PSM-II Online Practice Questions and Answers

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.

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.

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.

Technical Debt can lead to false assumptions about the current state of the system and the Increment reviewed at the end of the Sprint.

A. True

B. False

A new member has just joined an existing Development Team that has been together for several Sprints. During the Sprint, the individual has been trying to share his ideas and viewpoints but is continuously ignored by the rest of the Development Team.

Which three Scrum Values has the Development Team been neglecting? (Choose three.)

A. Commitment

B. Respect

C. Transparency

D. Focus

E. Openness

F. Courage

You have a Scrum Team that has been working together for over a year. The Development Team consists of eleven members who rarely collaborate and work within their functional boundaries. There are no Sprint Goals and most of the items in the Sprint Backlog are unrelated. The Scrum Team has concluded that it is not possible to create Sprint Goals based on the items in the Product Backlog.

What might explain why the Scrum Team is finding it difficult to craft Sprint Goals? (Choose all that apply.)

A. The Sprints are too long.

B. The Product Owner is not empowered to make decisions about items in the Product Backlog nor how they are ordered.

C. The Product Owner doesn't set objectives that he/she wants to achieve with upcoming Sprints.

D. Scrum might not be the best framework for this team.

E. The Development Team is too big.

Steven, who is a Scrum Master, on one of the Scrum Teams has approached you asking for advice. Their Daily Scrum requires more than 15 minutes and the team has suggested dividing themselves into two separate teams in order to stay within the time box.

As another Scrum Master, what would be the best response?

A. Agree – this is an appropriate solution to the problem.

B. Disagree – as the root cause may not be that the team is too big.

C. Unsure – dividing a team into two cannot be decided based on this information. You offer to observe.

D. Agree – You agree that dividing the team into two is a good strategy to allow the teams to learn how to run Daily Scrums quickly and effectively. Once they’ve learned to limit the Daily Scrum to 15 minutes, you can merge the teams again.

Which approach would you recommend to ensure that the Product Backlog items discussed at Sprint Planning are well understood, actionable, and easier to forecast?

A. Having a separate group of business analysts and functional testers analyzing high-ordered Product Backlog items before Sprint Planning.

B. Having the Product Owner work with stakeholders between the end of the last Sprint and before beginning the next to prepare the Product Backlog items so not to interrupt the Development Team.

C. Having the business analysts in the Development Team create the upcoming Product Backlog items during a Sprint and adding them to the next Sprint's forecast.

D. Having the Development Team use some time during each Sprint to help the Product Owner analyze, estimate, and design items at the top of the Product Backlog that is projected to be worked on in the upcoming Sprint.

Your organization has formed a new Scrum Team and has assigned you as the Scrum Master.

In what ways would you help the team start?

A. Ensure the Scrum Team members have compatible personalities, have the tech leads clarify the expectations and responsibilities of each role, and propose a performance rewards system.

B. Have the Scrum Team members introduce their background experience with each other, ask the Product Owner to discuss the product and answer questions, and ensure the team understands the need for a Definition of "Done."

The Development Team discovers that it doesn't have the tools and infrastructure to make each selected Product Backlog item done.

What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

A. Stop the Sprint and have the Development team work on the infrastructure before continuing.

B. Encourage the Product Owner to accept partially done Increments and complete the work in the Hardening Sprint.

C. Coach the Development Team to improve its skills, tools and infrastructure over time and establish a Definition of "Done" that is actually possible to achieve given the current circumstances.

During Sprint Planning, the Development Team was not able to confidently forecast a Sprint Backlog but the Scrum Team was able to create a Sprint Goal for upcoming Sprint. What action should the Scrum Master take?

A. Postpone the Sprint in order for the Product Owner to refine the Product Backlog to the level needed.

B. Extend the Sprint Planning time-box until the Development Team can forecast enough items to begin the Sprint.

C. Forecast the most likely Product Backlog items to meet the goal and discuss in the upcoming Sprint Retrospective why this happened and what changes will make it less likely to recur.

D. Request assistance from the technical architect.

Who determines how to do the work during the Sprint?

A. The Scrum Master.

B. The Technical Architects.

C. The Development Team.

D. The Team Leads.

E. The engineering director.

Who should manage the tasks of Development Team during the Sprint?

A. The Project Manager.

B. The Product Owner.

C. The Scrum Master.

D. The Development Team.

E. All of the above.

What factors are best considered when defining the Sprint length?

A. How often team membership changes and the size of the Development Team.

B. Having consistent Sprint length across all Scrum Teams.

C. The level of expertise over the technology to be used, ability to release an Increment to the end users, and the risk of being disconnected from the stakeholders.

Which of the following are time-boxed events in Scrum?

A. Sprint Planning

B. Daily Scrum

C. Sprint Review

D. Sprint Retrospective

E. All of the above