Answering: “During the Sprint, the Scrum Master’s role is to do which two of the following:”

During the Sprint the Scrum Master removes impediments and facilitates inspection and adaptation when requested or needed. Monitoring, assigning tasks and escalating to managers are not Scrum Master work.

Exam Question

During the Sprint, the Scrum Master’s role is to do which two of the following: (choose the best two answers)

• A. Remove impediments.
• B. Escalate team conflicts to functional line managers.
• C. Monitor the progress of the Developers.
• D. Ensure the Product Owner attends all Scrum events.
• E. Facilitate inspection and adaptation opportunities as requested or needed.
• F. Assign tasks with the Scrum team.

Correct Answer

A and E.

Why This Is the Correct Answer

The Scrum Guide lists “Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress” among the Scrum Master’s services to the team. It also describes facilitating events and stakeholder collaboration “as requested or needed,” which is the spirit of option E. Both services support a self-managing team without taking over its decisions. The Scrum Master helps the team see problems, then either removes the blocker or helps the team inspect and adapt so it can solve the problem itself. This keeps the focus on progress toward the Sprint Goal and on growing the team’s own ability.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

B. Escalate team conflicts to functional line managers. Conflicts are first handled within the team, with the Scrum Master coaching. Escalation removes ownership from a self-managing team.

C. Monitor the progress of the Developers. The Developers inspect their own progress at the Daily Scrum. Monitoring them is command and control.

D. Ensure the Product Owner attends all Scrum events. The Product Owner is not required at every event, such as the Daily Scrum. The Scrum Master ensures events happen, not attendance lists.

F. Assign tasks within the Scrum Team. Developers decide who does what. Assigning tasks breaks self-management.

Exam Tip

Look for verbs like remove, facilitate, coach and teach for the Scrum Master. Verbs like monitor, assign and escalate point to a manager, not a Scrum Master.

Key Takeaways

• The Scrum Master causes impediments to be removed.
• Facilitation happens as requested or needed.
• The Scrum Master does not monitor or assign work.