CSM Quiz -1

1. What is most important as per the Agile Manifesto?

   Selected answer:

   • People and how they interact

   Clarification:

   This questions is related to the Agile Manifesto Values. It is the 1st value of manifesto “Individuals and interactions OVER processes and tools”. Hence option D is correct

2. Which Agile Principle is being practiced if team chooses to focus only on highest valuable items to deliver from the Product Backlog?

   Selected answer:

   • Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of work not done is essential

   Clarification:

   This is related to Agile Manifesto Principle #10. It is to focus on outcome rather than output and also about prioritising the 20% of features that will contribute to the 80% of value. Hence option D is correct.

3. When Scrum team members meet and collaborate with each other to find the best way to deliver value to the customer, which Agile value is practiced?

   Selected answer:

   • Individuals and interactions over processes and tool

   Clarification:

   Here the Scrum team members are interacting so option D is correct.

4. A process framework used to manage work on complex products is known as?

   Selected answer:

   • Scrum 

   Clarification:

   This is a straight questions that is the definition of Scrum. Scrum is a framework to address complex adaptive problems, hence option C is correct.

5. Software built in bits and pieces is known as?

   Selected answer:

   • Incremental

   Clarification:

   “Incremental” means adding to the existing, so software built and delivered in bits and pieces is “Incremental”. Hence option C is correct.

6. Find the characteristic of a good Scrum Team from the below options

   Selected answer:

   • Cross-functional

   Clarification:

   Two primary characteristics of a Scrum team are: Self-organized and Cross-functional. So correct answer is D. Option B is incorrect because it says “They are NOT self-organized”.

7. 7. What does a Product Owner do in general during a Sprint?

   Selected answer:

   • Clarifies requirements and answers questions from Developers

8. 8. What emerges from a self-organized team?

   Selected answer:

   • Best architectures, designs and requirements

   Clarification:

   This is a straight question related to Agile Manifesto 12 principles. This is the 11th Principle that says “The best architectures, designs and requirements emerge from self-organized teams”

9. 9. What is an activity of a Product owner?

   Selected answer:

   • Maximizing the value of the Developers work

   Clarification:

   Option A is incorrect because there is no Charter in Scrum, Option B is incorrect because Product Owner alone cannot experiment Sprint duration, it should be a collaborative decision by Scrum team, Option D is incorrect because the Development is self-organized so they do not need any supervision. Hence option C is correct

10. 10. When can Developers cancel a Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • . It can’t, only Product owner can cancel sprints

    Clarification:

    Only Product Owner can cancel a Sprint, no other roles can cancel a Sprint. Hence option A is correct.

11. What happens if the Developers cannot complete its work by the end of the Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • The Sprint length holds and the Developers continuously learns what is actually possible to do within a Sprint of this

    Clarification:

    Keeping the Sprint length fixed will help to achieve predictability by learning from each Sprint. Hence option C is correct. Extension of Sprints or adding more people will impact the predictability. So options A, B and D are incorrect.

12. How should the Scrum teams plan the work to be accomplished within Sprints one Sprint at a time or multiple Sprints scheduled upfront?

    Selected answer:

    • One Sprint at a time from the learning of the previous Sprint

    Clarification:

    In Scrum the work is done in iterative and incremental. That means every Sprint will have a Goal and few backlog items will be selected to achieve that goal. Based on the learning from the increment built on that Sprint, next Sprint will be planned. Hence option A is correct.

13. When is a Sprint finished?

    Selected answer:

    • When its timebox expires

    Clarification:

    Sprints are timeboxed. Whether the selected work is done by the end of the Sprint or not, Sprint will be completed as per the agreed timebox. Hence option C is correct.

14. Which of the following statements is true about the “Responding to change over following a plan” Agile manifesto value?

    Selected answer:

    • Changes are accepted at any time at the discretion of the Product Owner

    Clarification:

    Agile is all about flexible and able to support customer with value delivery. Hence the changes are accepted anytime based on Product owner’s discretion, he will work with the Team through prioritization of the changes in order to get them implemented. Hence option D is correct. Other 3 options do not provide the flexibility.

15. What should happen if the Product Owner identifies a new important item during the Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Product owner will add it to the Product Backlog

    Clarification:

    Whenever the Product Owner gets any new requirement from the Stakeholders, as per the priority he/she will add it to the Product Backlog for further implementation accordingly. Hence option A is correct.

16. Who is responsible in Scrum for Scope Vs Time tradeoffs ?

    Selected answer:

    • Product Owner

    Clarification:

    Based on the progress made, the Product Owner will make the scope vs time trade off decisions according to the work remaining and time remaining. Hence option D is correct.

17. What does a Development team do in the first Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Accomplishes the Sprint goal

    Clarification:

    Every Sprint will have a Goal (what is the outcome to achieve in the Sprint) so as the first Sprint. Hence option A is correct. Remaining options are related to waterfall way of working.

18. Which of the following best describes the primarily responsibility of the Product Owner?

    Selected answer:

    • Optimize the business value of the Product

    Clarification:

    As per the Product Owner role, he/she should focus on optimize the business value of the Product, hence option A is correct.

