CSM Syllabus — Learning Objectives by Domain

Use this syllabus as your coverage checklist. Drill right after you finish a section so you learn the “best answer” patterns, not trivia.

What’s covered

• Scrum Foundations & Agile Mindset (18%)
• Scrum Team & Accountabilities (18%)
• Events & Timeboxes (23%)
• Artifacts & Commitments (18%)
• Scrum Master as Servant Leader (23%)

Scrum Foundations & Agile Mindset (18%)

Agile and Scrum Foundations

• Explain why Scrum is used for complex work and how it differs from plan-driven approaches.
• Identify how Agile values and principles show up in day-to-day Scrum behaviors and decisions.
• Distinguish between iterative and incremental delivery using Scrum examples.
• Recognize signs that a problem is complex (vs complicated) and choose an appropriate Scrum response.
• Explain the concept of "inspect and adapt" and identify when adaptation should occur in Scrum.
• Describe how transparency enables empirical decision-making in Scrum.
• Distinguish between uncertainty in requirements vs uncertainty in solutions and how Scrum handles learning.
• Choose an appropriate way to slice work into small, valuable increments (vertical slicing).
• Explain how short feedback loops reduce risk without relying on heavy upfront planning.
• Given a product scenario, decide whether Scrum is a suitable approach and justify the choice using Scrum principles.

Empiricism and Scrum Values

• Define empiricism and name its three pillars (transparency, inspection, adaptation).
• Apply the pillar of transparency to decide what information must be visible to the Scrum Team and stakeholders.
• Identify whether inspection is happening effectively in a Sprint event or whether key inspection points are being skipped.
• Choose the best adaptation action when new learning invalidates part of a plan during a Sprint.
• Explain the five Scrum values (commitment, focus, openness, respect, courage) and how they appear in team behavior.
• Recognize behaviors that violate Scrum values and choose a corrective coaching or facilitation action.
• Distinguish between the Scrum value of commitment and a fixed-scope commitment.
• Explain how a strong Definition of Done supports transparency and reduces rework.
• Identify how psychological safety supports openness and meaningful inspection.
• Given a conflict scenario, choose actions that maintain respect while encouraging constructive collaboration.

Scrum Framework Overview and Terminology

• Identify the three Scrum accountabilities and describe their primary focus.
• Explain how Scrum events and artifacts form a coherent, minimal framework for empirical product development.
• Distinguish between Scrum accountabilities and traditional project management roles (for example, project manager).
• Explain how a Sprint creates a cadence and supports predictability through frequent inspection and adaptation.
• Identify which decisions are made by the Scrum Team versus external managers or stakeholders.
• Describe what "self-managing" and "cross-functional" mean in Scrum and their implications for how work is done.
• Use correct Scrum terminology in context (Increment, Sprint Goal, Product Goal, Definition of Done).
• Distinguish between Product Backlog refinement and Sprint Planning based on purpose and outcomes.
• Recognize common Scrum anti-patterns (extra ceremonies, phase gates inside the Sprint) and why they reduce empiricism.
• Interpret a scenario and decide which Scrum component (event, artifact, accountability) needs adjustment to restore Scrum.

Scrum in Practice: Complexity, Adaptation, and Delivery

• Apply Scrum concepts to a non-software context while keeping Scrum principles and terminology intact.
• Identify what it means to cancel a Sprint and who has authority to cancel it.
• Decide how to handle emergent work or urgent requests while protecting the Sprint Goal and maintaining transparency.
• Explain how refinement supports future Sprints without locking in premature detail.
• Distinguish between outputs and outcomes and use that distinction to evaluate product progress.
• Given a partially complete Increment, decide whether it can be released and what conditions must be met.
• Choose practices that reduce work in progress and increase flow within a Sprint.
• Identify the impact of Sprint length on feedback frequency, risk, and adaptation.
• Decide how to integrate stakeholders effectively without derailing the Scrum Team's focus.
• Recognize when Scrum is being used as "waterfall in Sprints" and choose corrections that restore inspection and adaptation.

