PSM I

The Professional Scrum Master I certification, commonly known as PSM I, is Scrum.org’s most common certification.
Those awarded with it are certified:

a fundamental understanding of Scrum
consistent use of its terminology

BASIC INFO

Duration: 60 minutes
Questions: 80; multiple-choice, multi-select, true/false
Passing score: 85%
Number of certification holders: 300,000+

ABOUT THE QUESTIONS

In PSM I, the question revolve primarily around the immediate and literal understanding of the Scrum framework as described in the Scrum Guide. It focusses particularly on the roles within a Scrum Team and the Scrum Events. It also checks one’s familiarity with Scrum-related terminology like “time-box” and “empiricism”.

Almost all questions in PSM I have clear answers based directly on the Scrum Guide. Only a few questions require abstract knowledge transfer.

Questions with multi-select options, i.e. those where many answers are correct, will inform you how many answers to select. They will for example state “(choose the best three answers)”.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PSM I

PSM I is a basic exam and one can pass it well without attending a dedicated PSM I training session, for example by preparing with my book, which contains all the necessary preparations for the exam.

Read the Scrum Guide a few times until you are comfortable with its terminology and the concepts it describes. One should place a special focus on the roles, artifacts, and events. Additionally, reviewing the Scrum Glossary is recommended.

Take the free Scrum Open assessment. The questions presented in it are part of the exam pool for the PSM I and representative of the questions overall in terms of formulation and style. A good rule of thumb is to practice it enough until you can pass it with a perfect score three times in a row, using less than 10 minutes each time.

Use the practice quiz provided below.

PSM I PRACTICE QUIZ

328

PSM I

1 / 80

Which of the following two statements are accurate about technical debt? (Choose two answers.)

It creates false assumptions about the current state of the system, lowering transparency.

Having technical debt introduces additional risk to the product.

The Development Team should never start working on a new item unless they remove all existing technical debt.

2 / 80

A new Sprint starts immediately after the previous Sprint.

FALSE

TRUE

3 / 80

Which of the following statements does NOT describe an advantage provided by using Scrum?

It minimizes non-essential work and leads to higher efficiency levels.

It leads to greater levels of motivation among employees.

It makes projects adaptable and open to incorporating change.

It ensures that all the benefits are delivered at the end of the project.

4 / 80

Who’s responsible for Gantt Charts in Scrum?

No one

The Development Team

The project manager

The Scrum Master

5 / 80

Which two statements are correct during the Sprint?

The Development Team focuses on finishing all Sprint Backlog items.

The scope may be re-negotiated as more is learned.

The Sprint Goal emerges throughout the Sprint.

The scope may be clarified as more is learned.

6 / 80

What does the trendline in a release burndown chart indicate?

When all the work in the Product Backlog will likely be finished, allowing the Scrum Team to move to the next Sprint Backlog.

The evolution of the return of investment on the project.

When the remaining work for the release is projected to be completed if there are no significant changes.

7 / 80

Which of the following is not time-boxed according to the Scrum Guide?

Sprint Review

Sprint Retrospective

Daily Scrum

Sprint Planning

Product Backlog refinement

8 / 80

What is the purpose of the Sprint Review?

It provides an opportunity for the Development Team to find ways to incrementally improve their velocity.

It is an opportunity for the Scrum Team and key stakeholders inspect the Increment produced in the Sprint and adapt the Product Backlog accordingly.

It is an activity for the Development Team to demonstrate their work to the Product Owner.

9 / 80

Which of the following is not a role recognized by Scrum?

Development Team

Project manager

Scrum Master

Product Owner

10 / 80

Which event does a Sprint begin with?

Sprint Planning

Daily Scrum

Release Planning

Retrospective

11 / 80

Which of the following is the event most appropriate to inspect and possibly adapt the definition of “Done”?

Sprint Planning

Between two Sprints

Sprint Retrospective

Daily Scrum

12 / 80

The purpose of the Daily Scrum is for the Development Team to provide an update to the Product Owner.

FALSE

TRUE

13 / 80

A Product Owner is concerned about the quality level provided by the Development Team’s definition of “Done”. What is the best approach for the Product Owner to take?

Ask the company QA department to investigate the issue

Adjust the definition of "Done" at the end of the Sprint

Adjust the definition of "Done" immediately.

Point it out in the next Sprint Retrospective and work with the Development Team towards a shared understanding of quality.

14 / 80

When multiple Scrum teams are working on the same product, they are responsible for delivering one integrated, “Done” Increment.

TRUE

FALSE

15 / 80

Which of the following statements is true regarding the duration of a Sprint?

Short enough to keep the business risk acceptable to the Product Owner.

Short enough to be able to synchronize the development work with other business events.

