Real Scrum scenarios. No trick questions. Just the 2020 Scrum Guide applied to messy real team situations.
VP of Marketing emails the Dev Team directly mid-Sprint asking them to add a landing page. Devs are tempted ('it's only a day's work').
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Only the Product Owner can add work to the Sprint Backlog, and only with Developer consent. The SM coaches the VP to submit the request to the PO for prioritization in the next Sprint Planning. The Sprint Goal is a commitment — adding work mid-Sprint without PO authority breaks the Sprint contract.
Daily Scrum keeps hitting 25+ minutes. Two developers get into a deep technical debate about database indexing. PO is frustrated.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
SM timeboxes the Daily Scrum to exactly 15 minutes and ends it on time. The technical debate is 'parked' — noted as an after-meeting discussion between the relevant parties only. The Daily Scrum is a planning event for Developers, not a problem-solving session.
Sprint Review: developer says API is Done. QA says it's not load-tested. Stakeholder says it's not documented. Nobody agrees on what Done means.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Create a written Definition of Done specifying exact criteria (testing, documentation, code review, deployment). Items not meeting DoD cannot be presented at Sprint Review as Done — they return to the Product Backlog. The DoD is the quality commitment that makes the Increment trustworthy.
PO is leaving for 2 weeks tomorrow. Sprint Planning is in 3 days. Team asks who to work with.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
There is only one Product Owner — the role cannot be delegated. SM works with the organization to ensure PO prepares Sprint Planning items before leaving OR delays the vacation. A 'proxy PO' is not a Scrum concept — it's an anti-pattern that undermines the PO's single accountability for the Product Backlog.
Sprint Planning ends. Team selected 8 items. SM says: 'Our goal is to finish these 8 items.' Team nods and starts working.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
'Finish these 8 items' is not a Sprint Goal — it's a to-do list. A Sprint Goal must be a single coherent objective that gives the Developers latitude to adapt HOW they achieve it. Example: 'Enable customers to self-serve password resets.' SM must facilitate the team to craft a real Sprint Goal before Sprint Planning ends.
Mid-Sprint: critical production bug discovered, unrelated to Sprint Goal. CEO demands immediate fix. 3 days left in Sprint. Bug takes 2 of those days.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
PO evaluates: if Sprint Goal is still achievable after the bug fix, PO negotiates scope — removes lower-priority Sprint Backlog items with Developer consent to make room. If Sprint Goal is now unachievable, only the PO can cancel the Sprint. The team does not decide unilaterally. The CEO does not override the PO on Sprint scope.
Management sets a 50-point velocity target for Q4 (team has averaged 35 for 3 Sprints). Tell SM to make it happen.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Velocity is a planning tool, not a performance target. Forcing it causes: inflated estimates (points worth less), skipped testing (technical debt), broken DoD. SM protects the team and coaches stakeholders with empirical data: more points with lower quality = slower actual delivery. Offer sustainable pace data.
Sprint Review: 2 of 7 committed items are '90% complete.' Developers want to present them with a note they'll be done 'next Sprint.' Stakeholders are excited to see progress.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Items not meeting the DoD are NOT part of the Increment and CANNOT be presented as Done. They return to the Product Backlog. PO re-evaluates priority. '90% Done' is the same as not Done. Allowing it devalues the DoD and destroys empiricism.
Dev team says they need a full 2-week Sprint for 'technical discovery' before estimating features. No shippable software will be produced.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
A Sprint producing no Increment is an anti-pattern. Scrum requires every Sprint to produce a potentially releasable Increment. Research must be timeboxed within a normal Sprint. If uncertainty is extreme, produce the smallest possible proof-of-concept that meets DoD. SM facilitates this conversation.
Two senior devs dominate every Retrospective with their architecture disagreement. Other team members have stopped speaking. Last 3 Retros produced zero actionable improvements.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
SM uses structured formats (silent brainstorming, dot voting) to give all voices equal weight. Addresses the interpersonal conflict directly in separate 1:1 coaching sessions. Applies Prime Directive. A Retro with no improvements is a Retro that failed — that's the SM's accountability, not the team's problem.
3 Scrum Teams on the same product. Team A builds API, Team B mobile app, Team C web dashboard. Each demos their Increment independently at Sprint Review. Stakeholders confused.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
One Product Backlog, one Product Owner, one Product Goal across all teams. Their Increments must be INTEGRATED into ONE unified Increment by Sprint end. Sprint Review shows the complete working product, not three separate demos. Cross-team coordination (Scrum of Scrums or similar) happens continuously, not at Sprint end.
Dev team blocked 8 days waiting for database access from IT Security (6-week approval process). SM escalated to manager — nothing happened. Sprint Goal now impossible.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
1) Make impediment fully transparent (impediment backlog, visible at Sprint Review). 2) Escalate above IT Security's management chain. 3) PO may need to cancel the Sprint. Long-term: SM works with the organization to fix the 6-week approval process — it's incompatible with 2-week Sprints.
Sprint Planning takes 7 hours because the top 10 backlog items are vague, unestimated, unclear. Team can't commit. This has happened 4 Sprints in a row.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Product Backlog Refinement is continuous — typically 10% of Developer capacity each Sprint. The PO is accountable for ensuring top items are sufficiently refined BEFORE Sprint Planning. A 7-hour Sprint Planning signals zero refinement investment. SM coaches the PO to establish regular refinement sessions. Sprint Planning should take 2-4 hours for a 2-week Sprint.
Velocity dropped 40% over 6 months. Every new feature breaks something else. PO wants more features. Devs want a full refactoring Sprint.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
Technical debt must be made visible in the Product Backlog — it's legitimate work competing for priority. SM facilitates: 1) Developers quantify the cost (velocity trend, bug rate, deployment frequency). 2) PO makes an informed prioritization decision. 3) Team agrees sustainable approach — e.g., 20% of each Sprint dedicated to debt reduction. A full 'refactoring Sprint' with no Increment is an anti-pattern. Ignoring debt is worse.
Senior team tells SM: 'We've been doing Agile 10 years. You don't need to attend our Daily Scrums or Retros anymore.' They ARE high-performing — consistent velocity, quality software.
What would a certified Scrum Master do?
The SM's value shifts for mature teams but never disappears. For high-performing teams, focus shifts outward: protecting the team from organizational dysfunction, improving stakeholder relationships, coaching the PO, helping the organization adopt agile. SM should discuss this transition openly with the team — they may not need facilitation, but they still need organizational advocacy.
PSM 1 / CSM Coach