Scrum Team & Accountabilities (18%)

Scrum Team Characteristics and Responsibility

• Describe the Scrum Team's responsibility for creating a valuable, useful Increment every Sprint.
• Explain why the Scrum Team is designed to be small, cross-functional, and focused on a single product goal.
• Identify what "cross-functional" means and how it reduces handoffs and delays.
• Explain why Scrum has no sub-teams or titles within the Scrum Team and how that supports accountability.
• Given a scenario of external interruptions, choose how the Scrum Team should protect focus while remaining transparent.
• Decide how to manage dependencies on people outside the Scrum Team while maintaining self-management.
• Identify how managers can support Scrum without overriding Scrum Team decisions.
• Recognize when utilization-focused thinking conflicts with Scrum goals and choose better signals of progress.
• Apply Scrum accountability concepts to decide who owns quality and how quality is ensured.
• Choose approaches for onboarding new team members while maintaining sustainable delivery.

Product Owner Accountability (Value and Backlog Ownership)

• Describe the Product Owner's accountability for maximizing product value.
• Determine who is responsible for ordering the Product Backlog and what "ordering" means in practice.
• Decide how the Product Owner collaborates with stakeholders while maintaining a single ordered Product Backlog.
• Distinguish between the Product Owner accountability and related roles such as business analyst or sponsor.
• Choose effective ways for a Product Owner to express Product Backlog items (for example, user stories or outcomes).
• Identify when and how the Product Owner can delegate work while retaining accountability for value and backlog ordering.
• Decide how to handle competing stakeholder requests and negotiate tradeoffs based on value and learning.
• Explain how the Product Goal guides Product Backlog ordering and release decisions.
• Recognize Product Owner anti-patterns (committee prioritization, absent PO, PO as note-taker) and choose corrections.
• Given a scenario where Developers propose enabling technical work, choose how the Product Owner should respond to maximize value.

Scrum Master Accountability (Servant Leadership)

• Describe the Scrum Master as a servant-leader for the Scrum Team and the organization.
• Choose facilitation techniques that keep Scrum events within timebox and aligned to purpose.
• Identify how the Scrum Master supports the Product Owner in effective Product Backlog management.
• Identify how the Scrum Master supports the Developers in self-management and continuous improvement.
• Decide when to coach, teach, facilitate, or intervene to help the Scrum Team improve.
• Recognize when the Scrum Master is acting like a project manager or team secretary and choose corrective actions.
• Decide how the Scrum Master should respond when management demands commitments that undermine empiricism.
• Identify ways the Scrum Master helps the organization adopt Scrum (policies, structures, collaboration).
• Choose responses when Scrum events are misused (for example, Daily Scrum becomes a status meeting).
• Explain what it means for the Scrum Master to ensure Scrum is understood and enacted.

Developers Accountability (Delivery and Quality)

• Describe Developers' accountability for creating the Sprint Backlog and delivering a Done Increment.
• Explain how Developers decide how to accomplish work without task assignment by external roles.
• Distinguish between commitment to the Sprint Goal and flexibility of the Sprint Backlog plan.
• Decide how Developers should adjust the plan during the Sprint based on new information.
• Explain why a shared Definition of Done is essential for quality and transparency.
• Choose practices that reduce technical debt and support sustainable delivery within Scrum.
• Decide how Developers collaborate with the Product Owner to clarify work without turning refinement into sign-off.
• Recognize anti-patterns such as separating "developers" and "testers" into sub-teams and choose improvements.
• Decide how Developers handle defects discovered during the Sprint while protecting the Sprint Goal.
• Choose estimation and forecasting approaches that support inspection and adaptation (not fixed commitments).

