A Scrum Team has been working on a product for several iterations and has an average velocity of 55 units of ‘done’ work per Sprint. A second team will be added to work on the same product.
What might be the impact on the original team?

A. Their velocity is likely not affected and will remain at 55.
B. Their velocity is likely to drop and be less than 55.
C. Their velocity is likely to rise and be more than 55.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 16
Topic #: 1
What would be two boundaries, defined in Scrum, that give guidance for teams to effectively self-organize? (Choose two.)

A. Timeboxing the events in Scrum to allow for regular inspection and adaptation creating opportunities to adjust course in any given path.
B. Clearly defined functional teams within the Development Team to define handoff phases during development.
C. Creating an integrated and potentially shippable Increment by the end of each Sprint.
D. Having a mixture of different levels of skills and experience to promote domain knowledge sharing.

Selected Answer: AC

Question #: 17
Topic #: 1
Peter, the Product Owner, has been giving positive recognition to individual Development Team members who have moved their work to ‘done’ during the Daily
Scrum. Peter wants to ensure the team is adhering to the ideal guideline on the burndown chart.
What would be two valid actions for Steven, the Scrum Master, to take? (Choose two.)

A. Steven talks with Peter about concerns of how his behavior might impact the team members and request that he stop attending for now.
B. Steven coaches Peter on best practices for updating the burndown chart as it provides accurate information on how well the team is performing.
C. Nothing. Steven is optional at the Daily Scrum and it is the responsibility of the team to decide how to best run it.
D. Steven coaches the Scrum Team about the purpose of the Daily Scrum.

Selected Answer: AD

Question #: 18
Topic #: 1
A Scrum Team has requested a hardening Sprint to integrate the work produced in previous Sprints and test before releasing.
What three scenarios has likely occurred? (Choose three.)

A. The team’s Definition of Done is not being adhered to during every Sprint.
B. The team’s Definition of Done is weak or incomplete causing a build up of technical debt.
C. The Development Team is having difficulties with the ability to regularly release during a Sprint.
D. Hardening Sprints are supported by the Scrum framework so this is acceptable.
E. Scrum has been customized in a suitable manner to make the previous work releasable.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 19
Topic #: 1
Which three statements best describe the purpose of having a Definition of Done? (Choose three.)

A. It is a checklist to monitor the Development Team member’s progress on a task.
B. It provides guidance to the Development Team when they are forecasting their Sprint Backlog during the Sprint Planning.
C. As the Development Team is doing the work, it provides guidance on the remaining work needed to create the potentially shippable Increment by the end of the Sprint.
D. It helps the Development Team defer any pending work to subsequent Sprints.
E. It creates transparency and provides a common understanding of the ‘done’ state of the Increment at the Sprint Review.
F. It helps the Scrum Team decide how much time is needed before the Sprint can end.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 20
Topic #: 1
Successful use of Scrum depends on how well people behave and act in ways that reflect the Scrum values. What can the value of openness affect?

A. Collaboration efforts.
B. Level of product quality.
C. Team member happiness.
D. Time to market.
E. Trust from stakeholders.
F. All of the above.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 21
Topic #: 1
What is management’s role in Scrum?

A. To provide the necessary environment and support needed as defined by the Scrum Guide by providing insights and resources that help the Scrum Teams continue moving forward.
B. Identifying and removing people that are performing poorly.
C. Monitoring skill levels of the Development Team.
D. Monitoring the Development Team’s velocity.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 22
Topic #: 1
What would likely happen if management only changed the organization’s current terminology to fit Scrum without the proper understanding and support of Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide?

A. Very little change will happen as the vocabulary in Scrum is specifically defined for implementing Scrum.
B. The organization may not realize the real benefits of Scrum as there would be no real change on the way the teams work.
C. Organizations may feel less stressed as the behaviors would remain familiar to management.
D. All answers apply.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 23
Topic #: 1
Which statement best describes Scrum?

A. A clearly defined methodology that defines the software development process.
B. A manual for defining best practices for software development.
C. A clearly defined and predictable process that follows the principles of Computer Science.
D. A framework to address complex products in complex environments.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 24
Topic #: 1
In order to start the first Sprint, Scrum only requires a Product Owner with enough ideas, a Development Team to execute on those ideas, and a Scrum Master to guide the process.

A. True
B. False

Selected Answer: B

Question #: 25
Topic #: 1
Scrum is based on which of the following?

A. Defined process.
B. Complex process.
C. Empiricism.
D. Hybrid model

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 26
Topic #: 1
Stakeholders are only allowed to meet with the Scrum Team at Sprint Review.

