Product Owner Certification
Imagine you are a Scrum Master in a small organization that is trying to adopt Scrum. There are 10 developers and the Product Owner. How can they be divided into teams? (2 options)
1) 2 teams of 6 and 4 people (after a short meeting the developers decided that this is the best option) 2) 3 teams of 3, 4 and 3 people (each team is cross-functional)
What happens when a Sprint is cancelled? (Three things)
1) Any completed and "done" Product Backlog items are reviewed 2) If part of the work is potentially releasable, the Product Owner typically accepts it 3) All incomplete Product Backlog items are re-estimated and put back on the Product Backlog
How does the Scrum Master help the Development Team? (Five ways)
1) Coaching the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality 2) Helping the Development Team to create high-value products 3) Removing impediments to the Development Team's progress 4) Facilitating Scrum events as requested or needed 5) Coaching the Development Team in organizational environments in which Scrum is not yet fully adopted and understood
What are the 5 Scrum Values?
1) Commitment 2) Courage 3) Focus 4) Openness 5) Respect
Which two factors should be taken into account for the Definition of "Done"?
1) Conventions, standards and guidelines of the Organisation 2) Definition of "Done" of other Scrum Teams working on the same Product
How does the Definition of Done help the Scrum team? (3 ways)
1) DoD ensures artifact transparency 2) DoD guides the Development Team in knowing how many Product Backlog items it can select during a Sprint Planning 3) DoD is used to assess when work is complete on the product increment
How does the Scrum Master help the Product Owner? (3 ways)
1) Finding techniques for effective Product Backlog management 2) Facilitating Scrum events as requested/needed 3) Understanding product planning in an empirical environment
What questions does the Sprint Planning answer? (2 things)
1) How will the work needed to deliver the increment be achieved? 2) What can be delivered in the Increment resulting from the upcoming Sprint§
The Scrum Master does which three things regarding the Daily Scrum?
1) If others are present at the Daily Scrum, ensures that they do not disrupt the meeting 2) Teaches the Development Team to keep the Daily Scrum within the 15-minute timebox 3) Ensures that the Development Team has the meeting
What are the three purposes of the Sprint Retrospective?
1) Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships; processes and tools 2) Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements 3) Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work
What are Product Backlog Features? (3 features)
1) It is dynamic 2) It is never complete 3) As long as a product exists, its Product Backlog also exists
What are the two essential features a Scrum Team should possess?
1) It should have all competencies needed to accomplish the work without depending on others not part of the team 2) It should choose how to best accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team
How does the Scrum Master serve the Organisation? (5 ways)
1) Leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption 2) Planning Scrum implementations within the organization 3) Helping employees and stakeholders understand and enact Scrum and empirical product development 4) Causing change that increases the productivity of the Scrum Team 5) Working with other Scrum Masters to increase the effectiveness of the application of Scrum in the organization
Which three things happen during the Sprint?
1) No changes are made that would endanger the Sprint Goal 2) Quality goals do not decrease 3) Scope may be clarified and re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development Team as more is learned
What does Product Backlog management include? (3 elements)
1) Optimizing the value of the work the Development Team performs 2) Ensuring that the Product Backlog is visible, transparent, and clear to all, and shows what the Scrum Team will work on next 3) Ordering the items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions
What forms part of Sprint Planning? (4 things)
1) Past performance of the Development Team 2) Projected capacity of the Development Team during the Sprint 3) The latest Product Increment 4) The Product Backlog
What are the three main qualities the team model in Scrum is designed to optimize?
1) Productivity 2) Creativity 3) Flexibility
Where can scrum be used? (6 options)
1) Research and identifying of viable markets, technologies, and product capabilities 2) Development and sustaining of Cloud and other operational environments 3) Development of almost everything we use in our daily lives as individuals and societies 4) Managing the operation of an organization 5) Development of software and hardware 6) Development of products and enhancements
Which four elements compose Scrum?
1) Roles 2) Rules 3) Artifacts 4) Events
Who participates in the Sprint Review (4 groups)
1) The Development Team 2) The Product Owner 3) The Scrum Master 4) The Key Stakeholders
Who participates in Sprint Planning? (3 things)
1) The Product Owner 2) The Scrum Master 3) The Development Team
What three elements does the Scrum Team consist of?
1) The Scrum Master 2) The Development Team 3) The Product Owner
In which two meetings can people outside of the Scrum team take part?
1) The Sprint Planning (The Development Team may invite other people in order to provide technical or domain advice) 2) The Sprint Review ( The PO is responsible for inviting Key Stakeholders to the Sprint Review meeting)
Which four events are formal opportunities to adapt?
1) The Sprint Review 2) The Sprint Planning 3) The Sprint Retrospective 4) The Daily Scrum
What are the five characteristics of a development team?
1) They are self-organizing. No one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality 2) Development Teams are cross-functional, with all of the skills as a team necessary to create a product Increment 3) Scrum recognizes no titles for Development Team members, regardless of the work being performed by the person 4) Scrum recognizes no sub-teams in the Development Team, regardless of domains that need to be addressed like testing, architecture, operations, or business analysis 5) Individual Development Team members may have specialized skills and areas of focus, but accountability belongs to the Development Team as a whole
What are the three pillars that hold up Scrum?
