PSM I Exam Flashcards

Q: What is the PSM I passing score and exam format?

PSM I requires 85% or higher — at least 68 correct answers out of 80 questions — in 60 minutes. Questions are multiple choice, multiple answer (select all that apply), and true/false, and many are scenario-based rather than pure recall.

Q: Do I need training or a prerequisite before taking PSM I?

No. Scrum.org has no mandatory training or experience requirement for PSM I. Anyone can purchase the exam password and take the assessment directly, though most candidates study the Scrum Guide 2020 thoroughly and use the free Scrum Open Assessment first.

Q: What happens if I fail the PSM I exam?

You can retake the exam immediately with no mandatory waiting period — Scrum.org confirms there is no limit on attempts and no required wait time between them. Each retake requires purchasing a new exam password.

Q: How long does the PSM I certification last?

PSM I is a lifetime certification with no renewal requirement or continuing education. Once you pass, the credential never expires, unlike some competing Scrum Master certifications that require periodic renewal.

Q: What Scrum Guide 2020 terminology changes does PSM I test?

PSM I expects the 2020 Scrum Guide vocabulary: 'self-managing' (not 'self-organizing') and 'Developers' (not 'Development Team'), plus the three commitments introduced in 2020 — Product Goal for the Product Backlog, Sprint Goal for the Sprint Backlog, and Definition of Done for the Increment.

Question 1

What are the three pillars of empiricism in Scrum?

Accepted Answer

Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation. Work and progress must be visible (transparency) so they can be checked often (inspection) and adjusted quickly when they drift from an acceptable goal (adaptation).

Question 2

What does 'transparency' require in Scrum?

Accepted Answer

Significant aspects of the process must be visible to everyone responsible for the outcome, using a shared, common understanding (for example, a single Definition of Done) so what is seen equals what is real.

Question 3

Why shouldn't inspection in Scrum happen too frequently?

Accepted Answer

Inspection must be frequent and diligent enough to detect undesirable variances, but not so frequent that it gets in the way of the work itself — the goal is to catch problems early, not to add overhead.

Question 4

What does 'adaptation' require once inspection reveals a problem?

Accepted Answer

The process or the product being built must be adjusted as soon as possible to minimize further deviation, rather than waiting for a later checkpoint to react.

Question 5

Name the five Scrum Values.

Accepted Answer

Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage. Living them builds the trust that makes the three pillars of empiricism actually work.

Question 6

Developers on a team only work their own individual items and never discuss blockers openly. Which Scrum Value is most clearly missing?

Accepted Answer

Openness. The Scrum Team and stakeholders agree to be open about the work and the challenges — silos and hidden problems break the transparency the framework depends on.

Question 7

Name the three Scrum Team accountabilities.

Accepted Answer

Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers. The Scrum Guide 2020 calls these 'accountabilities,' not roles, and recognizes no accountabilities beyond these three.

Question 8

What is the Product Owner accountable for?

Accepted Answer

Maximizing the value of the product resulting from the Scrum Team's work, primarily through effective Product Backlog management: developing and communicating the Product Goal, and creating, ordering, and making Product Backlog items transparent.

Question 9

What is the Scrum Master accountable for?

Accepted Answer

Establishing Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide and the overall effectiveness of the Scrum Team. The Scrum Master is a true leader who serves the Scrum Team, the Product Owner, and the organization.

Question 10

What are Developers accountable for?

Accepted Answer

Creating a plan for the Sprint (the Sprint Backlog), instilling quality by adhering to the Definition of Done, adapting their plan daily toward the Sprint Goal, and holding each other accountable as professionals.

Question 11

What is the recommended Scrum Team size under the 2020 Scrum Guide?

Accepted Answer

Small enough to remain nimble and large enough to complete significant work within a Sprint — typically 10 or fewer people total, counting everyone unless the Scrum Master or Product Owner is also doing Developer work.

Question 12

Can a Scrum Team contain sub-teams or a separate hierarchy of roles?

