Answering: “Which of the following is required by Scrum?” (PSM I)

Only the Sprint Retrospective is required by Scrum here. Standing up, burndown charts and release planning are optional practices.

Exam Question

Which of the following is required by Scrum? (choose all that apply)

• A. Sprint Retrospective.
• B. Members must stand up at the Daily Scrum.
• C. Sprint Burndown Chart.
• D. Release Planning.
• E. All of the above.

Correct Answer

A. Sprint Retrospective.

Why This Is the Correct Answer

The Sprint Retrospective is one of the five events in the Scrum Guide, along with the Sprint, Sprint Planning, the Daily Scrum and the Sprint Review. Its purpose is to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness, and the Guide says “The Sprint Retrospective concludes the Sprint.” The other options are practices that teams may choose to use. The Guide sets the Daily Scrum to 15 minutes but says nothing about standing up. It mentions burn-downs only as one of several ways to forecast progress. Release planning is not an event in Scrum at all, since releases happen whenever it makes sense.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

B. Members must stand up at the Daily Scrum. Standing is a popular habit to keep the meeting short, but Scrum does not require it.

C. Sprint Burndown Chart. Burndowns are an optional forecasting practice. The Guide names them only as an example.

D. Release Planning. Release Planning was removed from the Scrum Guide years ago. Scrum has no required release planning event.

E. All of the above. Since B, C and D are optional, this cannot be correct.

Exam Tip

Know the short list of what Scrum requires: three accountabilities, five events, three artifacts and their commitments. Anything else in a “required” question is a distractor.

Key Takeaways

• The Sprint Retrospective is a required Scrum event.
• Burndowns and standing up are optional practices.
• Release Planning is not a Scrum event.