1) Transparency 2) Inspection 3) Adaptation Scum is founded on empiricism, which asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known
What are the three most applicable characteristics of the Product Owner?
1) Value maximiser 2) Lead Facilitator of Key Stakeholder Involvement 3) Product Marketplace Expert
What are the three questions that the Scrum Guide gives as an example that can be used at the Daily Scrum?
1)What did I do yesterday that helped the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal? 2) What will I do today to help the Development Team meet the Sprint Goal? 3)Do I see any impediment that prevents me or the Development Team from meeting the Sprint Goal?
What is the timebox for the Daily Scrum?
15 minutes
What is Scrum?
A framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while delivering valuable products.
What is the Sprint Backlog?
A highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint.
What is the result of the Sprint Review?
A revised Product Backlog that defines the probable Product Backlog items for the next Sprint
What is the essence of Scrum?
A small team of people that is highly flexible and adaptive. These strengths continue operating in single, several, many, and networks of teams that develop, release, operate and sustain the work and work products of thousands of people. They collaborate and interoperate through sophisticated development architectures and target release environments
If an inspector determines that one or more aspects of a process deviate outside acceptable limits when an adjustment must be made?
As soon as possible to minimise any further deviation
What is Scrum founded on?
Empiricism
True or false: The Definition of "Done" is created during the first Sprint and remains unchanged until the Product release?
False. During each Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team plans ways to increase Product quality by adapting the definition of "Done" as appropriate.
True or false: Scrum does not allow additional meetings that are not defined in Scrum?
False. Scrum allows additional meetings if they facilitate achieving the Sprint Goal
True or false: The Sprint Backlog is created at the Sprint Planning and it is prohibited for the Development Team to add new work later?
False. The Development Team modifies the Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal. As new work is required, the Development Team adds it to the Sprint Backlog
True or false: It is good practice to have at least two Product Owners on big projects?
False. The Product Owner is one person
True or false: Only the Product Owner and Development Team participate in the Sprint Planning and the Scrum Master has nothing to do with it?
False. The work to be performed in the Sprint is planned at the Sprint Planning and this plan is created by the entire Scrum Team.
True or false: The Daily Scrum always should take exactly 15 minutes. For example, if your team managed doing it in 5 minutes, you should spend 10 more minutes on some useful team activity like Product Backlog refinement, but not more?
False: All events in Scrum are timeboxed, meaning each event has a MAXIMUM duration. However, there is no MINIMUM duration for any event.
True or false: It is good practice to have a special Technical Sprint from time to time that consists only of tasks removing the technical debt without implementing any new functionality?
False: It is PROHIBITED. The purpose of each Sprint is to deliver increments of potentially releasable functionalities that adhere to the Scrum Team's current Definition of Done
True or false: All the Scrum Teams working on the same product should have the same Sprint length?
False; Scrum does not require Sprints to be aligned for multiple teams
True or false: The Sprint is cancelled if an item in the Sprint Backlog cannot be finished by the end of the Sprint
False; The Sprint is only cancelled if the Sprint Goal became obsolete. If some work couldn't be done, the Sprint Backlog should be re-negotiated between the Product Owner and Development Team.
True or false: Scrum recommends using only the Scrum components and rules that suit most for a project?
False; each component within the Scrum framework serves a specific purpose and is essential to Scrum's success and usage
True or false: The Scrum Master is focused primarily on the Scrum Team and doesn't care about those outside the Scrum Team?
False; the Scrum Master is a servant-leader for the Scrum Team and helps those outside the Scrum Team understand which of their interactions with the Scrum Team are helpful and which aren't. The Scrum Master helps everyone change these interactions to maximize the value created by the Scrum Team.
How frequently should Scrum users inspect Scrum artifacts and progress towards a Sprint Goal?
Frequently, but it should not get in the way of work
What does Burn-down Chart show?
How much work remains until the end of the Sprint
What does the Cone of Uncertainty show?
It describes the evolution of the amount of uncertainty during a project
What is the Sprint Retrospective?
It is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint
True or false: It is "normal" to have a "hardening" Sprint to remove all technical debt and prepare the Product for the upcoming release?
It is not normal. Development Teams deliver an Increment of product functionality every Sprint. This Increment is usable, so a Product Owner may choose to immediately release it. So, there is nothing to prepare. Each increment contains only "Done" functionalities that could be released immediately.
What does the word "development" mean in the context of Scrum?
It refers to complex work including software and hardware development, development and releasing of products and enhancements, development and sustaining product operational environments, research and identifying of viable markets and technologies, and even more.
What is the order of items in the Product Backlog?
Less valuable and most unclear items at the bottom. The PO is responsible for this.
Imagine that at the Sprint Retrospective meeting the Scrum Team identified some improvements that can be done. What should the Scrum Team do?
Make sure the Sprint Backlog for the next Sprint includes at least one high priority process improvement. The Sprint Backlog makes visible all the work that the Development Team identifies as necessary to meet the Sprint Goal. To ensure continuous improvement, it includes at least one high priority process improvement identified in the previous Retrospective meeting.
