Disagree with splitting the team, because a long Daily Scrum alone does not justify it, and offer to help your colleague, for example by observing a Daily Scrum. Find out the real cause first.
Exam Question
Another team’s Scrum Master seeks your advice. The Daily Scrum always runs longer than 15 minutes. The Developers suggest splitting the Scrum Team into two teams. What is your response? (choose the best answer)
- A. You agree – this is an appropriate solution to the problem.
- B. You disagree – you tell the Scrum Master that as Scrum Master they need to manage the timebox better.
- C. You disagree – there is not enough information to justify splitting a team into two teams. You ask if there is anything you can do to help your colleague, for example observe one of the Daily Scrums with them.
- D. You agree – splitting the team into two is a good strategy to allow the teams to learn how to run Daily Scrums quickly and effectively. Once they have learned to limit the Daily Scrum to 15 minutes, you can combine the teams again.
Correct Answer
C. You disagree – there is not enough information to justify splitting a team into two teams. You ask if there is anything you can do to help your colleague, for example observe one of the Daily Scrums with them.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
A Daily Scrum that overruns could have many causes: discussions that belong elsewhere, status reporting, unclear Sprint Goals or simply habit. Splitting a team is a big structural change with costs to knowledge, collaboration and cross-functionality. Without knowing why the event runs long, that change could make things worse. Observing a Daily Scrum gives evidence to work from, which fits Scrum’s empirical approach. Offering help as a peer also supports the colleague’s learning rather than handing them a verdict. The Scrum Guide does say the Scrum Master ensures events are kept within the timebox, but that means helping the team, not controlling the clock.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
A. Agree that splitting is appropriate. This accepts a major change with no diagnosis of why the event runs long.
B. Tell them they must manage the timebox better. This blames the colleague and gives no help. The Developers own the Daily Scrum, so the Scrum Master should coach, not police.
D. Split temporarily so they learn to be quick, then merge. Reorganizing teams as a training exercise is disruptive and still ignores the root cause.
Exam Tip
Answers that jump to big structural fixes for a small symptom are usually wrong in PSM II. Look for the option that gathers more information first.
Key Takeaways
- Diagnose why an event runs long before changing structure.
- Observation gives evidence for coaching.
- Scrum Masters can support each other as peers.
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More PSM II exam questions
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- A multi-national company is using Scrum for product development of their five major products. What are two good alternatives for how many Product Owners the company should use for these five products?
- Your organization has announced a release to its user base three Sprints from now. To be able to include all functionality in the release, work needs to accelerate. The Product Owner puts some testing from the Definition of Done on hold for the next three Sprints, while adding a generic item to the Product Backlog to resolve this in a future release.
- You are the Scrum Master for three Scrum Teams working on the same product. There is a single Product Backlog that all three Scrum Teams select from. Management is eager to improve the productivity of the teams and wants to standardize velocity across all three teams so that they can see how each team is delivering value. When responding to management, which two statements are appropriate?
- Creating a forecast for a Sprint tends to run more smoothly when the Product Backlog items that are discussed are well understood and actionable. Which approach would you recommend to ensure this state of Product Backlog at Sprint Planning?