Events & Timeboxes (23%)

The Sprint (Cadence and Focus)

• Define the purpose of the Sprint and how it supports predictability through frequent inspection and adaptation.
• Explain that a Sprint is timeboxed to one month or less and how Sprint length impacts feedback frequency and risk.
• Decide what can change during a Sprint and what must remain stable to preserve focus.
• Identify who can cancel a Sprint and under what conditions cancellation is appropriate.
• Given a scenario, choose how to handle a major change in priority during a Sprint while maintaining transparency.
• Decide how to handle urgent unplanned work requests during a Sprint without undermining the Sprint Goal.
• Explain why quality should not decrease over time in Scrum and how the Definition of Done supports this.
• Identify consequences of skipping or weakening Scrum events during a Sprint.
• Choose what to do with unfinished work at the end of a Sprint in a Scrum-aligned way.
• Recognize mini-waterfall phases inside a Sprint and choose changes that restore incremental delivery.

Sprint Planning (Goal and Plan)

• State the purpose of Sprint Planning (timeboxed to a maximum of 8 hours for a one-month Sprint) and the outcomes it should produce (Sprint Goal and plan).
• Identify who participates in Sprint Planning and what each accountability contributes.
• Decide how to select Product Backlog items for a Sprint based on capacity and past performance.
• Explain the three Sprint Planning topics (why, what, how) and apply them to a scenario.
• Craft or evaluate a Sprint Goal that provides focus while allowing flexibility in scope.
• Decide how to handle poorly refined or high-uncertainty backlog items during Sprint Planning.
• Recognize when Sprint Planning becomes stakeholder negotiation and choose how to keep it a Scrum Team event.
• Choose an estimation or forecasting approach appropriate for Sprint Planning.
• Identify what information is needed to plan effectively (DoD, acceptance criteria, dependencies).
• Recognize Sprint Planning anti-patterns (task assignment, over-committing, splitting into multiple meetings) and choose corrections.

Daily Scrum (Daily Planning)

• State the purpose of the Daily Scrum and who it is primarily for (Developers).
• Decide how to structure the Daily Scrum to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal.
• Explain why the traditional three questions are optional and how the Daily Scrum can be adapted.
• Recognize when the Daily Scrum becomes a status meeting and choose interventions that restore daily planning.
• Decide when the Scrum Master should participate in the Daily Scrum and when not.
• Given an impediment discovered in the Daily Scrum, choose the most appropriate immediate next step.
• Decide how to keep the Daily Scrum effective for remote or distributed teams.
• Explain why the Daily Scrum is timeboxed to 15 minutes and choose facilitation practices that respect the timebox.
• Identify how the Sprint Backlog should be updated based on daily inspection.
• Recognize Daily Scrum anti-patterns (manager reporting, problem-solving beyond timebox) and choose corrections.

Sprint Review (Product Inspection)

• State the purpose of the Sprint Review (timeboxed to a maximum of 4 hours for a one-month Sprint) and how it supports inspection and adaptation of the Product Backlog.
• Identify who attends the Sprint Review and how collaboration with stakeholders should work.
• Decide what should be demonstrated at a Sprint Review (Done Increment) and what should not.
• Interpret stakeholder feedback from a Sprint Review and decide how it should influence backlog ordering.
• Recognize Sprint Review anti-patterns (sign-off meeting, slide deck status report) and choose corrections.
• Decide how to handle stakeholder requests that emerge during the Sprint Review.
• Explain how the Sprint Review differs from the Sprint Retrospective in purpose and focus.
• Choose how to incorporate market/usage data and stakeholder feedback into product planning.
• Determine what evidence best indicates value delivered during the Sprint Review.
• Decide how to update forecasts or release expectations based on Sprint Review outcomes.

Sprint Retrospective (Process Improvement)

• State the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective (timeboxed to a maximum of 3 hours for a one-month Sprint) and how it improves quality and effectiveness.
• Identify who participates in the Retrospective and what facilitation role the Scrum Master plays.
• Choose techniques to surface issues safely and produce actionable insights.
• Decide how to select a small number of high-impact improvement actions and track them.
• Recognize Retrospective anti-patterns (blame, skipping, "nothing to improve") and choose fixes.
• Decide how to handle recurring impediments that require organizational change beyond the Scrum Team.
• Distinguish between continuous improvement during the Sprint and improvements planned in the Retrospective.
• Choose how to incorporate improvement actions into the Sprint Backlog without derailing delivery.
• Identify measures that indicate whether Retrospective improvement actions are working.
• Decide how to run effective Retrospectives for distributed teams.