No more than one month.

All of these answers are correct.

16 / 80

The Product Owner is using burn-up charts instead of burn-down charts. What would be your response as the Scrum Master?

Burn-up charts are used in traditional methods, and should be replaced by burn-down charts.

There’s nothing wrong with it.

17 / 80

What it the appropriate action for a Development Team to take if it realizes it has selected too much during the Sprint?

Work with the Product Owner to renegotiate the scope as soon as possible.

Temporarily adjust the definition of "Done", allowing all items to be finished.

Temporarily add new members to the team.

Continue working and update the Product Owner at the Sprint Review.

18 / 80

A new Product Owner is hired to work on an existing product that has ongoing for five Sprints. They are unsure about all of the responsibilities of a Product Owner. Which of these Product Owner activities are defined in Scrum?

Describing features as Use Cases.

Interacting with stakeholders and ensuring that the most valuable functionality is is always produced first.

Ensuring work is completed within scope and time.

Writing User Stories.

19 / 80

Which of the following statements are correct about the Sprint Retrospective? (Choose two answers.)

It’s at most three hours long for a one-month Sprint, for shorter Sprints this is usually less.

It’s the only time improvement are planned for the project.

The Product Owner doesn’t have to be at the meeting.

It takes place before the Sprint Review.

It provides an opportunity for inspection and adaptation.

20 / 80

During the Sprint Planning, the Scrum Team discovers that the Product Backlog is not properly refined. What is the time-box for the Sprint Planning is such a case?

8 hours

4 hours

As much as needed

12 hours

6 hours

21 / 80

Which of the following descibes the optimal length of a Sprint?

Short enough to minimize risk, long enough to deliver at least one piece of improved outcome.

One month

Two weeks

One week

22 / 80

The self-organization of the Development Team includes the possiblility to remove Scrum Events from their Sprints.

TRUE

FALSE

23 / 80

How do changes in the end users’ environments affect the Product Backlog?

It evolves to reflect the changes.

They usually have no effect. If the changes are extreme, the project should be cancelled and a new one started with a new Product Backlog.

They lead to the Product Backlog becoming obsolete and being replaced by a new one.

24 / 80

Which of the following is not a responsibility of members of the Development Team?

Volunteering for tasks

Self-organizing their work

Inspecting and adapting their own processes

Breaking down the epics in the Product Backlog into stories

25 / 80

What type of process control is at the basis of Scrum?

Empirical

Agile

Rational

Traditional

26 / 80

Which of the following describes a valid service from the Scrum Master to the Product Owner? (Choose the best answer.)

Act as the middleman between the Product Owner and the Development Team, as requested or required.

Act as a proxy when the Product Owner is not available to the team.

Helping the Product Owner find better techniques for Product Backlog management.

27 / 80

What is the Scrum Master’s responsibility during a Sprint Retrospective?

Participating as a member of the Scrum Team and facilitating as requested or needed.

Selecting the most important action items.

Recording the meeting minutes.

Ensuring conflict is avoided.

28 / 80

What is the appropriate action for a Development Team to take, if it does not understand a functional requirement?

Request a specialist to be added to the Development Team.

Work with the Product Owner to clarify the item and take decisions together.

Postpone the item to a later Sprint.

Complete as much as possible and add the remaining work as a new Product Backlog item.

29 / 80

Only the Scrum Team may attend the Sprint Planning.

TRUE

FALSE

30 / 80

Product Backlog items may include test descriptions, which must be fulfilled for an item to be “Done”.

FALSE

TRUE

31 / 80

Which of the following statements is most appropriate regarding how often membership in the Development Team should change?

Frequently, as it facilitates knowledge transfer.

Whenever needed, taking into account a temporary decrease in productivity.

Never.

Whenever needed.

32 / 80

What happens to “Done” Product Backlog items when a Sprint is cancelled?

They should be moved to the next Sprint Backlog.

They should be moved back to the Product Backlog, and would be taken care of in the future Sprints

They will be reviewed, and if they are potentially releasable, the Product Owner typically accepts them.

33 / 80

Which of the following is the correct time-box for the Sprint Planning of a two week Sprint?

4 hours

6 hours

8 hours

3 hours

34 / 80

Which of the following statements best describes iterative development?

It refers to developing the final project deliverables in one product development cycle.

It refers to developing project outputs through detailed upfront planning with emphasis on fixing scope, quality and other project aspects.

It refers to using more than one product development cycle to develop the final project deliverables through the learning from the previous development cycles.

It refers to developing project deliverables using automated processes.

35 / 80

Which of the following is the most appropriate statement about what cross-functionality in a Development Team means?

Deliver a potentially shippable, "Done" product Increment.

