PSM-I Scrum Professional Scrum Master I Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

The correct answers are B and C, because these are the two primary ways a Scrum Master keeps a Development Team working at its highest level of productivity. The Scrum Guide states that “the Scrum Master serves the Development Team in several ways, including … removing impediments to the Development Team’s progress; facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed; and coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality.” Therefore, by removing impediments and facilitating decisions, the Scrum Master helps the Development Team focus on their work and deliver value.

The correct answers are A and D, because a Development Team is responsible for resolving internal team conflicts and organizing the work required to meet the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Guide states that “development Teams are self-organizing. No one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality.” Therefore, a Development Team should manage its own work and resolve its own issues.

According to the Scrum Guide, when multiple Scrum Teams are working on the same product, they should integrate their Increments every Sprint, in order to accurately inspect what is done and ensure that there is no technical debt or unfinished work at the end of each Sprint. The other options are not valid, as they imply that integration can be skipped, delayed, or done only for some teams, which is not consistent with Scrum values and principles.

In the Scrum framework, there is no specific role or accountability for a Tester. Instead, the responsibility for quality lies with the entire Scrum Team, particularly the Developers. Scrum emphasizes cross-functional teams, where every team member contributes to all aspects of the development process, including testing. The Developers collectively ensure that the work meets the Definition of Done and maintains high-quality standards. This approach fosters collaboration, shared responsibility, and continuous improvement, aligning with the core principles of Scrum.

The correct answer is A, because the Scrum Guide states that “a Sprint can be cancelled before the Sprint time-box is over. Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint, although he or she may do so under influence from the stakeholders, the Development Team, or the Scrum Master.” Therefore, a Development Team cannot cancel a Sprint by itself.

According to the Scrum Guide1, Product Backlog refinement is an ongoing activity in which Product Backlog items are reviewed and revised. The Developers who will be doing the work are responsible for sizing or estimating it. The Product Owner may influence them by helping them understand and select trade-offs.

 The Scrum Master should be concerned about the ability of the Development Teams to produce integrated Increments, as this is one of the goals of Scrum. The Scrum Master should also encourage the Development Teams to figure out a solution for themselves, as this fosters self-management and collaboration. The other options are not relevant or important for the Scrum Master in this situation.

A Product Backlog item is considered complete when it meets the Definition of Done, as stated in [5]: “When a Product Backlog item or an Increment is described as “Done”, everyone must understand what “Done” means. Although this varies significantly per Scrum Team, members must have a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, to ensure transparency. This is the definition of “Done” for the Scrum Team and is used to assess when work is complete on the product Increment.”

According to the Scrum Guide, Developers do meet with stakeholders, especially during the Sprint Review and Sprint Planning events. The Product Owner is the primary person who interacts with stakeholders, but Developers also need to communicate with them to understand their needs, expectations, and feedback. The Product Owner may also invite stakeholders to provide clarifications or inputs during the Sprint.

According to the Scrum Guide, three behaviors that demonstrate that a team is self-organizing are creating their own sprint backlog, having all the skills needed to create a releasable Increment, and collaboratively selecting their own work during the Sprint. The other options are not behaviors that demonstrate self-organization, as they are either contrary to Scrum values and principles (such as stakeholders walking in at the Daily Scrum or working within functional boundaries) or unnecessary for self-organization (such as the Product Owner not being at Sprint Retrospectives or the Development Team inviting external people to the Sprint Planning).

According to the Scrum Guide1, there are five values that guide decisions within Scrum teams:

Commitment

Focus

Openness

Respect

Courage

By not building Product Backlog items that have low business value, Scrum teams exhibit respect for their stakeholders and customers, as they deliver what is most valuable and relevant for them. They also exhibit focus, as they concentrate on what matters most for achieving their Product Goal and Sprint Goal. They also exhibit courage, as they are willing to say no to low-value work and face possible conflicts or disagreements.

According to the Scrum Guide1, during each Daily Scrum, each Developer answers three questions:

What did I do yesterday that helped meet our Sprint Goal?

What will I do today to help meet our Sprint Goal?

Do I see any impediment that prevents me or our Development Team from meeting our Sprint Goal?

The Developers can select whatever structure and techniques they want, as long as their Daily Scrum focuses on progress toward achieving their Sprint Goal and producing a usable Increment. The other options are not relevant or appropriate for the Daily Scrum.

References: Scrum Guide

According to the Scrum framework, the Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog, which includes prioritizing and adding new items1. However, when a new item is introduced during a Sprint, it is crucial to involve the entire Scrum Team in the decision-making process. This ensures that the team can assess the impact of the new item on the current Sprint goals, capacity, and workload1. By discussing the item with the team, they can collectively decide whether to include it in the current Sprint, defer it to a future Sprint, or handle it in another way1. This collaborative approach aligns with the principles of transparency, inspection, and adaptation, which are core to Scrum.

Sprint Backlog is owned by the Development Team. The Scrum Guide states that “the Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal. … The Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal.”

The correct answer is B, because the Scrum Guide states that “the Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal.” Therefore, new work or further decomposition of work can be added to the Sprint Backlog as soon as possible after they are identified by the Development Team.

According to the Scrum Guide, the Scrum Master is responsible for coaching the Scrum Team to improve its skills, tools and environment over time and adjust the Definition of Done accordingly1. The Definition of Done is a formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product1. The Definition of Done should be possible to achieve given current circumstances2. Therefore, option B and E are appropriate for a Scrum Master to do, if the Scrum Team does not have the tools and environment to completely finish each selected Product Backlog item.

Option A is not appropriate because declaring the Scrum Team not ready for Scrum implies that there is a fixed set of prerequisites for using Scrum, which is not true. Scrum is a framework that can be applied to any complex product development effort1.

Option C is not appropriate because encouraging the Product Owner to accept partially done Increments until the situation improves violates the principle of transparency. Transparency requires that the Increment is a usable product that meets the current Definition of Done1. Accepting partially done Increments also increases technical debt and reduces value delivery3.

Option D is not appropriate because refocusing the current Sprint on establishing the Scrum Team’s environment instead of delivering an Increment goes against the purpose of a Sprint. A Sprint is a time-boxed event that serves as a container for the other Scrum events and activities. The goal of each Sprint is to deliver a potentially releasable Increment that adheres to the current Definition of Done1.

References: 1: The Scrum Guide 2: Suggested Reading for Professional Scrum Master™ I 3: Mastering Professional Scrum

The correct answers are C and E, because these statements explain what “Done” means. No work left from the definition of “Done” means that all Product Backlog items selected for a Sprint meet the quality criteria agreed upon by the Scrum Team. All work to create software that is ready to be released to end users means that the Increment is potentially releasable at any time during the Sprint.

According to the Scrum Guide1, one aspect of Scrum Teams inspecting how they work toward their Product Goal is that they improve their definition of “Done” over time. The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. Therefore, it is most appropriate for a Development Team to change the definition of “Done” during the Sprint Retrospective.

References: Scrum Guide