Scrum.org PSM II Sample Questions & Practice Status

PSM II is Scrum.org’s advanced Professional Scrum Master II assessment. Use this page when you already understand the Scrum Guide well enough for PSM I, but now need harder facilitation, coaching, and organizational judgment before full PM Mastery exam-specific practice is live.

This page includes 12 sample questions for initial review. Dedicated PM Mastery web practice for PSM II is not live yet, so use the preview below to test fit, review the route snapshot, and request an update if this is your target assessment.

PSM II assessment snapshot

• Provider: Scrum.org
• Official assessment: Professional Scrum Master II
• Code: PSM II
• Question count: 30
• Time limit: 90 minutes
• Passing score: 85%
• Question formats: multiple choice, multiple answer, and true/false
• Languages shown by Scrum.org: English and Simplified Chinese
• Recommended baseline: PSM I level knowledge before moving to PSM II

PSM II questions usually reward the action that protects empiricism, strengthens team self-management, and improves Scrum adoption in difficult real-world situations rather than choosing the most forceful or process-heavy response.

Official focus areas for PSM II

12 PSM II sample questions with detailed explanations

These 12 sample questions mirror the advanced Scrum Master decision style used on PSM II. Use them as a preview only: the full timed bank is not live yet.

Question 1

Topic: Facilitation

During the Sprint Review, two senior stakeholders keep debating delivery dates and speaking over the Developers. Customers stop contributing and the conversation turns into status reporting. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Refocus the session on inspecting the Increment and facilitate balanced input so stakeholders, customers, and Developers can all inspect outcomes together
• B. End the Sprint Review early because stakeholder conflict means the event has failed
• C. Ask the Product Owner to answer every question alone so the Developers can stay quiet
• D. Turn the rest of the event into a slide-based status presentation to regain order

Best answer: A

Explanation: PSM II facilitation questions usually reward the choice that restores inspection and collaboration without collapsing into command-and-control. The Scrum Master should help the group return to the purpose of Sprint Review: inspect outcomes and adapt with broad input.

The weak answers either avoid the problem or make the event even less empirical. A strong Scrum Master facilitates participation rather than replacing it with reporting.

Question 2

Topic: Coaching

A team asks the Scrum Master to assign work every day because “self-management is slowing us down.” What is the strongest response?

• A. Take over daily assignment until the team becomes more mature
• B. Coach the team to create its own transparent plan and inspect why self-management currently feels difficult
• C. Tell the Product Owner to decide task ownership because backlog accountability includes team coordination
• D. Remove the Daily Scrum until the team is ready to self-manage again

Best answer: B

Explanation: PSM II differentiates coaching from solving the problem for the team. A strong Scrum Master helps the team inspect why self-management is struggling, then supports the team in building better habits and clearer working agreements.

The trap is replacing coaching with control. That may feel faster short term, but it weakens the very capability the Scrum Master is supposed to develop.

Question 3

Topic: Teaching

A functional manager says the Daily Scrum should be used to collect progress updates for management because “otherwise leadership has no visibility.” What is the strongest Scrum Master action?

• A. Agree and ask Developers to give individual status updates in order
• B. Remove the Daily Scrum and send a daily dashboard instead
• C. Explain the purpose of the Daily Scrum and work with leadership on a different transparency mechanism that does not distort the event
• D. Ask the Product Owner to present progress on behalf of Developers

Best answer: C

Explanation: Teaching questions on PSM II usually test whether the Scrum Master can protect Scrum purpose while still addressing legitimate organizational needs. The right move is to explain the Daily Scrum correctly and find another way to give leadership visibility.

This is stronger than simply saying “no.” It preserves the event and teaches the system around it.

Question 4

Topic: Mentoring

A new Product Owner keeps arriving at Sprint Planning with poorly ordered backlog items and then asks Developers to decide what matters most. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Let Developers take over ordering because they are closest to the work
• B. Tell the Product Owner to read the Scrum Guide again and fix the issue alone
• C. Escalate immediately to leadership because accountability is being missed
• D. Mentor the Product Owner on backlog ordering and product accountability while helping the team keep planning usable

Best answer: D

Explanation: PSM II mentoring questions often involve helping someone grow into an accountability rather than taking it away from them. The Scrum Master should help the Product Owner strengthen backlog ownership while keeping planning effective.

Escalation or role substitution may occasionally be necessary, but they are not the strongest first response when mentorship can address the root issue.

