Title: Scrum Master Psm I Prep — LearnCoachAssist

Q: What is the primary purpose of the Scrum framework?
A: To deliver value iteratively and incrementally by solving complex problems while enabling teams to deliver productively and creatively.

Q: Who originally created Scrum and when?
A: Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, first presented at OOPSLA in 1995.

Q: What does the word "Scrum" originate from?
A: A rugby scrum, used by Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka in their 1986 Harvard Business Review paper.

Q: What is empirical process control?
A: Decision-making based on observation, experimentation, and learning from experience rather than upfront defined processes.

Q: What are the three pillars of empirical process control?
A: Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation.

Q: What is Transparency in Scrum?
A: Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those who perform and receive the work.

Q: What is Inspection in Scrum?
A: Scrum artifacts and progress toward the agreed Sprint Goal are inspected frequently and diligently.

Q: What is Adaptation in Scrum?
A: If any aspects deviate outside acceptable limits, the process must be adjusted to minimize further deviation.

Q: What are the three Scrum accountabilities?
A: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers.

Q: How is a Scrum Team structured?
A: A Scrum Team consists of one Product Owner, one Scrum Master, and Developers — typically 10 or fewer people total.

Q: What is the Product Owner's primary responsibility?
A: Maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team.

Q: Is the Product Owner role transferable across multiple Scrum Teams?
A: No — to be effective, one Product Owner must be assigned to one Scrum Team, though they may represent many stakeholders.

Q: Can the Product Owner and Scrum Master be the same person?
A: No — within a Scrum Team, the Product Owner and Scrum Master are separate accountabilities and cannot be combined.

Q: Can the Scrum Master and a Developer be the same person?
A: No — the Scrum Master is a separate accountability from the Developers and cannot also be a Developer.

Q: What is the Scrum Master's primary accountability?
A: Establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide; removing impediments; coaching the team and organization.

Q: What is a self-managing Scrum Team?
A: A team that internally decides who does the work, how it is done, and how to turn the Product Backlog into Increments.

Q: What is a cross-functional team?
A: A team that has all the skills needed to turn the backlog into a valuable Increment without depending on others outside the team.

Q: What is the optimal size of a Scrum Team and why?
A: 10 or fewer people — small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete meaningful work in a Sprint.

Q: What is the Scrum Guide?
A: The definitive definition of Scrum, authored by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland; the rules of the framework.

Q: What is a Sprint?
A: A fixed time-box of one month or less during which a done Increment is created.

Q: What is the maximum length of a Sprint?
A: One month or less.

Q: Can a Sprint be shorter than one day?
A: Practically no — Sprints are typically one to four weeks; shorter is impractical for a meaningful increment.

Q: What happens to the Sprint length during a Sprint?
A: It remains fixed and cannot be changed or extended.

Q: What is the Sprint Goal?
A: The single objective for the Sprint that gives the team a specific focus and encourages unity.

Q: Can a Sprint be cancelled?
A: Yes, only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint.

Q: When might the Product Owner cancel a Sprint?
A: When the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete, such as due to a change in direction or market conditions.

Q: What happens to completed Product Backlog items if a Sprint is cancelled?
A: They are reviewed and if appropriate, accepted into the baseline for future reference.

Q: What is a Daily Scrum?
A: A 15-minute time-boxed daily event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the plan.

Q: Who must attend the Daily Scrum?
A: The Developers — only they are required to attend; the Scrum Master and Product Owner participate only if they are also doing Developer work.

Q: What is the purpose of Sprint Planning?
A: To define the work to be performed in the Sprint and the Sprint Goal, producing the Sprint Backlog.

Q: What is the maximum duration of Sprint Planning for a one-month Sprint?
A: 8 hours.

Q: What are the topics of Sprint Planning?
A: Why is this Sprint valuable? What can be Done this Sprint? How will the chosen work get done?

Q: Who participates in Sprint Planning?
A: The Scrum Team — Product Owner, Scrum Master, and all Developers.

Q: What is the "Why" topic in Sprint Planning?
A: Defining the Sprint Goal — the single objective that creates coherence and focus.

Q: What is the "What" topic in Sprint Planning?
A: Selecting items from the Product Backlog to include in the current Sprint.

Q: What is the "How" topic in Sprint Planning?
A: Decomposing the selected Product Backlog items into smaller work items (typically one day or less).

Q: What is the Sprint Backlog?
A: The set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus the plan to deliver them and the Sprint Goal.

Q: Who owns the Sprint Backlog?
A: The Developers — they own it and update it throughout the Sprint.

Q: What is the Increment?
A: A concrete stepping stone toward the Product Goal; the sum of all Product Backlog items completed during a Sprint plus the value of all previous Increments.

Q: What is the Definition of Done?
A: A shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, ensuring transparency and quality.

