CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question
During a sprint review, the team demonstrates a new feature to stakeholders. One stakeholder says, 'This isn't what we wanted. We need a completely different approach.' The product owner is upset because the feature took two weeks to build. The team is frustrated because they followed the product owner's specifications exactly. The Scrum Master observes that the product owner did not involve stakeholders during the sprint and based the user stories on assumptions. The product owner wants to add the rework to the next sprint. However, the team's capacity is already full. The Scrum Master needs to help the team and product owner recover. What should the Scrum Master do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM/Scrum questions often bait candidates into 'fixing' the symptom (adding rework, overtime, or removing people) instead of addressing the root cause through coaching and stakeholder collaboration, which is the Scrum Master's proper first action.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Coach the product owner to collaborate with stakeholders during the sprint to validate assumptions early
The Scrum Master should first coach the product owner to collaborate with stakeholders throughout the sprint so assumptions are validated early, preventing late-surfacing misalignment. This addresses the root cause — the product owner built user stories on unvalidated assumptions without stakeholder involvement — rather than treating the symptom of rework. Coaching the product owner is a core Scrum Master responsibility and a servant-leadership action.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Remove the product owner from the project to prevent future miscommunication
Why it's wrong here
Removing the product owner violates the Scrum framework’s principle that the product owner is a single accountable role for maximising value; the correct first step is to facilitate a conversation to align stakeholder expectations with backlog priorities, not to eliminate the role. This option is tempting because it offers a swift, punitive fix for repeated miscommunication, and it would be correct only if the product owner had demonstrated persistent, irremediable negligence that the Scrum Master had already attempted to resolve through coaching and process improvement.
- ✗
Blame the team for not clarifying requirements during the sprint
Why it's wrong here
Blaming the team misdirects accountability: the product owner authored the user stories from assumptions without stakeholder involvement, so the team built exactly what was specified. Blame is tempting when output mismatches expectations, but the Scrum Master must first facilitate stakeholder collaboration and backlog refinement, not assign fault.
- ✓
Coach the product owner to collaborate with stakeholders during the sprint to validate assumptions early
Why this is correct
The root cause is that the product owner built user stories on assumptions without stakeholder validation. Coaching collaboration during the sprint lets assumptions be tested early, preventing costly rework and aligning delivered features with actual stakeholder needs before capacity is consumed.
- ✗
Add the rework to the next sprint and ask the team to work overtime
Why it's wrong here
Mandating overtime to absorb rework treats the symptom, not the cause, and violates Scrum's sustainable pace while hiding the planning failure. Overtime is tempting when a sprint is over capacity, but the Scrum Master should first address the stakeholder-alignment gap that produced the wrong feature.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
This CAPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CAPM exam.