Question 5

Topic: Leadership styles

A newly formed Scrum Team has strong specialists, low trust, and recurring confusion about who should decide what. Which Scrum Master posture is strongest first?

• A. Provide more structure and facilitation at first, while steadily moving the team toward greater self-management as clarity improves
• B. Stay completely hands-off because any structure would violate self-management
• C. Ask management to define team decisions until conflict disappears
• D. Focus only on delivery metrics until trust naturally emerges

Best answer: A

Explanation: Leadership-style questions on PSM II often test adaptability. A strong Scrum Master adjusts stance to team context. A newer team may need more structure initially, but that structure should serve the growth of self-management, not replace it.

The weak answers treat leadership style as fixed. PSM II expects situational judgment.

Question 6

Topic: Coaching

A team repeatedly misses its Sprint Goal because testing happens late and handoffs create delays. Developers ask the Scrum Master to find a testing owner who can “control quality.” What is the strongest response?

• A. Appoint the most senior tester as the quality gatekeeper
• B. Coach the team to inspect its workflow and experiment with a more integrated way of creating Done work
• C. Increase Sprint length so handoffs have more time
• D. Move the testing work outside the Sprint so planning stays simpler

Best answer: B

Explanation: PSM II coaching questions usually reward helping the team inspect its own system and improve flow. Late testing and handoffs are signs of a workflow problem, not a reason to centralize quality accountability in one person.

The strong answer supports team learning and better Definition-of-Done behavior. The weak answers preserve the current system and hide the problem.

Question 7

Topic: Facilitation

Several stakeholders bypass the Product Owner and bring urgent requests directly to Developers during the Sprint. The Developers now feel pulled in different directions. What is the strongest Scrum Master action?

• A. Tell Developers to ignore all stakeholders permanently
• B. Ask the Product Owner to step back until the team feels less pressure
• C. Facilitate a clearer working agreement around how new requests are handled so Sprint Goal integrity and transparency are preserved
• D. Route every request through the Scrum Master for approval

Best answer: C

Explanation: This is a classic PSM II facilitation pattern: the Scrum Master should help the system become clearer, not become the new control gate. The strongest move is to make request handling transparent and aligned with Scrum accountabilities.

The weak answers either isolate the team or create a new bottleneck. Facilitation should improve the interaction model itself.

Question 8

Topic: Facilitation

In Retrospectives, one highly vocal Developer dominates the conversation and quieter team members rarely share concerns. The team leaves with shallow action items. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Let the dominant voice continue because speed matters more than broad participation
• B. Ask the Product Owner to decide which improvement items matter most
• C. Cancel the next Retrospective and gather written feedback instead
• D. Use facilitation techniques that balance participation and help the team inspect deeper patterns together

Best answer: D

Explanation: PSM II expects more than knowing that the Retrospective exists. It tests whether the Scrum Master can facilitate it well. Balanced participation and deeper inspection are central to meaningful improvement.

The strongest answer improves the quality of inspection rather than simply silencing one person or avoiding the event.

Question 9

Topic: Mentoring and Product Owner support

The Product Owner is overwhelmed by competing requests and says the team should “just pick the next most practical item” each Sprint. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Help the Product Owner rebuild clearer ordering criteria so backlog decisions stay connected to value and transparency
• B. Ask Developers to rotate backlog-ordering decisions until the pressure eases
• C. Tell stakeholders that all new requests are suspended for a quarter
• D. Move all prioritization to Sprint Review so decisions are made in front of customers

Best answer: A

Explanation: PSM II often tests how the Scrum Master supports Product Owner accountability without taking it over. Helping the Product Owner build clearer ordering criteria strengthens the role and improves team clarity.

The weak answers either outsource accountability or create blunt process workarounds instead of solving the underlying ordering problem.

Question 10

Topic: Teaching the organization

Leadership wants every Scrum Team to use the same estimation approach, the same Sprint length, and the same meeting format so progress is easy to compare across departments. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Accept the standardization because comparability is the main goal of Scrum
• B. Explain which Scrum boundaries matter and where teams need room to adapt their practices empirically
• C. Tell each team to ignore leadership requests entirely
• D. Standardize everything first, then improve agility later

Best answer: B

Explanation: Teaching the organization is a major PSM II theme. The Scrum Master should clarify what Scrum actually requires and where local empirical adaptation is healthy. That is stronger than blind compliance or open defiance.

