The Hidden Reason Most People Fail the PSM I Exam (And How to Avoid It)
Introduction
Let me share something with you that I wish someone had told me years ago.
Most people who fail the PSM I exam don’t fail because they’re not smart enough. They don’t fail because they didn’t study hard enough. They fail because they studied the wrong way.
Let me explain what I mean by that.
The Real Challenge are Scenario Questions
When you take the actual exam, you’re going to notice something interesting. About sixty to seventy percent of the questions aren’t simple definition questions. They won’t ask you “What are the three pillars of empiricism?” and let you pick transparency, inspection, adaptation from a list.
Instead, you’ll get scenario questions. And here’s what makes them tricky: You’ll read the scenario, look at the answers, and two of them will seem correct. Sometimes even three of them look pretty good.
That’s where people panic. That’s where people start second-guessing themselves. That’s where people fail.
So what’s the secret? What separates the people who pass with ninety-five percent from the people who fail with eighty percent?
Understanding “Why” vs. Memorizing “What”
It comes down to one thing: Understanding why. Not what… why.
The exam isn’t really testing whether you memorized the Scrum Guide. It’s testing whether you understand the reasoning behind every single element in the framework. When you understand the why, the correct answer becomes obvious. When you only know the what, you’re just guessing between options that all sound reasonable.
The Removal Test
Let me share a technique that’s going to change everything for you. I call it the removal test.
Here’s how it works: For any Scrum element–any event, any artifact, any accountability–ask yourself this question:
“What value would be lost if we removed this from the framework?”
Example #1: The Daily Scrum
Take the Daily Scrum. If someone asks you what the Daily Scrum is, you might say “It’s a fifteen-minute event for the Developers.” And yeah, that’s correct. But that doesn’t help you answer scenario questions.
Instead, ask yourself: What would happen if we removed the Daily Scrum entirely? What would we lose?
We’d lose:
- The daily opportunity to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal
- The chance to adapt the plan every single day
- Early detection of when the team is off track
- Quick surfacing of impediments
- Consistent team communication
See what just happened there? Now you understand the purpose. The Daily Scrum exists to enable daily inspection and adaptation. It exists to surface problems early. It exists to keep the team aligned on the Sprint Goal.
When you understand that, and a scenario question asks “The Daily Scrum is going long and the team wants to skip it sometimes,” you immediately know that’s a problem. Because you’d be losing that daily inspection opportunity. You’d be flying blind between check-ins.
Question for you: Can you think of a time when skipping Daily Scrums caused problems on your team? Share your experience in the comments below.
Example #2: The Sprint Review
What would we lose if we removed the Sprint Review?
We’d lose:
- The chance to get stakeholder feedback on the actual working product
- The opportunity to inspect what was built
- The ability to adapt the Product Backlog based on what we learned
- Connection between the team and stakeholder needs
The Product Owner might keep prioritizing features that stakeholders don’t actually want. The team would be building in a vacuum.
So the Sprint Review exists for inspection of the Increment and adaptation of the Product Backlog. It’s about getting real feedback from real stakeholders on real working product.
Now you’ll never confuse it with the Sprint Retrospective, right? Because the Retrospective is about inspecting how the team worked together–not what they built.
The Three Commitments: Don’t Just Memorize
The 2020 Scrum Guide introduced the concept of commitments, and this trips up a lot of people on the exam.
Here are the three commitments, each paired with an artifact:
- Product Backlog -> Product Goal
- Sprint Backlog -> Sprint Goal
- Increment -> Definition of Done
Don’t just memorize that list. Understand why these pairings exist.
The Product Goal gives the Product Backlog meaning and direction. Without it, you just have a random list of stuff to maybe build someday. The Product Goal answers “Where are we heading?” It creates focus.
The Sprint Goal does the same thing for the Sprint Backlog. It’s not just a list of tasks. The Sprint Goal tells the team why this Sprint matters. It’s the single objective that ties everything together. If a Sprint has no coherent goal, if it’s just random items thrown together, that’s a problem. The exam will test whether you recognize that.
The Definition of Done is the commitment for the Increment. It answers “How do we know when something is truly done?” Without it, done becomes subjective. Someone says it’s done, someone else disagrees, quality suffers, transparency disappears.
When you see a scenario question about a team releasing work without meeting the Definition of Done, you immediately know that’s wrong. They’re breaking the commitment that ensures transparency and quality.
Quick check: Does your current team have a clear Definition of Done? If not, what’s stopping you from creating one? Drop your thoughts below.
The Biggest Trap is Answer Based on Pure Scrum
Here’s something that catches people, and honestly, this might be the biggest trap on the exam.
You need to answer based on pure Scrum. Not how your company does it. Not how your team adapted it. Pure, by-the-book Scrum Guide Scrum.
Let me give you an example. In your workplace, maybe:
- Your manager assigns work to specific developers
- Your Product Owner skips some Sprint Reviews
- Your Daily Scrum runs thirty minutes and includes status reports to leadership
All of that might be how your company works. But it’s not Scrum.
When you see a scenario on the exam that asks who decides which Developer works on which task, the answer is the Developers themselves. Not the Scrum Master. Not the Product Owner. Not any manager. The Developers self-manage.
Even if that’s not how your company does it. Even if your gut says “Well, in the real world…” No. Answer based on the Scrum Guide. Always.
I’ve seen people with ten years of Agile experience fail this exam because they answered based on their experience instead of the framework. Don’t let that be you.
A Real Scenario Walkthrough
Let me walk you through my thought process with a real scenario question.
Sample Question: “During Sprint Planning, the Product Owner presents ten items for the Sprint. The Developers say they can only commit to six of them. The Product Owner insists all ten must be included because of a deadline. What should the Scrum Master do?”
Step 1: Identify Who Owns the Decision
Who decides how much work goes into the Sprint? That’s the Developers. They’re the ones who understand their capacity. They select what they can realistically deliver.
Step 2: Check the Boundaries
Can the Product Owner override this? No. The Product Owner orders the backlog, but the Developers decide how much to pull in. That’s fundamental to self-management.
Step 3: Clarify the Scrum Master’s Role
What’s the Scrum Master’s role here? They’re not there to take sides or make the decision. They’re there to help everyone understand Scrum.
Step 4: Arrive at the Answer
The correct answer: The Scrum Master helps the Product Owner and Developers understand that the Developers determine how much work is selected, and then facilitates a conversation about scope, expectations, and what’s realistic.
See how we got there? We didn’t need to memorize some specific rule about this situation. We reasoned through it using first principles. Who owns what decision? What’s the Scrum Master’s accountability? What does self-management mean?
That’s the skill that passes exams.
Your Action Plan
Here’s what I want you to do after reading this:
Go back to those exam practice questions. But this time, for every question:
- Don’t just check if you got it right or wrong
- Ask yourself: Why is the correct answer correct?
- More importantly: Why are the wrong answers wrong?
- Identify which Scrum principle each wrong answer violates
When you can explain the why behind every answer, that’s when you’re ready.
Now It’s Your Turn
I want to hear from you:
- What’s been your biggest challenge while studying for the PSM I exam?
- Have you encountered scenario questions that stumped you? Share them in the comments.
- Which Scrum concept do you find most confusing?
Drop your questions below, and I’ll personally respond to help clarify. Remember, the community learns best when we share our struggles and insights together.
And if this approach helped you see exam prep differently, share this post with someone who’s also preparing. Let’s help more people pass on their first attempt.
Don’t memorize. Understand.