19. What happens to the items that do not meet Definition of Done at the end of the Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • They will be moved back to Product Backlog and Product Owner will decide what to do next to them

    Clarification:

    By the end of the Sprint if any item(s) do not meet the DOD (Definition of Done), they will be moved back to Product Backlog as per the Product Owner’s discretion. If they are still important and urgent, then they will be kept on the top of the Product Backlog so they may be picked up in the Next Sprint. Hence option B is correct. The incomplete items may not always be moved to next Sprint hence option A is incorrect. Options C and D are incorrect because they will impact the predictability of the team.

20. Developers in a sprint are completing one task before moving to the next task. Which Scrum Value they are demonstrating ?

    Selected answer:

    • Focus 

    Clarification:

    Working on one item and complete it before taking up the next item will improve the team’s focus. Hence option B is correct. Openness is related to the artifact transparency, courage is related to the behavior of the team, commitment comes from within to give their best efforts. Hence options A, C and D are incorrect.

21. What is the approach that Scrum encourages when Developers determines it will be difficult to deliver any value by the end of the Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Together with the Product Owner focus on what can be done and identify a way to deliver something valuable at the end of the Sprint

    Clarification:

    All the three roles PO, SM and Dev team come together to come up with the best approach. hence option C is correct. Sprint can be terminated only when Sprint goal is obsolete so option B is incorrect. Options A and D will impact the team’s rhythm there by predictability so they are incorrect.

22. How the Developers work during the Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Using their collective experience and knowledge together as a team

    Clarification:

    There is no project manager in Scrum team so option A is incorrect. The Development team is self-organized so Scrum Master does not guide them on how to work during the Sprint, so option C is incorrect. Product Owner does not help the Development Team in their work so option D is incorrect. The Development Team uses their experience and knowledge together, hence option B is correct.

23. One of the senior management person in the organization asks the Developers to create a report in the current sprint, how the Developers should respond?

    Selected answer:

    • Let the Product Owner know so that he/she can work with that person

    Clarification:

    Any work that the Development team should perform, has to come through the Product Owner and Product Backlog. No one can directly approach to the Development Team for any work. Hence option C is correct.

24. In Scrum, what does a team attempt to produce every Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Potentially releasable product increment

    Clarification:

    Every Sprint has to produce a potentially releasable increment. Hence option C is correct. Options A and B are waterfall approach. At the end of every Sprint the increment may not be released to end users, hence option D is also incorrect.

25. Developers members looking/asking for help or when they admit that something they are not aware, which Scrum value they are demonstrating?

    Selected answer:

    • Courage

    Clarification:

    If anyone has to stand up and say “I do not know something, I need help”, it is related to courage. In order to be open up, they need courage. Hence option C is correct.

26. What activities would a Product Owner typically undertake in the phase between the end of the current Sprint and the start of the next Sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • There is no such phase in Scrum, sprints will not have any gaps in between

    Clarification:

    Sprints do not have gaps in between. When a Sprint ends, immediately the next Sprint starts, hence option C is correct.

27. In case the Developers determines that they have over committed itself for a sprint, what should be done?

    Selected answer:

    • Product Owner, Developers and Scrum Master should collaborate on how to address

28. Large Scrum teams usually generate too much complexity for which of the following ?

    Selected answer:

    • Empiricism 

    Clarification:

    When the team size is large (more than 9 as recommended by Scrum), everyone in the team may not be able to be transparent with the rest of the members in the team always. So the transparency will be impacted, when transparency is impacted, inspection and adaptation also get impacted. Hence the empiricism is impacted. So option A is correct.

29. Which does a self-managing Developers team choose?

    Selected answer:

    • How to best accomplish its work

    Clarification:

    Self-organized teams decide how to perform the work on their own, so option A is correct. Options B and C are related to the Product owner role, option D is related to the Scrum Master role hence they are incorrect as the question is related to the Development team.

30. When many scrum teams are working on the same product, should all of their increments be integrated every sprint?

    Selected answer:

    • Yes, otherwise it is difficult to inspect what is done

    Clarification:

    When there are more than one team working on same Product Backlog, all the teams should integrate their work before end of the Sprint. This will help them to create potentially releasable integrated increment. Hence option C is correct.

31. 31. When is implementation of a Product backlog item considered complete?

    Selected answer:

    • When the item has no work remaining in order to be potentially released

    Clarification:

    “Completed” means “Potentially releasable” means no additional work is required to put into end user hands. Hence option D is correct.

32. 32. When is a sprint cancelled?

    Selected answer:

    • When Product Owner determines that it makes no sense to finish that

    Clarification:

    Sprint cancellation decision is Product Owner’s decision. He/she can make a call to cancel a Sprint when the Goal becomes obsolete. Other than Product Owner no one can cancel a Sprint, hence option A is correct.

33. 33. How is architecture created in Scrum?

    Selected answer:

    • Architecture emerges

    Clarification:

    Scrum is used in a complex work, complex means “unknown is more than known”. So in complex work 9project/product), it is not possible to come up with the architecture at once. So throughout the project, architecture related changes will be done based on the need. So option C is correct.

