Scrum master interview questions

1. What is scrum?

 Ans: Scrum is referred to as an Agile based framework that helps in bringing the teams together and helps in working together. With scrum, the teams will be able to gain expertise and will be capable of organizing the work while dealing with multiple problems and will also ensure to make some enhancements and prevent failures.

2. List out the advantages of scrum?

Ans: Performing scrum provides a below set of advantages: 

a. The return on investment will be increased. 

b. Whenever the changes are made to the system, the risk will be minimized.

c. There will be continuous process improvements. 

d. It helps in looking into the working software. 

e. It is possible for everyone to have a look at the working software and also be involved in giving the feedback and enhancements for the next release or iteration. 

3. What do you understand by the term user story mapping ?

Ans: The user story mapping is referred to as a technique that is utilized in the product ideation, that includes the implementation or discovering of a new feature or a new product within an existing product. The user story mapping will be providing us with the flexibility to identify the minimal viable product.

4. List out the different phases of risk management?

Ans: There are five different faces in risk management which are represented below. 

1. Risk identification: This is the first step in the risk management in which there will be identified in an organization by considering the everyday operating environment. These risks can be either legal, environmental, regulation and market risks. 

2. Risk analysis: The risk has been identified, the next step is to identify or evaluate the damage that will be causing. A deeper study is required to understand the association between the intrinsic component and the risk. It is important to identify the damage that is caused by a risk and its effect on the business operations. 

3. Risk based on severity: The risk that has been identified will be ranked from high to low and will be neutralized . 

4. Risk solving: A risk is definitely a problem or a threat that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. To eliminate the risk identified, we need to consult the risk specialist and also the concerned stakeholders until and unless the risk is resolved. 

5. Risk review: To be sure that the risk is completely resolved or removed, the risk review is conducted.

5. Who is involved in the scrum cycle and how long does it last?

Ans: The duration of the scum cycle will definitely depend upon the type of the project the team is actually working on. Generally, scrum cycle time ranges around two to four weeks to one month. The product owner, scrum master and the team are involved in the scrum cycle.

6. List out the different artifacts of the Scrum process?

Ans:  Below listed are the artifacts of the scrum process. 

1. Velocity chart 

2. Sprint backlog 

3. Burndown chart 

4. Product backlog

7. What do you know about the term sprint in scrum?

Ans: A sprint project is usually developed in the series of a sprint. It is a regular and repeatable work cycle that is available in the scrum methodology. The work will be accomplished and kept ready for review purposes. 

8. What do you know about product backlog in scrum?

Ans: Before the sprint is initiated in the scrum, it is the responsibility of the product owner to review all the list of the new features that needs to be implemented, the enhancements to be made within the system, the bug reports. He should also be capable of determining the priority based activities. If it is a completely new project, then it should include all the new features the new system should be able to accommodate, this list is called the product backlog. All the items that are kept on the sprint are called the sprint backlog.

9. What are the different components that are represented in the scrum burndown chart?

Ans: Scrum burndown chart include the following information 

a. X axis shows number of working days 

b. Y-axis represents the remaining effort that has to be kept complete the project 

c. The ideal effort that is set up during the discussions as per the guidelines 

d. Progress of the effort on the project.

10. What happens during a sprint retrospective?

 Ans: After the sprint review is completed, the sprint retrospective will take place. In this meeting, all the new methods, potential issues and the past mistakes will be discussed. The discussed data will be represented and incorporated into the new sprint.

11. What do you understand by the term velocity?

Ans: Velocity is generally a measurement or a metric that helps in measuring the work that has been completed by the team within the sprint. It usually includes the number of the user stories that have been completed in a particular sprint.

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12. What is meant by time-boxing in Scrum?

Ans: Time-boxing is a terminology that is used to represent a particular time slot that is allotted for performing an activity. A time box is usually referred to as a unit of time which usually should not exceed the value of 15 minutes for daily based scrum and 8 hours for the sprint planning.