What % of the capacity of the Development Team does Product Backlog refinement usually consume?
No more than 10% of the Development Team's capacity.
Is it mandatory for the Scrum Team to answer the three main questions every Daily Scrum?
No, there is no prescribed structure. The structure can be conducted in different ways if it focuses on progress towards the Sprint Goal.
Are you allowed to skip the Daily Scrum if there is nothing interesting to talk about?
No. Each event in Scrum is an opportunity to inspect and adapt something. These events are specifically designed to enable critical transparency and inspection. Failure to include any of these events results in reduced transparency and is a lost opportunity to inspect and adapt.
Does The Daily Scrum timebox depend on the size of the Development Team?
No; The Daily Scrum is time-boxed to 15 minutes regardless of the size of the team
How long should the Sprint Planning be?
Not more than 8 hours (time-boxed to 8 hours for a one-month sprint)
In which meetings are the Key Stakeholders allowed to participate?
Only the Sprint Review (although any member of the Scrum Team can interact with them at any time)
What are the Scrum Artifacts?
Product Backlog; Sprint Backlog, Increment
What are the timeboxes for the Sprint Review and the Sprint Retrospectives?
Sprint Review= 4 hour meeting for a one month Sprint Sprint Retrospective= 3 hour meeting for a one month Sprint
Who is responsible for all estimates in the Product Backlog?
The Development Team is responsible for all estimates in the Product Backlog.
Who creates the increment?
The Development Team only
Who is allowed to change the Sprint Backlog during the Sprint?
The Development Team only.
Who is responsible for tracking the total work remaining in the Sprint Backlog to project the likelihood of achieving the Sprint Goal?
The Development Team. By tracking the remaining work throughout the Sprint, the Development Team can manage its progress.
Who is allowed to participate in the Daily Scrum?
The Development Team. If others are present, the Scrum Master ensures that they do not disrupt the meeting
Who is responsible for the Definition of "Done"?
The Development Team. If the definition of "done" for an increment is part of the conventions, standards or guidelines of the development organization, all Scrum Teams must follow it as a minimum. If "done" for an increment is not a convention of the development organization, the Development Team of the Scrum Team must define a definition of "done" appropriate for the product. If there are multiple Scrum Teams working on the system or product release, the development teams on all of the Scrum Teams must mutually define the definition of "Done".
What is the Sprint Backlog?
The Product Backlog items selected for this Sprint plus the plan for delivering them
Who is responsible for managing the Product Backlog?
The Product Owner
Who is responsible for the Product Backlog?
The Product Owner
Who is allowed to make changes to the Product Backlog
The Product Owner (And the Development Team with the permission of the PO if they want to delegate)
Who is responsible for monitoring progress towards high-level goals?
The Product Owner. They track the total work remaining at least every Sprint Review and compares this amount with the work remaining at previous Sprint Reviews to assess progress towards completing projected work by the desired time for the goal
Who has the authority to cancel the sprint?
The Product Owner. This is the only person with the authority to cancel the Sprint, although they may do so under influence from the stakeholders, the Development Team, or the Scrum Master
Who is responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum?
The Scrum Master
Who is responsible for coping with incomplete artifact transparency?
The Scrum Master. Their job is to work with the Scrum team and the organization to increase the transparency of artifacts.
Who is responsible for crafting the Sprint Goal at the Sprint Planning?
The Scrum Team. After the Development Team forecasts the Product Backlog items it will deliver in the Sprint, the Scrum Team crafts a Sprint Goal
What belongs solely to the Development Team?
The Sprint Backlog. Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint.
What provides guidance to the Development Team on why it is building the increment?
The Sprint Goal
What could be a source of requirements for any changes to be made to the product?
The product backlog
What is the increment?
The sum of all Product Backlog items completed during the Sprint and the value of the Increments of all previous Sprints.
True or false: The Definition of Done can be reviewed and adapted during each Sprint Retrospective?
True. During each Sprint Retrospective, the Scrum Team plans ways to increase product quality by improving work processes or adapting the DoD if appropriate and not in conflict with product or organizational standards
True or false: Scrum is NOT a process or technique?
True. It is a framework within which you can employ various processes and techniques.
True or false: People other than the Scrum Team can attend the Sprint Planning to provide technical advice or domain advice?
True. The Development Team may invite other people to provide advice.
True or false: All Development Teams working on the same product should use the same Product Backlog?
True: Multiple Scrum Teams often work together on the same product and one Product Backlog is used to describe the upcoming work on the product.
True or false: The Development Team should be able to explain to the Product Owner and Scrum Master how it intends to work as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment?
True; By the end of Sprint Planning, the Development Team should be able to explain to the Product Owner and Scrum Master how it intends to work as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment
Could the Sprint Planning be finished if only work planned for the first days of the Sprint is decomposed to units of one day or less?
Yes, if the remaining work is also estimated, maybe in bigger units
Could the Product Owner and Scrum Master be part of the Development Team?
Yes. Scrum doesn't prohibit the Product Owner or Scrum Master from doing development work. However, it isn't the best practice because it could create a conflict of interest