Quiz - Exin Agile Scrum Foundation

What is the primary responsibility of a Scrum Master in order to keep a Scrum team working at its peak level of productivity?

• Helping stakeholders understand the Scrum framework and its practices

• Keeping high priority features at the top of the product backlog

• Preventing changes to the sprint backlog items once the sprint begins

Answer explanation

^{A) Correct. This is the responsibility of the Scrum Master. (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.1)}

^{B) Incorrect. This is the responsibility of the Product Owner.}

^{C) Incorrect. No changes should be made to the sprint backlog items, but this is the responsibility of the entire Scrum team, not of the Scrum Master alone.}

During a sprint, a Developer is working on a task. Who is accountable for this task?

• This Developer

• The Developers

• The Product Owner

• The Scrum Master

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. This single Developer might be working on the task, but all Developers stay accountable.}

^{B) Correct. A Developer might work on a task alone, but all Developers share accountability for the development of the product. (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.1)}

^{C) Incorrect. The Product Owner is not accountable for individual tasks. The Product Owner is accountable for the product backlog.}

^{D) Incorrect. The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum team following the Scrum processes, not for this single task.}

All Scrum events are time-boxed events. What is the advantage of time-boxing?

• It ensures commitment of the Scrum team.

• It facilitates osmotic communication.

• It minimizes the waste of time.

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. Commitment of the Scrum team is not based on time-boxing.}

^{B) Incorrect. Osmotic communication means that people gain useful information by overhearing and get involved and help each other as needed.}

^{C) Correct. In Scrum, meetings with fixed objectives and maximum durations (time-boxes) are preferred over ad-hoc meetings. Time-boxing limits the time spent on meetings. (Literature: A, Chapter 1.1.2)}

A team is transitioning to Scrum. They already had a role called project coordinator, who helps creating a smooth working environment for all project members. What is accountable for this after the transition? creating a smooth working environment for all project members.

• Developer

• Product Owner

• Project manager

• Scrum Master

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. The Developers focus on developing backlog items.}

^{B) Incorrect. The Product Owner is accountable for the product backlog.}

^{C) Incorrect. There is no project manager role in Scrum.}

^{D) Correct. The work of this project coordinator is like that of the Scrum Master. (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.1)}

A Product Owner wants a product backlog item to be completed in two days. The Developers working on the item think it will take five days to complete it. The Scrum Master thinks it takes three days. A subject matter expert, who has worked on similar items in the past, thinks it should be at most a one-day effort. Whose estimate should be used for planning?

• The Developers'

• The Product Owner's

• The Scrum Master's

• The subject matter expert's

Answer explanation

^{A) Correct. The Developers are responsible for all estimates. They are the people who will be doing the work and they know best how much effort it takes. No one else can override their estimates. (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.3)}

^{B) Incorrect. The Product Owner determines what should be estimated but has no control over the estimate itself.}

^{C) Incorrect. The Scrum Master has a say in choosing the process of estimating but has no control over the final estimate.}

^{D) Incorrect. The estimation is made by Developers. People outside the Scrum team, for example subject matter experts, have no control over estimation of product backlog items.}

Halfway through a sprint, a team has finished all sprint backlog items. What is the best action to take?

• Cancel the rest of the sprint and start a new sprint with new items

• Extend the length of the sprint and see if done items can be perfectioned

• Pick the next item from the top of the product backlog and add it to the sprint backlog

• Shorten the length of the current sprint and shorten the next sprints as well

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. A sprint can be cancelled in case the sprint goal becomes obsolete. In this case, the sprint goal still makes sense, and the sprint should not be cancelled.}

^{B) Incorrect. Once a sprint begins, its duration is fixed and cannot be shortened or extended.}

^{C) Correct. If all the items are done in the middle of a sprint, the next item from the top of the product backlog can be added to the sprint backlog. (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.3)}

^{D) Incorrect. Once a sprint begins, its duration is fixed and cannot be shortened or extended. Instead of shortening next sprints, it is better to select more work for the next sprints.}

A virtual team with people from two different time zones is working on a project. The team members do not have overlapping office hours, which causes them to be less effective than they hoped for. How can the effectiveness of this virtual team best be improved?

• Ensure that all Scrum team members receive all information

• Hold the daily scrum together even if office hours do not overlap

• Use the osmotic communication technique for disputes

Answer explanation

^{A) Correct. Whether by means of e-mail, shared documents, or a communication tool, collaboration in a}

^{virtual team is most helped by making sure everyone has access to all information and is kept up to date. (Literature: A, Chapter 3.3)}

^{B) Incorrect. This would cause some members to join the daily scrum outside office hours. This is not the best way to improve the effectiveness of this virtual team.}

^{C) Incorrect. Osmotic communication is primarily used for collocated teams.}

When does product backlog refinement take place?

• Only at the start of a sprint

• Only during the sprint retrospective

• Only during the sprint review

• Throughout the sprint

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. Product backlog refinement does not only happen at the start of the sprint, but it happens throughout the entire sprint.}

^{B) Incorrect. Product backlog refinement does not only happen during the sprint retrospective, but it happens throughout the entire sprint.}

^{C) Incorrect. Product backlog refinement does not only happen during the sprint review, but it happens}

^{throughout the entire sprint.}

^{D) Correct. Product backlog refinement is an ongoing activity that happens throughout the sprint (Literature: A, Chapter 2.3.3)}

A Scrum team uses a Kanban board. The work-in-progress limit (WiP-limit) of a column on the Kanban board is reached. What should be done when this happens?

• Assign work to Developers in the next column to free up capacity

• Enlarge the WiP-limit and keep working

• Help the Developers in the column with the bottleneck

• Wait until work is pulled to the next column to free capacity

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. This is not allowed. Kanban only allows to pull work, not to push. The Developers should start helping the other Developers to remove the bottleneck.}

^{B) Incorrect. This is not allowed. The WiP-limit should not change incidentally or any time it is reached. That is explicitly not what the WiP-limit is for. Instead, the limit is there to ensure that bottlenecks are solved instead of ignored.}

^{C) Correct. When the WiP-limit is reached, this is not a sign to relax, but rather a sign that there is a bottleneck. This bottleneck should be addressed. The Developers must help the other Developers that are the reason why the WiP-limit is reached. (Literature: A, Chapter 6.3)}

^{D) Incorrect. It would be possible to wait until work is pulled to the next column, since people cannot push the completed work. However, this is not what should happen. The bottleneck should be addressed.}

What is the most efficient and effective method of transferring information to and between the Developers?

• E-mail

• Face-to-face

• Social media

• Telephone

Answer explanation

^{A) Incorrect. Even though applying rules to email might help to maximize osmotic communication, it is not the most efficient and effective method to transfer information.}

^{B) Correct. The most efficient and effective method of transferring information to and between the Developers is via face-to-face conversations. (Literature: A, Chapter 7.4.4)}

^{C) Incorrect. Social media is not a good way of transferring information to and between the Developers.}

^{D) Incorrect. Calling is not the best way of transferring information. It also does not maximize osmotic communication.}