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

PSM I

1 / 80

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

All of these answers are correct.

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.

2 / 80

Who assigns tasks to individual members of the Development Team?

The members of the Development Team themselves.

The project manager.

The Product Owner.

The Scrum Master.

3 / 80

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

The technical debt

The amount of remaining work

The capacity of the team

The progress

4 / 80

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

Recording the meeting minutes.

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

Selecting the most important action items.

Ensuring conflict is avoided.

5 / 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 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 will be moved back to the Product Backlog

It won’t be demonstrated at the Sprint Review meeting

6 / 80

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

Product Backlog refinement

Sprint Retrospective

Sprint Planning

Daily Scrum

Sprint Review

7 / 80

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

Communicate with the customer and understand the requirements.

Prepare the Product Backlog for the whole project.

There is no such thing as Sprint zero.

Prepare the Product Backlog for the next few Sprints.

8 / 80

What event triggers the beginning of a new Sprint?

The Sprint kick-off meeting held by the Product Owner

The conclusion of the Sprint Planning.

The beginning of a new work week.

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

9 / 80

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

The Business Analyst.

The Product Owner.

The Development Team.

The Scrum Master.

10 / 80

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

Agile

Empirical

Traditional

Rational

11 / 80

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

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.

It evolves to reflect the changes.

12 / 80

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

Deliver a potentially shippable Increment.

Define the architecture of the project.

Create a roadmap for the upcoming Sprints.

13 / 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.

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

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

14 / 80

Who’s responsible for Gantt Charts in Scrum?

The Development Team

No one

The project manager

The Scrum Master

15 / 80

What part does the Product Owner play in the creation of 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 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 creates the Sprint Goal in collaboration with the stakeholders.

16 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

17 / 80

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

Temporarily add new members to the team.

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

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.

18 / 80

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

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

Suggest effective communication tools and techniques to the Product Owner

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

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

19 / 80

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

One month

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

One week

Two weeks

20 / 80

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

There should be five Product Backlogs and five Product Owners.

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

The product has one Product Backlog and one Product Owner.

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

21 / 80

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

Participate as a team member at the Sprint Retrospective.

Updating stakeholders on project progress.

Product Backlog refinement.

There is no time between Sprints.

22 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

23 / 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?

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

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

Ask the company QA department to investigate the issue

Adjust the definition of "Done" immediately.

24 / 80

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

Project manager

Product Owner

Development Team

Scrum Master

25 / 80

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

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

They should be moved to the next Sprint Backlog.

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

26 / 80

When a project is riskier, Sprints should be longer.

FALSE

TRUE

27 / 80

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

Inspecting and adapting their own processes

Breaking down the epics in the Product Backlog into stories

Volunteering for tasks

Self-organizing their work

28 / 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.

29 / 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.

30 / 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 Development Team

The Product Owner

The Development Team and the Product Owner

The Scrum Master

The Scrum Team

31 / 80

Stakeholders should by default be invited to the Sprint Retrospective.

FALSE

TRUE

32 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

33 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

34 / 80

Which role in Scrum acts as a facilitator and coach?

Scrum Team

Scrum Master

Product Owner

Team Leader

35 / 80

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

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

Deliver a potentially shippable, "Done" product Increment.

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

36 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

37 / 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.

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

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

38 / 80

Which of the following statements best describes iterative development?

It refers to developing project deliverables using automated processes.

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 the final project deliverables in one product development cycle.

39 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

40 / 80

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

As long as it takes.

4 hours for a one month Sprint.

At least two hours.

2 hours for a one month Sprint.

41 / 80

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

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 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.

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.

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.

42 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

43 / 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?

Ensuring work is completed within scope and time.

Writing User Stories.

Describing features as Use Cases.

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

44 / 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.

45 / 80

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

3 hours

6 hours

4 hours

8 hours

46 / 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 Goal

The Sprint Burndown chart

The task list

The Sprint Backlog

47 / 80

Which two statements are correct during the Sprint?

The scope may be clarified as more is learned.

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

The Development Team focuses on finishing all Sprint Backlog items.

The Sprint Goal emerges throughout the Sprint.

48 / 80

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

The Scrum Master

The Development Teams.

The Product Owner

The Integration Engineers.

49 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

50 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

51 / 80

A new Sprint starts immediately after the previous Sprint.

TRUE

FALSE

52 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

53 / 80

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

Never.

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

Whenever needed.

Frequently, as it facilitates knowledge transfer.

54 / 80

Which of the following statements is true about transparency?

The whole process must be visible to stakeholders.

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

The whole process must be visible to everyone.

The process must be visible, and understood by stakeholders.

55 / 80

Who is responsible for estimating the Product Backlog items?

The Development Team.

The Technical Architect.

The Scrum Master.

The Product Owner.

56 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

57 / 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?

Inform the Product Owner’s functional manager

Nominate a proxy Product Owner

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

Send the Product Owner to a training

58 / 80

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

All provided answers are correct.

Enough time for the last Increment to finish testing.

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

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.

59 / 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.

60 / 80

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

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

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

All the work that has been defined during Sprint Planning.

61 / 80

Only the Scrum Team may attend the Sprint Planning.

FALSE

TRUE

62 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

63 / 80

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

Making sure enough for the upcoming three Sprints exists.

Drafting the timeline for the project.

Creating User Stories based on the requirements.

In Scrum, there is no Sprint 0.

64 / 80

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

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

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.

65 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

66 / 80

What does the trendline in a release burndown chart indicate?

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

The evolution of the return of investment on the project.

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

67 / 80

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

None of the provided answers is correct.

Product Backlog

Product Vision

Sprint Backlog

Gantt Chart

68 / 80

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

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

It takes place before the Sprint Review.

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

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

It provides an opportunity for inspection and adaptation.

69 / 80

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

It leads to greater levels of motivation among employees.

It makes projects adaptable and open to incorporating change.

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

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

70 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

71 / 80

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

Sprint Retrospective

Between two Sprints

Daily Scrum

Sprint Planning

72 / 80

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

The process that the Scrum Team does the Scrum events.

The way the team members interact.

All provided answers are correct.

The definition of "Done".

Needed skills or knowledge.

73 / 80

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

Coach the Product Owner.

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

Nominate a proxy Product Owner.

74 / 80

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

TRUE

FALSE

75 / 80

What is the purpose of the Sprint Review?

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.

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

76 / 80

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

FALSE

TRUE

77 / 80

Which event does a Sprint begin with?

Daily Scrum

Retrospective

Release Planning

Sprint Planning

78 / 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?

4 hours

As much as needed

12 hours

6 hours

8 hours

79 / 80

Which of the following statement is NOT correct about Scrum?

It is a framework used to address complex products.

It is based on empiricism.

It is difficult to master.

It deals only with static requirements.

80 / 80

Who is responsible for updating the Sprint Backlog?

The Scrum Team

The Development Team

The Product Owner

The Scrum Master

Your score is