Accepted Answer

No. The Scrum Team is one cohesive unit of professionals focused on one objective at a time, and it is cross-functional and self-managing with no internal sub-teams.

Question 13

Name the five Scrum events.

Accepted Answer

Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. The Sprint is the container event that holds all the others.

Question 14

What is the maximum length of a Sprint?

Accepted Answer

One month. Shorter Sprints are often used to generate more learning cycles and to limit risk and cost to a smaller time frame.

Question 15

What happens the moment one Sprint ends?

Accepted Answer

A new Sprint starts immediately — Sprints are back-to-back with no gap between them.

Question 16

What is the maximum timebox for Sprint Planning in a one-month Sprint?

Accepted Answer

8 hours. Shorter Sprints usually take proportionally less time, and it is up to the Scrum Team to shorten the event.

Question 17

What three topics does Sprint Planning address?

Accepted Answer

Why is this Sprint valuable (the Sprint Goal), What can be Done this Sprint (selected Product Backlog items), and How will the chosen work get done (the plan built by the Developers).

Question 18

Who conducts the Daily Scrum, and what is it actually for?

Accepted Answer

The Developers conduct it — the Scrum Master only ensures it happens. It is a 15-minute event to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog, not a status report to the Scrum Master or Product Owner.

Question 19

What is the maximum timebox for the Sprint Review in a one-month Sprint?

Accepted Answer

4 hours. It is a working session, not a one-way demonstration — the Scrum Team and stakeholders collaborate on what to do next.

Question 20

Who attends the Sprint Review and what is inspected there?

Accepted Answer

The Scrum Team and key stakeholders. They inspect the outcome of the Sprint, discuss progress toward the Product Goal, and adapt the Product Backlog based on what was learned.

Question 21

What is the maximum timebox for the Sprint Retrospective in a one-month Sprint, and when does it occur?

Accepted Answer

3 hours, and it is the last event of the Sprint — it concludes the Sprint by inspecting how the last Sprint went regarding people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done.

Question 22

A Product Owner wants to cancel a Sprint because the Sprint Goal has become obsolete. Who has the authority to do this?

Accepted Answer

Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint, although they may be influenced by stakeholders, the Scrum Master, or the Developers before deciding.

Question 23

Name the three Scrum artifacts.

Accepted Answer

Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment. Each of the three artifacts carries exactly one commitment.

Question 24

Which commitment belongs to the Product Backlog?

Accepted Answer

The Product Goal — it describes a future state of the product that the Scrum Team can use as a long-term target to plan against, and the team focuses on one Product Goal at a time.

Question 25

Which commitment belongs to the Sprint Backlog?

Accepted Answer

The Sprint Goal — the single objective for the Sprint, crafted during Sprint Planning, that gives the Developers flexibility on exact scope while keeping the team coherent and focused.

Question 26

Which commitment belongs to the Increment?

Accepted Answer

The Definition of Done — the formal description of the state the Increment must meet to be considered complete, ensuring transparency about the work's quality.

Question 27

Who is accountable for ordering the Product Backlog?

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner alone. They may delegate the actual work of ordering to others, including Developers, but remain accountable for the result.

Question 28

A Product Backlog item is finished but does not meet the Definition of Done. What happens to it?

Accepted Answer

It cannot be released or even presented as Done at the Sprint Review — it returns to the Product Backlog for future consideration, with no partial credit given.

Question 29

What three elements make up the Sprint Backlog?

Accepted Answer

The Sprint Goal (why), the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint (what), and an actionable plan for delivering the Increment (how) — all created and owned by the Developers.

Question 30

If an organization has no existing quality standard, who creates the Definition of Done?

Accepted Answer

The Scrum Team creates a Definition of Done appropriate for the product, but it must still be compatible with any organizational standards or conventions that already exist.

Question 31

What replaced the term 'self-organizing' in the 2020 Scrum Guide?

Accepted Answer

'Self-managing' — Scrum Teams decide internally who does the work, how to do it, and what to work on, rather than being directed by someone outside the team.

Question 32

What replaced the term 'Development Team' in the 2020 Scrum Guide?