A. True
B. False

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 27
Topic #: 1
Which Scrum Value is impacted by trust?

A. Respect
B. Courage
C. Commitment
D. Openness
E. Focus
F. All of the above

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 28
Topic #: 1
Doing your best and helping other Scrum Team members demonstrates which of the following?

A. Value of Commitment
B. Increased Revenue
C. Increased Profit
D. Maximizing utilization
E. High Performance

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 29
Topic #: 1
Peter, a Project Manager, has raised concerns about your Scrum Team’s productivity and progress towards the objectives.
Which is the best way to respond to Peter’s concerns?

A. Share the Product Backlog, the projections towards the release dates and ensure that Peter has access.
B. Show the Profit & Loss (P&L) report.
C. Share the current impediments.
D. Share the last stakeholder status report prepared by the Scrum Master.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 30
Topic #: 1
The three pillars of empirical process control consist of:

A. Planning, Inspection, Adaptation
B. Inspection, Transparency, Adaptation
C. Planning, Demonstration, Retrospective
D. Respect For People, Kaizen, Eliminating Waste

Selected Answer: B

Question #: 31
Topic #: 1
Steven, a Scrum Master, is approached by the Development Team members complaining that one of the senior engineers is using too much time during the Daily
Scrums to share technical solutions.
Which are the best two actions for Steven to take? (Choose two.)

A. Coach the Development Team to help them find a way to solve the problem, and for them to take ownership of the solution.
B. Contact the team member’s direct manager and to resolve this problem.
C. Suggest that the team members timebox the amount of time each person can speak at the Daily Scrum to a maximum of two minutes.
D. Suggest using a token to limit who is allowed to speak during the Daily Scrum.
E. Speak with the person privately and coach him on the purpose of the Daily Scrum.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 32
Topic #: 1
During Sprint Planning, the Definition of Done will help the Development Team forecast the amount of work, selected from the Product Backlog, deemed feasible to make ‘done’ by the end of the Sprint.
Which two items best describes what ‘done’ means? (Choose two.)

A. All the work needed to prepare the Increment for User Acceptance Testing.
B. All the work needed to prepare the Increment for Integration Testing.
C. Having an Increment of working software that is potentially releasable to the end users.
D. All the work performed as defined in the Definition of Done.
E. All the work completed within the current skills and expertise in the Development Team.

Selected Answer: B

Question #: 33
Topic #: 1
During the implementation of an item in the Sprint Backlog, a conflict arises between team members about what work is needed to make the item ‘done’. Some say it is a part of the Definition of Done and others say it isn’t. Steven, the Scrum Master, observes a debate forming and members beginning to take sides.
What is the best action for Steven to take?

A. Bring the Development Team members together and interpret the Definition of Done for them so that there are no future conflicts on interpretation.
B. Immediately end the discussion before it becomes worse. Make the decision on what work is needed to make the item ‘done’ and teach the team about the importance of avoiding conflicts.
C. Facilitate a session with all members on the Scrum Team to help them resolve the conflict, refine the Definition of Done, and become effective again. Tell the team that conflicts are a natural occurrence and coach them on the value of resolving conflicts.
D. Bring the Product Owner to the discussion and have him/her decide the work needed to make the item ‘done.’ It is the Product Owner’s responsibility to manage the Development Team members.

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 34
Topic #: 1
Steven, the Scrum Master, observes that one of the Development Team members is not attending the Daily Scrum. The Development Team feels this is ok as they all sit in the same area and already have constant communication throughout the day.
Which is the best action for Steven to take?

A. Start running the Daily Scrum and require all members to be in attendance.
B. Talk to the Development Team member privately and tell him that he needs to be a team player.
C. Ask the Development Team, what value will result from having all team members present at the Daily Scrum and what are the risks if members don’t attend.
D. The Daily Scrum is owned by the Development Team and it is their responsibility to decide which team members must participate.

Selected Answer: A

Question #: 35
Topic #: 1
Over the course of several Sprints, the relationship between the Product Owner and the Development team has suffered. The Development Team is upset with the Product Owner for the constantly changing the upcoming items for the product. The Product Owner is upset with the Development Team for changing the work that needs to be done during the Sprint.
What should Steven, the Scrum Master, do?