Delivering the project on-budget, in-scope and within the prescribed time.

Deliver a testable pre-Increment that can be handed over to the QA/Testing department.

36 / 80

Agility is the ability for organizations to respond to change rapidly.

TRUE

FALSE

37 / 80

During the Sprint, the Development Team realizes it cannot deliver all items in the Sprint Backlog. Who is responsible for readjusting the scope of the Sprint Backlog?

The Product Owner

The Scrum Team

The Development Team

The Development Team and the Product Owner

The Scrum Master

38 / 80

When multiple Scrum Teams work on the same product, each team should have a separate Product Owner.

TRUE

FALSE

39 / 80

Which of the following are common outcomes of Daily Scrums? (Choose two answers.)

The members of the Development Team are committed on the next steps towards the Sprint Goal.

Impediments have been identified for the Scrum Master to address.

The Product Owner is updated about the progress.

40 / 80

Which of the following artifacts contains a plan for realizing the Sprint Goal?

Product Backlog

Sprint Backlog

Gantt Chart

None of the provided answers is correct.

Product Vision

41 / 80

Which role in Scrum acts as a facilitator and coach?

Scrum Master

Product Owner

Scrum Team

Team Leader

42 / 80

What activities are performed by the Product Owner during Sprint 0?

Prepare the Product Backlog for the next few Sprints.

Prepare the Product Backlog for the whole project.

Communicate with the customer and understand the requirements.

There is no such thing as Sprint zero.

43 / 80

Which of the following statement is NOT correct about Scrum?

It is a framework used to address complex products.

It is difficult to master.

It is based on empiricism.

It deals only with static requirements.

44 / 80

An increase in velocity is equal to an increase in value delivered.

TRUE

FALSE

45 / 80

When a project is riskier, Sprints should be longer.

FALSE

TRUE

46 / 80

A Scrum Master observes problems in the collaboration of the Product Owner with the Development Team. What action is appropriate?

Nominate a proxy Product Owner.

Coach the Product Owner.

Act as the go-between between Product Owner and Development Team.

47 / 80

Burn-down charts are a mandatory practice for Scrum Teams.

TRUE

FALSE

48 / 80

Who is responsible for the proper understanding of Product Backlog items?

The Scrum Master.

The Development Team.

The Business Analyst.

The Product Owner.

49 / 80

What is the role of management towards the Scrum Team?

Decide how to divide the Development Team when it exceeds the Scrum limit.

Assign tasks to individual members when urgent requests are received.

Track individual performance in order to maintain a high performance team structure.

Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done.

50 / 80

During the Sprint Planning, the Development Team commits to delivering the Product Backlog items in the Sprint Backlog.

FALSE

TRUE

51 / 80

Which of the following topics should be addressed in the Sprint Retrospective?

The definition of "Done".

All provided answers are correct.

The way the team members interact.

The process that the Scrum Team does the Scrum events.

Needed skills or knowledge.

52 / 80

Which of the following statements is true about transparency?

The whole process must be visible to everyone.

The process must be visible, and understood by stakeholders.

Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome.

The whole process must be visible to stakeholders.

53 / 80

When multiple teams work on the same product, who is responsible for the integration of work into one Increment?

The Scrum Master

The Integration Engineers.

The Product Owner

The Development Teams.

54 / 80

Who is responsible for updating the Sprint Backlog?

The Development Team

The Product Owner

The Scrum Master

The Scrum Team

55 / 80

What is the responsibility of the Development Team during Sprint 1?

Deliver a potentially shippable Increment.

Create a roadmap for the upcoming Sprints.

Define the architecture of the project.

56 / 80

How much work is necessary to turn a Sprint Backlog item to done.

All the work that has been defined during Sprint Planning.

All the work needed to deliver a "Done" Increment.

At least requirement gathering, design, implementation, and testing.

57 / 80

Which of the following is the least appropriate behavior of a Scrum Master?

Act as a communication-proxy between Product Owner and Development Team.

Team and coach the Development Team and the Product Owner about effective communication.

Monitor the quality of communication between Product Owner and Development Team and take actions if necessary.

Suggest effective communication tools and techniques to the Product Owner

58 / 80

Who is responsible for estimating the Product Backlog items?

The Scrum Master.

The Technical Architect.

The Development Team.

The Product Owner.

59 / 80

Which of the following statements are NOT correct about time-boxing. (Choose two answers.)

The Sprint Retrospective is time-boxed to 4 hours for a one month Sprint; Daily Scrum is time-boxed to 15 minutes; a Sprint is time-boxed to 1 to 6 weeks.

A Sprint is time-boxed to a maximum of one month; Sprint Planning is time-boxed to 8 hours for a one month Sprint; the Daily Scrum is time-boxed to 15 minutes.

