Who is accountable for what in Scrum?
The Product Owner, Developers and Scrum Master hold different accountabilities within one Scrum Team. The Scrum Guide is the primary reference; job titles used by a company may not map exactly to these responsibilities.
The Product Owner orders the Product Backlog and is accountable for maximizing product value. Developers create the Increment, plan Sprint work and adapt their plan toward the Sprint Goal. The Scrum Master helps establish Scrum and supports the team’s effectiveness.
The Scrum Master does not automatically assign everyone’s tasks, and the Product Owner does not dictate every technical step. The team remains responsible for producing valuable, usable work.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Accountability | Focus | Common study mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Product Owner | Value and Product Backlog | Treating all stakeholders as equal backlog owners |
| Developers | Usable Increment and Sprint plan | Waiting for daily task assignments |
| Scrum Master | Scrum and team effectiveness | Acting only as a meeting secretary |
What is each Scrum event supposed to achieve?
Each Scrum event creates a chance to inspect and adapt a different part of the work. Sprint Planning sets up the Sprint, the Daily Scrum checks progress toward its goal, the Sprint Review inspects outcomes with stakeholders, and the Sprint Retrospective improves how the team works.
A Daily Scrum is a 15-minute event for Developers, not a report to a project manager. A Sprint Review is a working discussion of outcomes and what to do next, rather than just a scripted demonstration. A Retrospective examines ways to improve quality and effectiveness.
Pick the event from the problem: product feedback belongs in a different discussion from a recurring handoff problem inside the team.
Can the Product Owner change Sprint work?
Scope can be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned during a Sprint, while protecting the Sprint Goal. That differs from freely adding any urgent stakeholder request to the current Sprint. The Scrum Guide also gives the Product Owner authority to cancel a Sprint when its goal becomes obsolete.
An example is a booking team discovering that an accessibility fix is needed to achieve the Sprint Goal. Developers and the Product Owner can discuss what work changes while keeping that goal in view. A separate request for a new analytics dashboard may belong in future backlog ordering.
Read the purpose and timing of the change before choosing an answer.
What is the difference between Sprint Review and Retrospective?
The Sprint Review examines the product outcome and future direction with stakeholders; the Retrospective examines how to improve the team’s work. Both involve learning, but the object of that learning differs.
If users find the new workflow doesn’t meet their need, inspect the outcome and adapt upcoming work. If the team repeatedly loses time on unclear review responsibilities, inspect its working method and agree an improvement.
These discussions can influence each other. Don’t treat the distinction as a ban on mentioning quality or collaboration in a Review. Use the main purpose to choose the better answer.
- 01Product outcomeWhat value did the work deliver?
- 02Future workWhat should we do next?
- 03Working methodHow can the team work better?
How should I practice Scrum questions for the PMP?
Practice Scrum questions by identifying the accountability, goal and event purpose before reading the answer options. Then check whether the proposed action respects those boundaries.
Use a fresh scenario: a stakeholder wants different backlog ordering, a team cannot meet its Sprint Goal, or testing handoffs repeatedly fail. Explain who needs to act and what they need to inspect.
PMP Exam Coach’s agile simulator preview is designed to make priorities and tradeoffs visible. Read the predictive, agile and hybrid comparison to avoid assuming every agile project uses Scrum.