Q: What does the Definition of Done typically include?
A: Code reviewed, tested, integrated, documented, and potentially released to production.

Q: Who is responsible for the Definition of Done?
A: The Scrum Team as a whole — it is a shared commitment, not owned by one role.

Q: What is the Product Backlog?
A: An ordered, emergent list of what is needed to improve the product; the single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team.

Q: What is the Product Goal?
A: A commitment for the Scrum Team toward a future state of the product; the long-term objective.

Q: What is the Product Backlog refinement?
A: The ongoing activity of adding detail, estimates, and order to Product Backlog items.

Q: What is the typical time-box for Product Backlog refinement?
A: Usually no more than 10% of the capacity of the Developers, though it is not time-boxed in the Scrum Guide as a separate event.

Q: What are the three attributes of a Product Backlog item?
A: Value, risk/uncertainty, and effort (sometimes size).

Q: Who is responsible for the Product Backlog?
A: The Product Owner — including its content, availability, and ordering.

Q: What is a Product Backlog item?
A: Any artifact used to describe work to be done; the unit of value, risk, or need.

Q: What is an MVP in Scrum terms?
A: Minimum Viable Product — a version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning with the least effort.

Q: How is the Product Backlog ordered?
A: In a way that maximizes value, with higher-value items higher up; no single ordering principle always applies.

Q: What is the Sprint Review?
A: A working meeting at the end of the Sprint to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog.

Q: What is the maximum duration of the Sprint Review for a one-month Sprint?
A: 4 hours.

Q: Who attends the Sprint Review?
A: The Scrum Team and stakeholders — it is not a status meeting but a collaborative working session.

Q: What is the purpose of the Sprint Review?
A: To inspect the Increment, discuss progress toward the Product Goal, determine next backlog items, and gather feedback.

Q: What is the Sprint Retrospective?
A: The final Sprint event, dedicated to inspecting and improving the team's process, relationships, and tools.

Q: What is the maximum duration of the Sprint Retrospective for a one-month Sprint?
A: 3 hours.

Q: What does the Scrum Team typically do in the Retrospective?
A: Inspect the previous Sprint regarding people, relationships, process, tools, and Definition of Done; identify improvements.

Q: What is the purpose of the Retrospective?
A: To plan improvements to increase quality and effectiveness; the team adapts its definition of "done" if useful.

Q: When does a new Sprint begin?
A: Immediately after the previous Sprint's Retrospective concludes.

Q: What are the five Scrum events?
A: Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

Q: What is a Scrum artifact?
A: A tangible output that provides transparency and opportunities for inspection and adaptation.

Q: What are the three Scrum artifacts?
A: Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.

Q: What is the commitment associated with the Product Backlog?
A: The Product Goal.

Q: What is the commitment associated with the Sprint Backlog?
A: The Sprint Goal.

Q: What is the commitment associated with the Increment?
A: The Definition of Done.

Q: What is velocity?
A: An empirical measure of how much product backlog work a team turns into Increment of done product during a Sprint.

Q: Is velocity a measure of productivity, value, or work?
A: Velocity measures the amount of work — not productivity in absolute terms and not value directly.

Q: What is burndown?
A: A graphical representation of work remaining over time, often used during a Sprint for the Sprint Backlog.

Q: What is burnup?
A: A chart showing the work completed over time, often including a target line for scope.

Q: What are the three dimensions a Product Owner may use to order the Product Backlog?
A: Risk, value, and dependencies (and dependencies-priority techniques like WSJF).

Q: What is user story format?
A: As a <user type>, I want <goal>, so that <benefit>.

Q: What is a Story Point?
A: A unit of measure expressing an estimate of the overall effort required to fully implement a Product Backlog item.

Q: Who decides how many story points to assign?
A: The Developers, since they will do the work.

Q: What is relative sizing?
A: Estimating items by comparing them to each other rather than estimating in absolute time.

Q: What is the Fibonacci sequence commonly used for in Scrum?
A: Story point estimation — 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc., reflecting uncertainty for larger items.

Q: What is Planning Poker?
A: A consensus-based estimation technique using cards with values (often Fibonacci) where team members discuss and re-vote.

Q: What is spike in Scrum?
A: A time-boxed investigation or experiment to reduce uncertainty about a technical or functional question.

Q: What is an Impediment?
A: Anything that prevents the team from making progress toward the Sprint Goal.

Q: Who is responsible for removing impediments?
A: Primarily the Scrum Master, although the whole team should help surface and remove them.

Q: What is the difference between a risk and an issue?
A: A risk is a potential future problem; an issue is a current problem.

Q: What is a Scrum Master accountable for?
A: The Scrum Master's effectiveness; the team following Scrum; removing impediments; ensuring events are held.

