Scrum.org PSD: Professional Scrum Developer (PSD)

Last checked November 10, 2026 against the official Scrum.org exam page.

1. Question 1Developing & Delivering Products Professionally

   A Developer team notices that several Product Backlog items near the top of the ordering are too large for one Sprint and lack clear acceptance criteria. The Product Owner is busy with stakeholder meetings this week. What is the most appropriate way to address this?

   1. AThe Scrum Master assigns a senior architect to rewrite the items alone so that they are ready before the next Sprint Planning begins
   2. BThe Developers start the largest items anyway and split them only if they fail to finish within the Sprint, then report the overrun
   3. CThe Developers wait until the Product Owner has finished every stakeholder meeting and returns with a complete, fully written specification for each of the items on the list
   4. DThe Developers refine these items together with the Product Owner, splitting them into smaller and clearer items before the next Sprint Planning
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   Correct answer: D

   Product Backlog refinement is an ongoing activity in which the Developers who will do the work collaborate with the Product Owner to make items smaller and clearer. The Scrum Master does not own refinement, waiting delays the work without reason, and starting oversized items reduces predictability and transparency.

2. Question 2Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework

   A Scrum team keeps its Sprint Backlog, progress and blockers on a board that anyone involved can read at any time. Which empirical pillar does this practice most directly support?

   1. ATransparency, so that the work and its status are visible to everyone responsible for the outcome
   2. BAdaptation, so that the team changes its plan as soon as an inspection reveals a deviation from the goal
   3. CInspection, so that the team checks its progress toward the Sprint Goal at regular intervals and detects undesirable variances early on
   4. DCommitment, so that the team agrees to a specific scope of work for the Sprint and keeps to it regardless of new information
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   Correct answer: A

   Empiricism rests on transparency, inspection and adaptation, and a visible board makes the real state of the work observable to everyone. Adaptation and inspection depend on that visibility rather than being the practice itself, and commitment is not about ignoring new information.

3. Question 3Developing People and Teams

   A Scrum Team's manager asks the team to assign each Developer a fixed set of tasks every morning. The Developers believe they should decide how to do their own work. Which statement reflects the Scrum Guide?

   1. ADevelopers take their daily task assignments from the Scrum Master, who owns the Sprint Backlog and the work plan
   2. BDevelopers receive a fixed task list from the Product Owner, and they may change it only at the Sprint Review
   3. CDevelopers report to functional managers, who assign each day's tasks based on each person's skills and availability
   4. DDevelopers are self-managing, so they decide among themselves who does what, when and how the work gets done
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   Correct answer: D

   The Scrum Guide describes Developers as self-managing, which means they decide who does what, when and how. Assignment by the Scrum Master, by the Product Owner or by functional managers all conflict with that description.

4. Question 4Managing Products with Agility

   A stakeholder asks for one fixed release date covering every item in the Product Backlog. The team's throughput varies from Sprint to Sprint, and new items are still being added. What is the most useful response?

   1. ACommit to the earliest date the team's best Sprint could support, so that the stakeholder has a firm target to plan around
   2. BDecline to share any forecast, because forecasting work in advance is considered harmful to the team's autonomy and focus
   3. CPresent a range of likely dates, based on the team's observed throughput and on how the remaining Product Backlog may change
   4. DMultiply the average number of items per Sprint by the number of remaining Sprints, and present that single number as the guaranteed release date
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   Correct answer: C

   Agile forecasts are probabilistic, so presenting a range that reflects observed throughput and scope changes gives the stakeholder honest information. A single committed date from the best Sprint, a refusal to forecast and a single average-based guarantee each hide the uncertainty.

5. Question 5Developing & Delivering Products Professionally

   A Developer adds a discount calculation to an e-commerce product. The Developer writes the production code first and only adds tests afterwards, to reach a coverage threshold. Which practice would most directly change this sequence so that tests shape the design?

   1. AExploratory testing performed by a separate group after the Sprint Review has closed
   2. BLoad testing of the production environment after every release, run by a specialist group, to find the system's performance limits
   3. CUser acceptance testing run by the Product Owner on the final Increment at release time
   4. DTest-driven development, in which a failing automated test is written before the code that makes it pass
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   Correct answer: D

   Test-driven development reverses the usual order: a failing automated test comes first, and the code is written to satisfy it, which keeps the design shaped by behaviour. Exploratory, acceptance and load testing are valuable but happen after the code exists, so they do not change the sequence described.