A. During the Sprint Retrospective, ask the Product Owner and the Development Team to address the issues. Have the Team discuss why the changes occur and what impact they have on the value of the product.
B. The Scrum Master’s responsibility is to ensure the Development Team has a stable velocity. Any changes that negatively impact the team’s velocity will be rejected by the Scrum Master.
C. Take the time between Sprints to organize a team building session to rebuild the relationship.
D. Explain to the Development Team that the Product Owner is accountable for flow of value and needs to be followed in order to maximize the value delivered.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 36
Topic #: 1
Individual Development Team members have been approaching Steven, the Scrum Master, to complain about Chris. Chris has the most experience on the system they are building. He often questions the choices team members make in design and architecture making them feel bad.
What are two good ways for Steven to address this problem? (Choose two.)

A. Steven observes whether this topic is raised at the Sprint Retrospective. If not, then he checks with the team on how comfortable they are with the way the design and architecture is being handled.
B. Steven suggests facilitating a session with the full team to help resolve the issue.
C. Steven tells the concerned members that Chris’ opinions should be respected as he has the most experience and understands what is best for long term sustainability.
D. Steven shares his concerns with Chris and the impact on the other team members and that he should be a team player.
E. Steven takes the time between Sprints to organize a team building session to build a stronger relationship.

Selected Answer: BD

Question #: 37
Topic #: 1
By the end of the Sprint, a Product Backlog item in the Sprint Backlog does not meet the team’s Definition of Done.
What two things should happen with the item? (Choose two.)

A. It will be inspected at the Sprint Review and if it is acceptable by the stakeholders then include it in the Increment.
B. Do not include the item in the Increment for the Sprint.
C. Split the item and add the estimation of the completed work to the current Sprint so not to impact the velocity and add the ‘undone’ work to the next Sprint.
D. Estimate the remaining work needed to make it ‘done’ and add it to the Product Backlog for the Product Owner to decide what to do with it.

Selected Answer: D

Question #: 38
Topic #: 1
You have been hired as a Scrum Master for a company that has been doing business for over fifty years. In order to stay competitive, they have started an initiative to digitize their legacy systems. The company has several Scrum Teams working on different components that will be integrated to a single back office platform.
Your team is responsible for building the back office platform and integrating all other components. The Scrum Teams work in two week Sprints and are expected to deliver all functionality in six Sprints.
During development the requirement changes in the other components have been slowing down your team’s progress. Because of these changes, your team has estimated that they will not be able to deliver all expected work within the original timeframe. The Scrum Teams working on the other components confirm that they are still on track to meet the expected delivery date. The program manager in charge of the digitization initiative is upset and angry with your team.
As a Scrum Master, what could you do to help the Product Owner?

A. You suggest working with the program manager and the other teams on the ordering and the value of your team’s open Product Backlog items to redefine the possible delivery date.
B. You shorten your team’s Sprints to be ready sooner.
C. You remove all items from the Product Backlog for which development is forecasted to be beyond the expected date. These are likely to be low value anyhow.
D. You suggest adding additional developers to the team in order to increase velocity and meet the original date.

Selected Answer: C

Question #: 39
Topic #: 1
Steven is a Scrum Master for three different teams building a single product from the same Product Backlog. Development Team members from each team have approached Steven complaining that their teams need Nicole, an external specialist, to commit full time for their next Sprint.
Which three acceptable solutions would Steven consider? (Choose three.)

A. For Sprints that require Nicole’s expertise for more than one team, combine the teams into one and separate when they no longer need to share her services.
B. Investigate whether applying additional techniques or frameworks for scaling Scrum would be appropriate for this product team in the future, since you have multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product, with dependencies between the teams.
C. People from the Development Teams with an interest in Nicole’s domain could volunteer to take on this work in their respective teams.
D. Ask Nicole for a plan to hire and train additional people in her domain, and in the meantime work with the Product Owner and Development Teams to re- prioritize the work so that tasks not depending on Nicole can be done first.
E. Have the Development Team re-order the Product Backlog so Nicole can serve one team full-time in a Sprint.
F. Create a team with Nicole and people from the teams to temporarily work in Nicole’s domain to serve the existing teams.

Selected Answer: BCE

Question #: 40
Topic #: 1
At the fifth Sprint Retrospective, the Product Owner mentions that he is surprised about the amount of technical debt that has built up in the system and that the product is not able to support an adequate number of users. Peter, the Product Owner, is upset that the product will need several more Sprints to address the scalability issues in order to meet his expectations.
What factors may have led to this?

A. The Scrum Team has not used the past Sprint Retrospectives effectively to inspect and adapt.
B. The Development Team has not been paying enough attention to technical quality.
C. The Development Team and the Product Owner are not having conversations around technical debt.
D. The Scrum Master has not ensured that the Scrum Team is transparent.
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Selected Answer: A