The Sprint Review is time-boxed to 6 hours for a one month Sprint; the Sprint Retrospective is time-boxed to 8 hours for a one month Sprint; the Sprint Planning is time-boxed to 8 hours for a one week Sprint.

The Daily Scrum is time-boxed to 15 minutes; the Sprint Review is time-boxed to 4 hours for a one month Sprint; a Sprint is time-boxed to one month.

60 / 80

The Scrum Team gathers stakeholder feedback exclusively during the Sprint Review.

FALSE

TRUE

61 / 80

What does the vertical axis of a burn-down chart represent?

The progress

The amount of remaining work

The capacity of the team

The technical debt

62 / 80

Which of the following describes the activities of a Product Owner during Sprint 0?

Creating User Stories based on the requirements.

In Scrum, there is no Sprint 0.

Drafting the timeline for the project.

Making sure enough for the upcoming three Sprints exists.

63 / 80

The Product Owner doesn’t spend enough time on the project. Which of the following options is the best thing for the Scrum Master to do about this?

Coach the Product Owner why it’s important for them to spend enough time on the project

Nominate a proxy Product Owner

Send the Product Owner to a training

Inform the Product Owner’s functional manager

64 / 80

A self-organizing Development Team is free to not hold Daily Scrums.

TRUE

FALSE

65 / 80

Which statement is correct about five Scrum Teams working on one product?

There should be five Product Backlogs and one Product Owner to manage them.

There should be five Product Backlogs and five Product Owners.

The product has one Product Backlog and one Product Owner.

There should be five Product Owners, one for each Scrum Team.

66 / 80

Which of the following is the correct time-box for the Sprint Review?

At least two hours.

4 hours for a one month Sprint.

2 hours for a one month Sprint.

As long as it takes.

67 / 80

Stakeholders should by default be invited to the Sprint Retrospective.

FALSE

TRUE

68 / 80

The Product Owner is responsible for the definition of “Done”.

TRUE

FALSE

69 / 80

The Product Owner and Scrum Master may not be part of the Development Team.

TRUE

FALSE

70 / 80

Who assigns tasks to individual members of the Development Team?

The members of the Development Team themselves.

The Product Owner.

The Scrum Master.

The project manager.

71 / 80

When multiple Scrum Teams work on the same product, they pull work from the same Product Backlog.

TRUE

FALSE

72 / 80

A Product Owner may transfer some of their accountabiliy to members of the Development Team.

TRUE

FALSE

73 / 80

How are architecture and infrastructure handled in Scrum?

They are discussed and planned during Sprint spikes.

They are added to the Product Backlog and implemented along with functional development.

They are dovered in Sprint 0.

74 / 80

What part does the Product Owner play in the creation of the Sprint Goal?

The Product Owner provides the business objective for the Sprint and an ordered Product backlog. The Product Owner and the Development Team collaborate to form the Sprint Goal.

The Product Owner defines the Sprint Goal.

The creation of the Sprint Goal is left to the Development Team, as they are self-organizing. The Product Owner plays no role in this process.

The Product Owner creates the Sprint Goal in collaboration with the stakeholders.

75 / 80

What activities are performed by the Product Owner in-between Sprints?

Updating stakeholders on project progress.

Product Backlog refinement.

Participate as a team member at the Sprint Retrospective.

There is no time between Sprints.

76 / 80

What is the maximum amount of time permitted between the end of a Sprint and the beginning of the next one?

Enough time for the last Increment to finish testing.

Maximum of 1 day for Sprints that are time-boxed to 2 weeks.

Enough time for the Product Owner to prepare the Product Backlog for Sprint Planning.

All provided answers are correct.

None. A new Sprint starts immediately following the conclusion of the previous Sprint.

77 / 80

Which of the following statements are correct about un-“Done” items in the Sprint Backlog in the end of the Sprint? (Choose two answers.)

The Sprint will be extended until the item is done

It will be moved back to the Product Backlog

It has to be completed in the next Sprint

It will be demonstrated to the stakeholders but pointed out that it’s not complete yet

It won’t be demonstrated at the Sprint Review meeting

78 / 80

What event triggers the beginning of a new Sprint?

The beginning of a new work week.

The expiration of the time-box of the previous Sprint.

The conclusion of the Sprint Planning.

The Sprint kick-off meeting held by the Product Owner

79 / 80

Scrum suggests that the Product Backlog refinement should not take more than 10% of the Product Owner’s time.

TRUE

FALSE

80 / 80

The Sprint Planning provides multiple outputs. Which of the following in an output that provides the Development Team with a direction for the Sprint?

The Sprint Backlog

The Sprint Goal

The Sprint Burndown chart

The task list

Your score is