Artifacts & Commitments (18%)

Product Backlog and Product Goal

• Define the Product Backlog and describe its characteristics (emergent, ordered, single source of work).
• Explain the Product Goal and how it provides longer-term direction for the Scrum Team.
• Decide how to order Product Backlog items considering value, risk, dependencies, and learning.
• Distinguish between a product roadmap and the Product Backlog and explain how they relate.
• Choose an appropriate level of detail for Product Backlog items at different time horizons.
• Determine who can add items to the Product Backlog and who is accountable for ordering it.
• Recognize Product Backlog anti-patterns (multiple backlogs, proxy decision makers) and choose corrections.
• Decide how to represent non-functional requirements or enabling work in the Product Backlog while maintaining transparency.
• Explain why the Product Backlog is never complete and how it should be maintained over time.
• Interpret a Product Backlog snippet and identify issues such as oversized items, unclear value, or poor ordering.

Sprint Backlog and Sprint Goal

• Define the Sprint Backlog and explain how it is created and owned by Developers.
• Explain the Sprint Goal and how it guides decisions during the Sprint.
• Decide how Developers update the Sprint Backlog during the Sprint and when changes are appropriate.
• Distinguish between the Sprint Backlog and the Product Backlog and what information belongs in each.
• Choose how to handle new work discovered during the Sprint in a way that preserves transparency and focus.
• Recognize Sprint Backlog anti-patterns (PO changing it unilaterally, managers assigning tasks) and choose corrections.
• Decide how to use visible workflow boards to increase transparency without creating duplicate systems.
• Explain how capacity and past performance inform the Sprint forecast during planning.
• Interpret a Sprint Backlog or board and determine whether progress supports achieving the Sprint Goal.
• Decide how to handle partially completed items at Sprint end (return to Product Backlog, replan).

Increment and Definition of Done

• Define an Increment and explain how it relates to Product Backlog items completed in a Sprint.
• Explain the Definition of Done as a shared understanding of quality and completeness.
• Decide whether a Product Backlog item can be considered Done given a provided Definition of Done excerpt.
• Distinguish between the Definition of Done and acceptance criteria.
• Recognize quality anti-patterns (hardening sprint, "done" meaning coded only) and choose improvements.
• Decide how to respond when the Definition of Done is at risk near Sprint end (adjust scope, not quality).
• Explain how multiple Increments can be created during a Sprint and combined into a cohesive whole.
• Decide when an Increment can be released and what conditions must be met for release readiness.
• Interpret a quality issue scenario and choose actions to strengthen the Definition of Done and prevent recurrence.
• Decide how the Definition of Done should evolve over time as the Scrum Team's capabilities improve.

Refinement, Estimation, and Artifact Transparency

• Explain the purpose of Product Backlog refinement and when it can occur during a Sprint.
• Decide how to split backlog items into smaller, valuable pieces (vertical slicing) during refinement.
• Choose how to clarify acceptance criteria and reduce uncertainty without over-specifying solutions.
• Recognize when refinement becomes waste and choose ways to keep it "just enough".
• Decide how to handle dependencies discovered during refinement and how to make them transparent.
• Explain how estimation supports forecasting and what estimation is not (a contract or guarantee).
• Choose an estimation approach appropriate for a Scrum Team and justify how it supports inspection and adaptation.
• Interpret a simple burndown, burnup, or flow signal and identify what it suggests (without overreacting).
• Explain how transparency of artifacts enables meaningful inspection at Scrum events.
• Decide how to reduce duplicate tracking systems and maintain a single source of truth for work and progress.

