Changed PSM-II Exam Questions

B. You inform management of organizational impediments that prevent the Scrum Team from being more productive. You enlist their help to remove these impediments.

• This is a good answer because it is consistent with the Scrum Master’s accountability to serve the Scrum Team and the organization by identifying and addressing the factors that hinder the team’s effectiveness12. By informing management of the organizational impediments, you can leverage their authority and influence to resolve them. By enlisting their help, you can also foster a collaborative and supportive relationship with them. C. You explain how a Scrum Team uses the velocity of a Sprint primarily to forecast work for the next Sprint, not to perfectly predict future productivity. You refer management to the Product Owner for all information concerning the progress of development.
• This is another good answer because it is consistent with the Scrum Master’s accountability to educate and coach the organization on the Scrum framework and its principles12. By explaining how velocity is used in Scrum, you can help management understand that it is not a reliable metric for measuring performance or comparing teams. By referring management to the Product Owner, you can also respect the Product Owner’s accountability to manage the product backlog and communicate the value and status of the product34.

References: 1: What is a Scrum Master? | Scrum.org 2: What is a scrum master? [+ Responsibilities] | Atlassian 3: What is a Product Owner? | Scrum.org 4: What is a product owner? [+ Responsibilities] | Atlassian : Scrum Guide | Scrum Guides

• B: Productivity, in terms of lines of code or story points, will probably suffer during the transition, although even then delivery of business value is still likely to increase. This is a realistic expectation, as the teams will need to learn new skills, collaborate more effectively, and adapt to changing requirements. However, the benefit of feature teams is that they can deliver working software that provides value to the customers and stakeholders every Sprint, rather than waiting for the integration of different components.
• C: Feature teams will require time to become productive as people from the different layers and components become accustomed to working and delivering unified functionality together, as one Scrum Team. This is a natural consequence of changing the team structure and culture, as the teams will need to overcome some challenges and conflicts, build trust and rapport, and establish a shared vision and goal. The Scrum Master can help the teams with this transition by facilitating communication, coaching, and mentoring.

References:

• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 17: “Feature teams are cross-functional teams that can deliver end-to-end functionality for a product. They have all the skills and competencies needed to work on multiple layers of the system.”
• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 18: “Component teams are teams that specialize in one layer or component of the system. They often depend on other teams to deliver a complete functionality for a product.”
• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 19: “Feature teams have many advantages over component teams, such as faster feedback, higher quality, lower complexity, and more customer value.”

• C: Velocity has no direct relationship with value. This is a true statement, as velocity is a measure of the amount of work done by a Scrum Team in a Sprint, not the value or quality of that work. Velocity can vary depending on many factors, such as the size, complexity, and priority of the Product Backlog items, the skills and experience of the Developers, the Definition of Done, and the Sprint length. Therefore, velocity is not a reliable indicator of value creation or team performance.
• D: Velocity is the amount of business functionality that a Scrum Team creates in a Sprint. It is unique to that team and used as an input to Sprint Planning. This is a true statement, as velocity is a team-specific metric that reflects how much business functionality the Scrum Team can deliver in a Sprint. Velocity can help the Scrum Team to forecast how many Product Backlog items they can select for the next Sprint, based on their past performance and current capacity. However, velocity is not a goal or a target for the Scrum Team, and it should not be compared across teams.

References:

• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 15: “Velocity is a measure of how much work a team can complete in a given time period. It is usually expressed in terms of story points or function points per Sprint.”
• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 16: “Velocity is not a measure of value or quality. It does not tell us anything about the usefulness, usability, or desirability of the product increment.”
• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 17: “Velocity is unique to each team and depends on many factors, such as the size and complexity of the work items, the skills and experience of the team members, the definition of done, and the length of the Sprint.”
• Professional Scrum Master II Course, page 18: “Velocity can be used as an input for Sprint Planning, to help the team forecast how much work they can realistically accomplish in the next Sprint. However, velocity is not a goal or a target for the team, and it should not be used to compare or evaluate teams.”

The complexity of the problem being solved and the complexity of the requirements are both sources of uncertainty and variability that can impact the Sprint Goal and the Sprint Backlog. The skills and working relationships of the people on the Scrum Team(s) are also crucial for delivering a valuable product increment in a Sprint. The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing an environment where the Scrum Team can be effective and improving the professionalism of the Scrum Team.

References:

• Scrum Guide 2020, page 6: “The Scrum Master is accountable for establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They do this by helping everyone understand Scrum theory and practice, both within the Scrum Team and the organization.”
• Scrum Guide 2020, page 10: “The Sprint Goal is an objective set for the Sprint that can be met through the implementation of Product Backlog items. This provides guidance to the Development Team on why it is building the Increment.”
• Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The Sprint Backlog is composed of the Sprint Goal (why), the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint (what), as well as an actionable plan for delivering the Increment (how).”
• Evidence-Based Management Guide, page 9: “Uncertainty is inherent in complex work. The more complex work is, the more uncertainty there is. Uncertainty comes from two sources: variability and emergence.”