Answering: “You are the Scrum Master of a new, to be developed product. Development is going to require 45 people. What is a good first question for you to suggest the group thinks about when forming into teams?” (PSPO I)

A good first question is how each team will get the right mix of expertise to deliver value. Scrum Teams must be cross-functional, so skills come before seniority, experts or team leads.

Exam Question

You are the Scrum Master of a new, to be developed product. Development is going to require 45 people. What is a good first question for you to suggest the group thinks about when forming into teams?
(choose the best answer)
A. How will we make sure all teams have the right amount of expertise?
B. Who are the subject matter experts on each team?
C. What is the right mixture of senior and junior people on each team?
D. Who are going to be the team leads?

Correct Answer

A. How will we make sure all teams have the right amount of expertise?

Why This Is the Correct Answer

The Scrum Guide says Scrum Teams “are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint.” With 45 people, the group will likely form several teams of ten or fewer working on one product. Each team needs the skills to turn Product Backlog items into a done Increment without waiting on others. Asking about expertise first helps the group design teams around end-to-end delivery. Questions about experts, seniority or leaders matter less and some, like team leads, conflict with Scrum’s lack of hierarchy within a team.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

B. Who are the subject matter experts on each team? Focusing on named experts can create bottlenecks. The goal is a cross-functional mix of skills, not star individuals.

C. What mix of senior and junior people per team? Experience levels matter less than having all needed skills. This is a secondary concern.

D. Who are the team leads? Scrum Teams have no hierarchy or team leads, so this question works against self-management.

Exam Tip

Team-formation questions on Scrum.org exams favor answers about cross-functional skills and self-organization. Anything about leads or hierarchy is a trap.

Key Takeaways

• Form teams around the skills needed to deliver value.
• Cross-functional teams avoid hand-offs.
• Scrum Teams have no internal team leads.