Accepted Answer

'Developers' — the people in the Scrum Team who are committed to creating any aspect of a usable Increment each Sprint, with no internal sub-roles or hierarchy among them.

Question 33

What does 'cross-functional' mean for a Scrum Team?

Accepted Answer

The team possesses all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint, without needing to rely on people outside the team to get the work done.

Question 34

A manager outside the team starts assigning tasks directly to individual Developers. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the manager and organization on self-management — the team, not an outside manager, decides who works on what. The Scrum Master helps remove that organizational barrier.

Question 35

What underlying condition allows a self-managing team to raise problems without fear?

Accepted Answer

Psychological safety, built from living the Scrum Values — especially Openness and Respect — which enables honest transparency instead of hidden issues.

Question 36

What are the Scrum Master's three areas of service?

Accepted Answer

Serving the Scrum Team, serving the Product Owner, and serving the organization — each with distinct coaching and facilitation responsibilities.

Question 37

How does 'teaching' differ from 'coaching' as Scrum Master stances?

Accepted Answer

Teaching explains Scrum theory and practice to people unfamiliar with it. Coaching grows the team's own capability to solve problems and improve, rather than solving issues for them.

Question 38

What does it mean for a Scrum Master to 'cause the removal of impediments'?

Accepted Answer

The Scrum Master does not have to personally solve every blocker — they ensure impediments get removed, escalating outside the team's control when the team cannot resolve it alone.

Question 39

What does 'facilitating' mean as a Scrum Master stance?

Accepted Answer

Guiding a group process, such as an event or a difficult conversation, toward a useful outcome while staying neutral on the content — not directing the decision itself.

Question 40

A Product Owner is not ordering the Product Backlog by value. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on backlog management and value-maximization techniques — the Scrum Master supports the Product Owner's decisions rather than taking over the ordering.

Question 41

What is the Product Goal?

Accepted Answer

The long-term objective for the Scrum Team, describing a future state of the product that the Product Backlog exists to serve. The team commits to only one Product Goal at a time.

Question 42

Why is the Product Backlog described as 'emergent'?

Accepted Answer

It is a dynamic list that is never complete — it only becomes more precise over time as the product, its market, and the team's understanding evolve.

Question 43

What is Product Backlog refinement, and is it a formal Scrum event?

Accepted Answer

Refinement is the ongoing act of breaking down and adding detail to Product Backlog items so they are ready for future Sprints. It is not a formal, prescribed Scrum event — it happens continuously.

Question 44

When multiple Scrum Teams build one product together, how many Product Backlogs and Product Owners exist?

Accepted Answer

Just one of each — one shared Product Backlog, one Product Owner, and one Definition of Done across all teams working on that product.

Question 45

Can the Product Owner delegate Product Backlog management work to someone else?

Accepted Answer

Yes, including to Developers, but the Product Owner remains accountable for the outcome regardless of who performs the work.

Question 46

What is 'velocity' used for in Scrum, and what is a common misuse of it?

Accepted Answer

Velocity is a tool the Developers use for their own Sprint forecasting and planning. A common misuse is applying it to measure, rank, or compare individual people rather than team-level planning.

Question 47

What kind of statement is a Scrum release forecast?

Accepted Answer

An evidence-based projection built from past empirical performance data — not a fixed promise or a guaranteed delivery date.

Question 48

Who decides when a Done Increment is released to customers, and must it wait for the Sprint Review?

Accepted Answer

Primarily the Product Owner decides. A Done Increment may be released at any time and does not have to wait until the Sprint Review to reach customers.

Question 49

What is the primary purpose of stakeholder collaboration at the Sprint Review?

Accepted Answer

To inspect the outcome of the Sprint, gather feedback, and adapt the Product Backlog to maximize future value — not to serve as a pass/fail approval gate for the work.

Question 50

What is a Scrum Team's core measure of success according to the Scrum Guide?

Accepted Answer

The value delivered to customers and stakeholders and progress toward the Product Goal — not simply completing planned tasks or maximizing velocity.

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