34. 34. During the Sprint, what Scrum Value must be demonstrated by the Developers to achieve the Goal?

    Selected answer:

    • Commitment 

    Clarification:

    During the Sprint the Development team should give their best efforts to complete the work they have forecasted. Hence option C is correct.

35. 35. How does Scrum Master help ensure Developers works effectively?

    Selected answer:

    • By helping them to be self-managed and cross-functional

    Clarification:

    If the team is self-organized, they can facilitate the events on their own if required. So option B is incorrect because if the Scrum Master should always facilitate the team may not become self-organized. Option A is incorrect because, it is referring to organization not the team. Option D is irrelevant. So if the Scrum Master helps the team to be self-organized and cross-functional they will be more effective.

36. 36. Every Scrum team must have a Product owner and Scrum master?

    Selected answer:

    • Yes, outcomes are affected by their participation and availability

    Clarification:

    Scrum does not insist on the roles availability. Scrum says, there should be a Product Owner, Scrum Master and a Development Team and depending up on their availability and participation, results will be either effective or suboptimal. Hence option B is correct.

37. 37. Which technique the Scrum Master uses to facilitate communication between the Developers and the Product Owner?

    Selected answer:

    • All the above

    Clarification:

    Option D is correct because the Scrum Master does all the options given in A, B and C in order to create collaborative environment between the Product Owner and Development Team.

38. 38. What is not one of the responsibilities of Scrum Master in the below list?

    Selected answer:

    • Updating the Sprint burn down chart

    Clarification:

    This question is asking what is “not” one of the Scrum Master’s responsibilities. Hence option A is correct because updating the Sprint level progress using burndown chart is Development Team’s responsibility. All other options are the responsibilities of Scrum Master.

39. 39. Can the Product Owner and Scrum Master be the same person?

    Selected answer:

    • No, the role responsibilities are in conflict

    Clarification:

    Product owner and Scrum Master cannot be played by same person due to conflict of interest in each role. Hence option B is correct.

40. What is one service of a Scrum Master to Developers?

    Selected answer:

    • Removal of impediments

    Clarification:

    Option A is related to the Development Team, option B: Release Planning is not part of core Scrum, Option D is related to the Product Owner role. So correct answer is option C.

41. For which of the following the Scrum Master is responsible for?

    Selected answer:

    • The Scrum process being adopted and used properly

    Clarification:

    Scrum Master is to ensure the Scrum Process framework is implemented properly. Hence option A is correct. Option B leads to micromanagement. Option C is out of Scrum. Option D is talking about setting objectives to the team itself, it may not be in line with the Scrum framework or organizational objective. Hence it is not correct.

42. What is one right of the Scrum Master?

    Selected answer:

    • Encourage the team to do experiment new ideas

    Clarification:

    Option A is Development Team related, option B and D are Product Owner related, hence option C is correct. It helps teams to learn more from the experiments.

43. Which is true with respect to impediments in Scrum?

    Selected answer:

    • It is the Scrum Master’s primary responsibility to remove impediments

    Clarification:

    Option B is an impediment because it slows down the Development Team’s pace. But it is saying it is not an impediment so it is incorrect. Product Owner will not remove impediments so option C is incorrect. Development Team shares their impediments (if any) during the Daily Scrum but option D is opposite of this hence it is incorrect. So option A is correct.

44. When Scrum Master encounters resistance from outside of Scrum Team, what do do?

    Selected answer:

    • Work with the Scrum Master of where the resistance is originated from

    Clarification:

    In this situation Product Owner cannot help because his focus in the Product. Escalation does not create collaborative environment, so option A is incorrect. Option D is irrelevant. Hence working with the team from where the resistance is coming is a better option, so C is correct.

45. Which of the following does a Scrum Master use to achieve consensus in a group setting?

    Selected answer:

    • Facilitation 

    Clarification:

    Facilitation is “effectively planning, conducting, and concluding decision making or consensus in a group setting”, hence option C is correct.

46. What is Agile?

    Selected answer:

    • Mindset/Philosophy

    Clarification:

    Agile is a mindset (flexible and adaptive) hence option D is correct.

47. How can you develop Agile mindset?

    Selected answer:

    • By following certain values and principles

    Clarification:

    Agile mindset comes with following Agile manifesto values and principles. So option B is correct.

48. 48. What are the pillars of Agility?

    Selected answer:

    • Inspect & Adapt, Teamwork, Self-organisation, Accountability

    Clarification:

    Option A contains the correct 4 pillars, all other options have one or two items that are opposite of Agile hence they are incorrect.

49. How many values and principles are there in Agile Manifesto:

    Selected answer:

    • 4 Values, 12 Principles

    Clarification:

    Agile manifesto contains 4 values and 12 principles so option C is correct.

50. What is the meaning of “Iterative”?

    Selected answer:

    • Repetitive

    Clarification:

    Iterative means repetitive, so option D is correct. Incremental means adding to existing hence option A is incorrect. Option B is also synonym of incremental hence it is incorrect.