Created: 24 November 2021

Get Hired: 20 Scrum Master Interview Questions You'll Likely Get Asked

Use our "cheat sheet" and increase your chances of getting hired with these scrum master interview questions and the answers recruiters will likely expect.  

Keyword(s): scrum master interview questions

You've been invited to an interview, and you couldn't be more excited about being a step closer to your dream scrum master job.

But it's not a done deal yet.

Before you can join a top company, like Philips, Apple, Valve or Google, you need to prove to them that you've got what it takes to add value to their organization. And if you're successful, you can be well on your way to earning anywhere from $59,000 to $119,000.

Here's a "cheat sheet" filled with scrum master interview questions that you can use to increase your chances of getting hired.

Let's jump in!

1. Scrum Master Interview Questions Include, "Why Do Scrum?"

Scrum increases the return on your investment and improves processes continuously.

2. "What Are User Stories As They Relate to Scrum?"

When it comes to scrum, a user story is a single-sentence definition of a functionality or feature.

3. "Define 'Scrum Sprint.'"

A sprint is a regular and repeatable work cycle during which you can accomplish work and keep it prepared for review.

4. "What Are Product Backlogs in Scrum?"

Prior to the initiation of a scrum sprint, the product owner reviews a list of new features, bug reports, change requests and enhancements to determine which are the highest priorities.

If this project is a new one, it will include all of the new features that must be provided. The list of these items is called a product backlog.

5. "What Is a Scrum Master's Role in Scrum?"

This person is charged with removing obstacles that crop up while team members are pursuing their sprint goals. The scrum master also strives to maximize the team's productivity.

6. "List Scrum's Disadvantages."

A scrum master may have a hard time planning, organizing and structuring projects that don't have clear goals.

In addition, daily scrum meetings require constant reviews along with substantial resources.

7. "Explain 'Increment.'"

"Increment" refers to the number of product backlog items that are completed in the course of a sprint as well as during previous sprints.

8. "What Are 'Sashimi' and 'Impediments'?"

"Sashimi" essentially means "done" and is used for defining a task that has been completed. Meanwhile, "impediments" are obstacles that keep your team from completing their work.

9. "What Does a Burn-Down Chart Show?"

This type of chart is used for tracking sprint statuses. These charts basically behave as early warning indicators.

10. "How Do Sprints and Iterations Differ? Also What's a Sprint Story Point?"

Iterations refer to single development cycles in agile. Meanwhile, sprints refer to single development cycles or iterative steps specifically in scrum -- a special agile method.

Regarding story points, every scrum feature is a story. Story points are essentially arbitrary measures that scrum teams use. They're also metrics that agile teams use to figure out how difficult implementing a certain story will be.

11. "What Is Velocity As It Relates to Scrum, and How Do You Measure It?"

Velocity is used to measure how you a team can accomplish in a sprint or iteration.

The formula is as follows: V = story point total / a single iteration

12. "How Long Are Scrum Cycles?"

These cycles' lengths ultimate depend on the kind of project you're working on. However, a cycle typically lasts between two and four weeks.

13. "Mention the Scrum Process Artifacts."

These artifacts include a burn-down chart, velocity chart, product backlog, and sprint backlog.

14. "Ideally, How Long Should a Sprint Last?"

In scrum, a sprint typically lasts for two weeks or 30 days. A period of two weeks is preferred because the team can more easily estimate and then plan and finish the project in this time frame.

15. "What Happens During a Scrum Meeting?"

During a scrum meeting, the team analyzes how much time they had to finish a task while navigating the sprint process.

16. "What's on a Burn-Down Chart?"

This chart has an x-axis displaying working days. It also has a Y-axis displaying the remaining effort.

The chart showcases ideal effort as a guideline, as well as real progress in the effort being made.

17. "What's 'Scrum of Scrum'?"

This term refers to a meeting that happens after a daily scrum.

A representative of each team will attend this meeting and then talk about their work, as well as answer questions. These questions may include, for example, how much progress their teams have made and what obstacles their teams faced during task completion.

18. "Define 'Velocity.'"

"Velocity" refers to the effort that a team can make in a sprint. You attain this number by adding up all story points from your previous sprint's stories.

Velocity is essentially a guideline for teams to determine the number of stories they're able to complete during a sprint.

19. "Define 'Planning Poker' or 'Scrum Poker.'"

This term refers to a technique used for estimating development goals' relative size in the software development process.

It's basically a way of determining the duration of a sprint item by playing cards face down on a table, rather than mentioning these out loud.

20. "What's the Goal of a Retrospective Meeting Related to a Sprint?"

The goal behind this type of meeting is to explain to team members how a sprint went. You can also talk about various ways of further improving sprints in the future.

How We Can Help

In addition to highlighting the top scrum master interview questions, we offer a number of other valuable resources for those interested in excelling in business.

For instance, you can take advantage of courses such as Leading SAFe, SAFe Scrum Master 5.0 and SAFe Advanced Scrum Master 5.0.

Our goal? To help you to improve your skills in the high-demand scrum and agile area through our top-of-the-line training and consultancy services.

Get in touch with us today to find out more about how you can use scrum and agile standards to establish and achieve your business goals in the months and years ahead.