Best Interview Questions in Agile Scrum Master

1. What are the differences between Agile and Traditional Project Management?

Agile encourages that a little of everything, including design, development and testing, is done at the same time, as opposed to the traditional approach to projects, where one phase is closed and completed before the next begins. Agile encourages short, frequent feedback loops and embraces changes to requirements. In Waterfall, feedback is usually not collected until the very end of the project and changes are discouraged.

2. Are you a Certified Scrum Master?

Don’t be surprised if you don’t have a certification and they ask you this question!

The job description may or not may have required a certification and the interviewer may or may not believe that certification is enough to have the expertise to be a good candidate for the role for which you are applying.

If you don’t yet have an Agile Scrum Master certification, let them know if you plan on investing in it anytime in the near future. Make sure you mention the years of experience you have in the field.

3. What are the roles in Scrum?

Scrum only prescribes 3 roles – the Product Owner, Scrum Master and the Delivery team. These roles should, ideally, be cross-functional and not shared among other projects.

Most Scrum Masters have not had the opportunity to work with a team that was cross-functional or dedicated due to the organization’s resistance or inability to allow for what some refer to as a “luxury”. This question sometimes leads them to ask how you would handle working with a team that did not have a designer or tester within the team or how you would handle a team that was not dedicated.  Be ready!

4. What is the Daily Stand-Up?

Every day, preferably in the morning, the team meets for no more than 15 minutes to answer three questions:

• What did you do yesterday?
• What do you plan on doing today?
• Are there any blocks or impediments that keep you from doing your work?

This Scrum ceremony is not meant to be a status meeting for stakeholders, but a way to energize the team and get them to set focus for the day.

5. Describe what happens in the Sprint planning meeting.

In Sprint planning, the Product Owner presents the goal of the sprint and discusses the high priority product backlog items. The Delivery team then chooses the amount of work for the next sprint.

6. What is the role of the Scrum Master?

A Scrum Master serves the team and shields them from any distractions that would prevent them from completing a sprint goal. They also remove blocks, teach the team to become self-organized, and serve as coach who teaches Agile and Scrum values and principles.

7. Is there a difference between Agile and Scrum?

Yes! Agile is the broader umbrella which Scrum falls under. Agile has four main values and twelve principles. Scrum has its own set of values and principles and provides a lightweight “framework” to help teams become Agile.

8. Name some other Agile frameworks.

There are other frameworks in addition to Scrum, such as Kanban, Test Driven Development and Feature Driven Development. Mention frameworks you have followed and provide scenarios.

9. Would you recommend automated testing for your project?

Scrum encourages the use of automated performance or regression testing so that you can continuously deliver software quicker. Offer examples of any automated testing tools that your team may have used.

10. What type of metrics or reports have you used?

Sprint and release burn-down and burn-up charts are standard reports. Most companies also want to understand how many stories were committed versus completed per sprint and the number of defects identified post-release to production.

11. How many Scrum teams have you managed at one time?

This is a popular question! Don’t offer that Scrum guidelines states only one Scrum Master per team as your answer! In this new role, you may be required to lead more than one team. Notice the use of the word “managed” versus “led” as Scrum Masters do not manage, they lead teams so be sure to use this word in your response. They may be listening very closely!

12. What type of requirements did you use for your teams?

Requirements in Scrum are written as user stories using a standard, “As a , I want… so that I .”  As a Scrum Master, you don’t necessarily write user stories, but you would assist the Product Owner to ensure that user stories are written, prioritized and ready for the sprint.

13. Describe a time when your Delivery team members didn’t seem to be getting along. How did you handle this?

A little bit of conflict is always good, but your interviewer is looking for your ability to be an effective leader. Reflect on a time where you had a few team members that just never seemed to be able to work things out. How did you encourage those team members to work together? Was it a team building exercise? Did you make sure they had a common goal? State the problem you had, how you addressed it and the outcome.