The strong answer protects Scrum while still engaging organizational concerns seriously.

Question 11

Topic: Empiricism and improvement

After three Sprints of weak outcomes, a team blames estimation accuracy and wants to spend most of the next Retrospective debating planning tools. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Approve the plan because estimation is usually the root cause of weak outcomes
• B. Replace story points immediately so the team can move faster
• C. Help the team inspect broader causes behind the weak outcomes before assuming the tool is the main problem
• D. Skip the Retrospective and review metrics offline instead

Best answer: C

Explanation: PSM II rewards deeper inspection over premature diagnosis. Estimation tools may matter, but weak outcomes often involve flow, quality, focus, stakeholder pressure, or unclear goals. The Scrum Master should help the team inspect the system before choosing a fix.

This is an empiricism question disguised as a process question. The strongest answer resists shallow certainty.

Question 12

Topic: Leadership and organizational influence

A manager evaluates the Scrum Master mainly by whether every team member stays fully utilized and closes a fixed number of tasks each Sprint. What is the strongest Scrum Master response?

• A. Accept the metric because utilization proves agile productivity
• B. Ask Developers to increase task count so the manager sees improvement
• C. Stop sharing any progress data with management
• D. Reframe the conversation toward outcomes, impediment removal, and team effectiveness instead of task utilization alone

Best answer: D

Explanation: PSM II expects Scrum Masters to influence the organization, not just one team. A utilization lens often drives local efficiency at the expense of flow, quality, and value. The stronger move is to redirect the conversation toward better indicators of effectiveness.

The weak answers either comply with a harmful metric or retreat from the conversation entirely.

Who PSM II is for

• Scrum Masters who already know the Scrum Guide and need harder scenario judgment
• agile coaches and delivery leaders who handle impediments, coaching, and facilitation problems
• practitioners deciding whether they need advanced Scrum Master depth before aiming at PSM III

Why candidates choose PSM II

• PSM II is usually the better fit when baseline Scrum knowledge is already stable and the real need is harder Scrum Master judgment.
• It works well when facilitation, coaching, teaching, and mentoring choices under pressure matter more than simple Scrum Guide recall.
• It is the right comparison point for PSM III and PAL I when you need advanced Scrum Master depth before expert or leadership-specialist routes.

What PSM II is really testing

• advanced Scrum Master judgment in messy delivery situations
• facilitation, coaching, and stakeholder-management decisions under pressure
• choosing Scrum-aligned actions when local optimization conflicts with empiricism and self-management
• understanding how a Scrum Master helps the Product Owner, Developers, and the wider organization improve

How to prepare before practice is live

1. Use PSM I first if your Scrum Guide baseline is still shaky, because PSM II assumes you do not need reminders on the fundamentals.
2. Practice explaining why a Scrum Master response improves empiricism, coaching quality, facilitation, and team ownership instead of only fixing the immediate issue.
3. Use the 12-question preview below with Scrum.org’s official focus areas, especially facilitation and coaching.
4. Request an update above if PSM II is your actual target and we’ll notify you when it is ready in PM Mastery.

Best PM Mastery pages to use now

How PSM II differs from similar routes

What to do before choosing PSM II

1. Choose PSM II when your real gap is advanced Scrum Master judgment, not baseline Scrum mechanics or executive leadership support.
2. Use PSM I first if your current weakness is still in the fundamentals of accountabilities, events, artifacts, and empiricism.
3. Compare PAL I early if your day-to-day work is already moving away from direct Scrum Master depth and toward leadership support around teams.

Current availability

• Current availability: Sample preview available
• Web practice for this exact assessment: 12 sample questions now; full PM Mastery practice is not yet live
• Best use right now: confirm the advanced Scrum Master route here, then use PSM I and PSM-AI Essentials before dedicated PSM II practice is live
• Update path: request an update above if PSM II is your actual target assessment

Official sources

• Scrum.org Professional Scrum Master II Certification
• Scrum.org Professional Scrum Certifications

Need PSM II specifically?

Use the update request above if PSM II is the assessment you actually need. We’ll notify you when dedicated PM Mastery practice is ready.

What to open next

• Need the baseline live simulator first? Open PSM I .
• Need the expert Scrum Master ladder above this page? Open PSM III .
• Need the broader Scrum.org family map? Open the Scrum.org hub .