As a Scrum Master looking for employment, it is important to prepare for interviews as you apply to different companies. To get prepared, you need to have an idea of the kind of questions asked during an interview. There are several questions asked, however, in this article, we will be talking about eight (8) common Scrum Master interview questions any company is most likely to ask you.
In a Scrum Master interview, just like with any other type of interview for a role, there are three (3) kinds of interview questions; general interview questions, definitional interview questions, and behavioral interview questions.
General interview questions are common questions asked in any type of interview regardless of the role. An example is “tell us about yourself”.
Definitional interview questions are questions that test your knowledge of the role. For a Scrum role, an example of a definitional question is “what is Scrum?”
Behavioral questions are questions that test how you would handle certain situations that may come up in the job role. An example of such a question for a Scrum master is “what was a time you removed an impediment”.
Below are eight (8) of the most common Scrum Master interview questions and the ways to answer them.
Common Scrum Master interview questions
Tell me about yourself
This is a very popular question in any type of interview. This is also quite common in Scrum Master interviews as well. Though popular, many people struggle to answer it.
When answering the “Tell me about yourself” question, tailor your answer to the Scrum role you’re applying for. Your answer should have a bit of background as to what you studied, your achievements, which highlights what makes you stand out from other candidates, and why you’re applying for the job, which can be based on your interests.
Another way to answer this question is the use of the “Past-Present-Future” formula.
The past is your background and relevant work experience. It answers the question, how did you get to where you are now?
The present is your current role and answers the question, what do you do and what are your top accomplishments?
The future is what are you looking to do next. It also answers the question of why you are interested in the position.
When answering this question, it’s important to keep it professional and try to limit it to 1-2 minutes, at most. It is absolutely unnecessary to talk about your preschool days or how you love to travel a lot, except it’s related to the job role you’re applying for.
What Is Scrum?
Your interviewer may ask this question to get started with the interview. Think of it as a warm-up. They may also ask this question to evaluate you quickly on your knowledge of Scrum.
When answering this question, give a solid definition of Scrum and talk about Scrum’s importance to the company and team. Talk about the benefits of adopting the Scrum methodology, and how it compares to other project management styles.
This question can also come in a variety of forms such as “describe Scrum to somebody who has no idea of it”, “what does Scrum mean to you?”, “What are the advantages of Scrum?”
What are the limitations of Scrum?
An interviewer will ask you this question to be sure you understand the scope of Scrum; where it can be helpful and where it will not be needed.
Scrum is generally recommended for teams or industries that expect to face change. Because they are designed to adapt quickly and operate in short cycles, Scrum teams are usually small, which makes it difficult for Scrum to work on projects with large teams without modifying the framework.
You can further talk about how other forms of project management methodologies will be best suited where Scrum is limited. For instance, Waterfall is a better option for larger teams.
What are Scrum artifacts?
This is another question that tests your basic knowledge of Scrum and it is a common interview question. The interviewer also wants to know how you can inspire the team’s productivity.
Scrum artifacts are information that a scrum team and stakeholders use to detail the product being developed, actions to produce it, and the actions performed during the project. It gives information to better understand the product under development, the activities being planned, and the activities that are done in the project.
There are three Scrum artifacts: the product backlog, the sprint backlog, and the product increment:
- Product Backlog: It is an ordered list of everything needed to build a product. It includes a short description of the desired features, bugs to be resolved, and more.
- Sprint Backlog: A document stating the tasks that a team wants to accomplish during a sprint.
- Product Increment: At the end of each sprint, the product increment document states the deliverables achieved by completing the product backlog tasks.
What is your favorite Scrum event?
This question will test your knowledge of Scrum events and reveal your work style as a Scrum master. There are four scrum events: sprint planning, daily Scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective. These are also known as Scrum ceremonies.
When talking about any of the four (4) events, use your personal experience and mention the importance of that event in the Scrum process. Don’t forget to mention that each of the events is important, however, you have a favorite one because of its function that is personal to you. It could be that it allows you to gain a better understanding of a problem or it helps the team get focused. Whatever it is, find a way to tie it to why it’s important to you.
For instance, maybe you look forward to the daily Scrum meeting because it allows the team to communicate openly about progress or pain points or you like the retrospective event because it gives you the opportunity to grow and learn from previous mistakes, allowing you and the team to improve on the next sprints.
A team member has stopped attending daily Scrum, what do you do?
This question will help the interviewer get an idea of how you manage your team.
There could be a variety of reasons for a scrum team member to avoid daily Scrum or other Scrum ceremonies.
As a Scrum Master, you cannot force a team member to join daily Scrum. Find out the real reason this team member misses daily Scrum and find a way to help him. There could be certain things preventing him from joining, perhaps he feels his contributions are not valued or he has some external things stopping him. Whatever the reason, find a way to resolve it.
However, a common reason for stopping daily Scrum is that the team member is unable to understand and appreciate the Scrum framework. They probably think the ceremonies are a waste of time. What you need to do is to coach him, understand his point of view, and help him see the importance of the scrum values and principles. When meeting with this him, highlight the areas of your sprint planning where he can bring value; focus on how the team needs and appreciates his contribution.
When answering this interview question, you can recall a past experience where a team member stopped attending daily Scrum and how you handled it in a clear and impactful way. If you have not experienced this before, you can simply tell the interviewer how you will handle the situation as seen above.
Give an example of the time you removed an impediment
When answering this question, narrate your past experiences and explain how you dealt with an impediment in detail.
To effectively answer this question, you can use the STAR method to explain a specific situation, describe the task you had to complete, outline the actions you took and end with the results of your efforts.
That way, the interviewer gets the whole picture of the situation ad the role you took in resolving it.
Why do you want to become a Scrum Master at our company?
This is a question that is common in any type of interview. Interviewers like to ask this question to know if the candidate is a good fit for the company. They want to know if you, as a candidate, believe in what the company does. Every company wants to know if a potential candidate can add value to its products and services.
To answer this open-ended question you need to do proper research on the company you are being interviewed for. What is something about the company that resonates with you? It could be their core values, mission, culture, or product; it could be anything. Your answer shouldn’t be only about the company’s growth but also your personal growth within the company. You should also be clear about your vision for the company and how you can be an added advantage.
Looking for a job can be stressful and takes a lot of effort, however with great preparation, you will be able to ace that interview and land a job. Goodluck!
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