Scrum Master as Servant Leader (23%)

Coaching, Facilitation, and Teaching Scrum

• Choose coaching questions that help a Scrum Team self-manage rather than relying on directives.
• Facilitate a conversation to resolve conflict and improve collaboration within a Scrum Team.
• Decide how to educate stakeholders on Scrum expectations, roles, and how to collaborate effectively.
• Choose facilitation approaches for Sprint Planning, Review, and Retrospective that achieve each event's purpose.
• Identify when the Scrum Master should use training versus one-on-one coaching.
• Recognize when the Scrum Master is making decisions for the team and choose corrective servant-leadership behaviors.
• Decide how to handle a dominant participant in a Scrum event to ensure inclusive participation.
• Choose approaches that build psychological safety and openness so inspection and adaptation are possible.
• Decide how to support a new Product Owner in learning backlog ordering and stakeholder management.
• Identify how to mentor Developers in Scrum practices without dictating technical solutions.

Impediments and Continuous Improvement

• Define an impediment and distinguish it from normal work items or planned tasks.
• Decide how to make impediments transparent and track them appropriately without creating bureaucracy.
• Choose the best immediate action when an impediment threatens the Sprint Goal.
• Decide when to escalate an impediment to management versus coaching the team to resolve it.
• Distinguish between systemic and local impediments and choose strategies to address each.
• Recognize anti-patterns such as the Scrum Master acting only as an impediment "secretary" and choose fixes.
• Decide how to incorporate improvement actions into Sprints without overloading the team.
• Choose actions that reduce recurring defects and rework through process and quality improvements.
• Decide how to ensure Retrospective outcomes lead to real change rather than repeated discussion.
• Choose how to address impediments caused by external teams, vendors, or organizational policies.

Stakeholders and Organizational Change

• Decide how to improve collaboration between the Scrum Team and stakeholders without interrupting delivery.
• Choose strategies for managing stakeholder expectations around scope, dates, and predictability in a complex environment.
• Identify organizational impediments to Scrum adoption (command-and-control, resource allocation) and choose responses.
• Decide how to work with managers to support self-management while meeting organizational needs.
• Choose ways to align Scrum Team work with organizational strategy while keeping documentation lightweight and useful.
• Explain how a Scrum Master helps create an environment supportive of Scrum.
• Decide how to respond to pressure for detailed upfront plans when uncertainty is high.
• Choose communication patterns that increase transparency to stakeholders without enabling micromanagement.
• Decide how to help multiple teams coordinate around a shared product without inventing new roles or ceremonies.
• Recognize when a stakeholder is acting as the Product Owner and decide how to restore clear role boundaries.

Evidence, Metrics, and Outcomes (Without Gaming)

• Choose appropriate evidence that a Done Increment is usable and potentially releasable.
• Distinguish between output signals (for example, velocity) and outcome signals (value) and when each is useful.
• Decide what information stakeholders need to support inspection at the Sprint Review.
• Interpret a simple progress signal (burndown, burnup, flow) and decide what question to ask next.
• Decide how to use metrics to support learning without incentivizing gaming or blame.
• Recognize metrics anti-patterns (comparing teams by velocity, using metrics for punishment) and choose corrections.
• Decide how to assess progress toward the Product Goal using transparent signals.
• Choose how to validate that work meets the Definition of Done without creating extra approval gates.
• Decide how to measure whether Retrospective improvement actions are effective over time.
• Given limited data, choose the best next step to gather evidence about product value or customer impact.

Scrum Anti-Patterns and Corrective Actions

• Identify how "ScrumBut" practices erode empiricism and choose corrections that restore transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
• Recognize a "waterfall in Sprints" pattern and decide specific changes that restore incremental delivery.
• Decide how to address a Product Owner who is not available to the Scrum Team.
• Decide how to address a team that is not cross-functional and depends on external approval gates.
• Recognize when the Definition of Done is ignored and choose corrective actions that protect quality.
• Identify problems caused by extending Sprints or adding extra events and choose corrections.
• Decide how to respond when stakeholders bypass the Product Owner to change work during the Sprint.
• Recognize when the Daily Scrum is being used for reporting to the Scrum Master and choose corrections.
• Decide how to address a Product Backlog that is poorly ordered and constantly churned without clear priorities.
• Recognize when Scrum accountabilities are mixed (for example, Scrum Master also acting as Product Owner) and choose corrective actions.