13. What are the different techniques used for the Estimation in scrum?

Ans: Below represented are the different estimation techniques that are used in scrum. 

a. Disaggregation estimation 

b. Analogy based estimation 

c. T-shirt mission technique 

d. Planning poker estimation

14. What do you understand by the term DOD?

Ans: DOD refers to the definition of done which usually represents a checklist of the items that need to be completed. A task can be declared as done only if the checklist is completed. The checklist usually has the following information like unit test, written quotes, document designs, integration testing along with the release notes.

15. What are the basic tools that are used in scrum projects?

Ans: The most popular tools that are used in the scrum are 

a. Azure devops 

b. Asana 

c. Jira 

d. Trello

16. What are the necessary steps to be taken to follow up on the action items?

Ans: Action items are usually referred to as the primary outcomes that come from the retrospectives. 

a. You need to open up the action item list along with their owners. 

b. Make a note of the progress of all the listed items. 

c. Represent the newly discussed and pinpointed items.

17. What do you understand by the term artifacts?

Ans: Artifacts are used to provide significant information to the stakeholders and this come team about the product that is being built or developed.

18. Elucidate the differences between sprint backlog and product backlog?

Ans: The product backlog includes all the information of each and every task that needs to be performed in the product. If you would like to do any changes to the product, then the requirements need to be updated in the product backlog. The sprint backlog is totally different from the product backlog. The sprint backlog includes all the list of the tasks that have been finalized by the scrum team. All these need to be implemented within the current sprint.

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19. What is meant by a story point in scrum?

Ans: Each and every feature that is represented in scrum is called a story. A Story point is referred to as an arbitrary measure that is to be utilized by the scrum teams. This metric is used to identify the difficulty that is involved for the implementation of a particular story.

20. What is scrumban?

Ans: Scrumban is referred to as an agile methodology that includes the best features of both kanban and scrum.

21. List out the different elements that are included in the good user story?

Ans: Below listed are the elements that make up a good user story: 

a. Dependencies 

b. Tracking criteria 

c. Description 

d. Performance criteria 

e. User interface based deliverables 

f. Acceptance criteria

22. What are the values of scrum?

Ans: There are five values of scrum. They are: 

Courage, openness, respect, focus, commitment

23. Who is responsible for establishing communication with stakeholders? Is it only the product owner?

Ans: It is the responsibility of the whole team to collaborate with the stakeholders and SMEs. It is the responsibility of the scrum master to educate the stakeholders about the progress and also communicate the information in an effective way with other peers. Everyone has to be on the same page to get the work done within the provided deadlines.

24. What is the primary difference between the sprint review and the sprint retrospective?

Ans: The sprint review primarily focuses on the product and a retrospective focuses on the process. The goal of the sprint review is to optimize and maximize the product value whereas the sprint retrospective will be involved with the process, tools and the people around within the project.

25. What does the product owner do?

Ans: A product will definitely be a scrum master who will have an idea on the roles and responsibilities of what the other team members are into. The product owners are responsible to make sure that the team is working as aligned with the project goals. The product owner should be capable of communicating all the information about the goals and responsibilities and the management of the products to the team members effectively.

26. What are the three pillars of scrum?

27. What do you understand by the terms scope creep?

Ans: Scope creep is a terminology that is used to represent the project requirements and how they tend to grow on a timely basis.

28. When is it good to use the waterfall model over scrum?

Ans: The waterfall model can be used if the requirements are predictable, simple, easily defined and understandable, and will remain static without any changes.

29. How do you deal with a difficult stakeholder?

Ans: Stakeholder dealing is also considered as one of the skills in project management. All you need is a combination of the people skills and should communicate the information gracefully. You need to have the expected process in place to overcome the unexpected changes or issues.

30. What are the different steps in scrum methodology?

Ans: The scrum methodology include the below steps: 

a. Product backlog building 

b. Sprint backlog and sprint planning 

c. Progress of the sprint 

d. Testing and demo 

e. Review and perspectives

Conclusion:

I hope the above information is helpful to you. These are some of the interview questions that have been frequently asked by the interviews for the job positions in scrum.To grab the job opportunities and advance your career in the IT field, scrum training will help you in enhancing your skill-set.