Handling Stakeholder Changes in Scrum Sprint Review — Proper Backlog Management
A startup is adopting Scrum for the first time. During the Sprint Review, stakeholders request many changes to the product increment. What is the best way for the Scrum Master to handle this?
Quick Answer
The answer is to ask the Product Owner to add the changes to the Product Backlog for prioritization in future Sprints. This is correct because the Sprint Review is an inspect-and-adapt event for feedback, not a mid-Sprint change window; the current Sprint’s scope and Sprint Goal are fixed to protect the Development Team’s focus. On the CAPM exam, this question tests your understanding of the Product Owner’s accountability for backlog management versus the Scrum Master’s role as a facilitator. A common trap is choosing an option that suggests modifying the current Sprint or having the team implement changes immediately, which violates Scrum’s time-boxed commitment. Remember the key distinction: the Sprint Review inspects the increment, but the Product Backlog is the single source for future work. A useful memory tip is “Review for feedback, Backlog for change”—if a stakeholder requests a change during the review, it always goes to the Product Backlog, never into the current Sprint.
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the Sprint Review with a mid-Sprint change opportunity, thinking stakeholder feedback must be acted on immediately, rather than understanding that the Product Backlog is the proper channel for all new requirements.
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
✓
Ask the Product Owner to add the changes to the Product Backlog for prioritization in future Sprints.
In Scrum, the Sprint Review is a time for stakeholders to inspect the increment and provide feedback, but changes cannot be made to the current Sprint as the Sprint Goal and scope are fixed. The Product Owner is responsible for managing the Product Backlog, so the best action is to capture these change requests and have the Product Owner add them to the Product Backlog for future prioritization. This ensures the Development Team remains focused on the current Sprint Goal and that changes are evaluated against business value and priority in upcoming Sprints.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Let the Development Team decide which changes to implement immediately.
Why it's wrong here
The Development Team cannot unilaterally absorb stakeholder requests; scope changes to the increment belong to the Product Owner, who orders the Product Backlog. Self-organisation covers how the team builds items, not which new ones enter. Letting developers decide suits technical implementation choices within an agreed Sprint Goal.
- ✗
Add the changes to the current Sprint Backlog immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Adding items mid-Sprint violates the Sprint Backlog's ownership by the Development Team and undermines the Sprint Goal, which provides focus. New stakeholder requests are Product Backlog items the Product Owner orders and refines. Immediate addition suits urgent defect fixes the team itself identifies during the Sprint.
- ✓
Ask the Product Owner to add the changes to the Product Backlog for prioritization in future Sprints.
Why this is correct
New requests during Sprint Review are product backlog items, not scope for the current Sprint. The Product Owner alone orders and prioritises the backlog, so routing changes there preserves the Sprint's fixed goal while allowing stakeholders' input to be evaluated for future Sprints.
- ✗
Ignore the feedback since the Sprint is complete.
Why it's wrong here
Discarding stakeholder feedback wastes the Sprint Review's purpose: inspecting the increment and adapting the Product Backlog. Requests should be captured and ordered by the Product Owner for future Sprints. Ignoring input suits feedback already addressed by an existing backlog item, not novel stakeholder requests.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CAPM question is part of Courseiva's 451-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on CAPM
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An agile team is using a burndown chart for the first time. After six days of a two-week sprint, the burndown chart shows that the remaining work has increased compared to the previous day. The team is confused. They had completed several tasks, but new tasks were added to the sprint backlog after the sprint started. The product owner says the additions were urgent and necessary. The development team is frustrated because they feel the sprint goal is at risk. The Scrum Master must address this situation. What should the Scrum Master do?
easy- A.Instruct the team to ignore the burndown chart and focus on delivering the original sprint goal
- B.Explain to the product owner that the sprint backlog is frozen once the sprint starts and cannot be changed
- ✓ C.Ask the product owner and team to renegotiate the sprint scope, either removing some planned work or deferring the new work to the next sprint
- D.Manually adjust the burndown chart to show the completed tasks and hide the additional work
Why C: The Scrum Master should facilitate a negotiation between the product owner and the development team to re-evaluate the sprint backlog. In Scrum, the sprint backlog can be clarified or renegotiated with the product owner, but the sprint goal must remain achievable. By asking the team and product owner to either remove planned work or defer the new tasks, the Scrum Master protects the sprint goal and maintains team focus, which is the core responsibility of the Scrum Master in an agile framework.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.