External support to remove impediments
Q. One of the responsibilities for the Scrum Master in Scrum Team is to identify, track and help remove impediments. Who supports the Scrum Master in removing impediments?
A) The Project Manager
B) The senior management
C) The customer
D) The Development team
I came across this question in one of the third party mock exams where options B and D have been provided as correct answers. My question is with regards option B being one of the correct answers.
The Scrum guide specifies that the Scrum team is self organizing which implies that impediments need to be solved by members of the Scrum team. If the Scrum team needs to seek help from outside, it isn't really self-organizing but requiring guidance from external parties. Of course there could be times when external help is needed but if we purely ask the question in the context of Scrum, I believe option B doesn't seem correct. Kindly clarify.
First off, you need to be very cautious when using third-party mock exams to prep for the Scrum.org exams (or any other certification, really). There may not be good quality control on the question or what is deemed to be the correct answers.
Specifically to this question, here's how I would approach it.
First, I'd eliminate A as an option. Scrum doesn't have a Project Manager role. The work performed by a typical project manager is shared across the various Scrum Team roles.
D is a pretty obvious correct answer. As you point out yourself, this is a characteristic of the self-organizing team. The team should be involved in helping to solve their own impediments to the extent possible.
However, not all problems can be solved by the Scrum Team. "Senior Management" isn't something that the Scrum Guide talks about, however there are references to the broader organization. The Scrum Master is responsible for "leading and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption" as well as "planning Scrum implementations within the organization".
My concern with "senior management" is that it has a specific connotation that may not be correct. It's a rather vague term. Who, exactly, does it mean? Perhaps the C-suite? Perhaps directors and vice presidents? What about non-management staff in other departments?
I would assert, however, that C is also a correct answer. One of the Scrum Master's responsibilities is to help stakeholders understand and enact Scrum. Some impediments may involve customers, users, or other stakeholders outside the development organization. It's well within the Scrum Master's responsibilities to work with these people to be able to effectively work with the Scrum Team.
If I was taking this test, I would have marked B, C, and D as "correct" with the caveats that both B and C are too restrictive with respect to stakeholders internal to the organization but external to the Scrum Team and stakeholders external to the development organization.
Everyone interested in the success of a Product has a reason to help the Scrum Master to remove impediments. These impediments may include constraints presented by the organization and its roles.
The Scrum guide specifies that the Scrum team is self organizing which implies that impediments need to be solved by members of the Scrum team. If the Scrum team needs to seek help from outside, it isn't really self-organizing but requiring guidance from external parties. Of course there could be times when external help is needed but if we purely ask the question in the context of Scrum, I believe option B doesn't seem correct. Kindly clarify.
@Dibbha Iyer, I believe Ian Mitchell's answer is perfect. Also, what Thomas advises is helpful.
Now, regarding the point you made around Scrum Teams and self-organization, they self-organize around time-boxes, around the Sprint Goal, around skills, and also through empiricism. In the context of an impediment, if they can resolve it by themselves sure, but sometimes it may need the intervention of others outside the scrum team even in the context of Scrum.
Thanks everyone. This is clear now.
Of course there could be times when external help is needed but if we purely ask the question in the context of Scrum, I believe option B doesn't seem correct.
Trying to build on what Steve Matthew already said, what is the implication if senior management do not support the Scrum Master in removing impediments?
Senior management can benefit from understanding how servant leadership is important to Scrum Teams. See
I believe senior management is a viable option since they are responsible for creating and or modifying organizational policies which could hamper development. Let us not forget the Scrum master is also responsible for coaching the organisation as a whole and as such the Scrum would need their support which entails policy modification that could be seen as clearing an impediment.
Any stakeholder, internal or external, can help the Scrum Master to remove impediments.