Q: Is the Scrum Master a project manager?
A: No — the Scrum Master is not a project manager; Scrum has no project manager role.

Q: Is the Scrum Master an agile coach?
A: Often yes, but the role also includes facilitating, serving, and leading within the organization.

Q: How does the Scrum Master serve the Product Owner?
A: Helping find techniques for effective Product Backlog management, facilitating collaboration with stakeholders, and establishing empirical planning.

Q: How does the Scrum Master serve the Developers?
A: Coaching in self-management and cross-functionality, removing impediments, ensuring events are productive, and protecting from external interference.

Q: How does the Scrum Master serve the organization?
A: Leading, training, and coaching the organization in Scrum adoption; planning Scrum implementations; helping employees understand empiricism.

Q: What is servant leadership?
A: A leadership philosophy where the leader's primary goal is to serve others, focusing on the team's needs.

Q: What is a facilitator in Scrum?
A: Someone who guides a meeting or process without authority over content — a key Scrum Master skill.

Q: What is technical debt?
A: The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy (limited) solution today instead of using a better but slower approach.

Q: What is the relationship between Scrum and technical debt?
A: Poor Definition of Done leads to accumulating technical debt; Scrum requires transparency about it.

Q: What is a release?
A: A version of the product made available for use by end users.

Q: What is a potentially shippable product increment?
A: An Increment that meets the Definition of Done and is theoretically ready for release at any time.

Q: How often should the team produce an Increment?
A: At least once per Sprint — frequently even more if useful.

Q: What is a Release Burndown?
A: A chart tracking remaining work toward a release, often using story points or features.

Q: What is the difference between the Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog?
A: The Product Backlog contains everything; the Sprint Backlog is the subset selected for the current Sprint.

Q: What is "Done" vs "Done-Done"?
A: Some teams distinguish intermediate states (e.g., "code complete" vs fully released) — Scrum requires a single, clear Definition of Done.

Q: What is a Scrum of Scrums?
A: A technique to coordinate multiple Scrum Teams working on the same product, with representatives from each team.

Q: What is a Nexus?
A: A framework for scaling Scrum to multiple teams working on a single product, with additional events and artifacts.

Q: Can a Sprint Planning span multiple days?
A: Yes — Sprint Planning is time-boxed (up to 8 hours for a one-month Sprint), not necessarily a single day.

Q: What is the output of the Daily Scrum?
A: An updated plan for the next day of work — not a status report to management.

Q: Who is the Daily Scrum for?
A: The Developers, to synchronize activities and identify impediments — not for the Scrum Master or managers.

Q: What happens if the Product Owner is absent during Sprint Planning?
A: The Sprint Planning cannot be productive without the Product Owner — they are essential to define the Sprint Goal.

Q: Can the Scrum Master facilitate all Scrum events?
A: Yes — the Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring events are held and facilitating them when appropriate.

Q: What is the cost of change curve in Scrum?
A: The cost of change is relatively flat because feedback is frequent and rework is early.

Q: How does Scrum reduce risk?
A: Through short feedback cycles, frequent inspection, adaptation, and empirical decision-making.

Q: What is a Stakeholder?
A: Anyone with an interest in the product or project — internal or external to the organization.

Q: What is a User?
A: A specific type of stakeholder who actually uses the product.

Q: What is the role of management in Scrum?
A: To support the Scrum Team with resources, environment, and alignment — not to direct work.

Q: What is the relationship between command-and-control leadership and Scrum?
A: Command-and-control conflicts with Scrum's empirical and self-managing approach.

Q: What is a chicken-and-pig metaphor?
A: A common story distinguishing those who are committed (pigs — actually doing the work) from those who are merely involved (chickens).

Q: In Scrum, who are the "pigs"?
A: Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers — they are committed and accountable.

Q: In Scrum, who are the "chickens"?
A: Stakeholders, managers, and others who are interested but not accountable for delivery.

Q: What is a feature team?
A: A team organized around delivering end-to-end customer value features rather than technical components.

Q: What is a component team?
A: A team organized around a technical layer (e.g., database, UI) — generally discouraged in Scrum.

Q: What is a single piece of flow?
A: Minimizing work in progress (WIP) to reduce context switching and improve throughput.

Q: What is cumulative flow diagram (CFD)?
A: A chart showing cumulative work across statuses over time, used to identify bottlenecks.

Q: How does the Product Owner handle multiple stakeholder demands?
A: By ordering the Product Backlog based on value, transparency, and trade-offs to maximize overall value.

Q: What is stakeholder management in Scrum?
A: Engaging stakeholders, gathering feedback, and ensuring the Product Owner represents their needs while balancing value.

Q: What is the difference between a Sprint Goal and a release goal?
A: The Sprint Goal defines focus for a single Sprint; a release goal is longer-term across multiple Sprints.