The correct action is to encourage the team to focus on completing User Story A and defer User Stories B and D to the next Sprint. This choice is correct because the Scrum Master must protect the Sprint Goal by shielding the team from scope changes and ensuring they remain focused on the highest-priority committed work that delivers the most value for the current Sprint. On the Certified Associate in Project Management CAPM exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the Scrum Master’s role as a servant leader who maintains Sprint integrity against stakeholder pressure or new requests. A common trap is selecting an option that adds work mid-Sprint or renegotiates scope with the Product Owner, which violates the time-boxed commitment. Remember the memory tip: “Protect the prize, defer the rest”—the Sprint Goal is the prize, and any non-critical work must wait.
CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question
This CAPM practice question tests your understanding of agile frameworks and methodologies. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
Sprint Backlog:
- User Story A (8 points) - In Progress
- User Story B (5 points) - To Do
- User Story C (3 points) - Done
- User Story D (2 points) - To Do
- User Story E (5 points) - Done
Team velocity from previous Sprints: 13 points per Sprint.
Sprint duration: 2 weeks.
Time remaining in current Sprint: 3 days.
Given the exhibit, which action should the Scrum Master take?
Refer to the exhibit.
Sprint Backlog:
- User Story A (8 points) - In Progress
- User Story B (5 points) - To Do
- User Story C (3 points) - Done
- User Story D (2 points) - To Do
- User Story E (5 points) - Done
Team velocity from previous Sprints: 13 points per Sprint.
Sprint duration: 2 weeks.
Time remaining in current Sprint: 3 days.
A
Ask the team to start work on User Story B in parallel.
Why wrong: Starting new work may leave both A and B incomplete.
B
Add another user story to the Sprint Backlog to keep the team busy.
Why wrong: Adding work when time is limited risks incomplete work.
C
Cancel the Sprint and start a new one.
Why wrong: Cancelling a Sprint is only for rare circumstances; not warranted here.
D
Encourage the team to focus on completing User Story A, and defer B and D to the next Sprint.
Completing A aligns with velocity; uncommitted items can wait.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Encourage the team to focus on completing User Story A, and defer B and D to the next Sprint.
Option D is correct because the Scrum Master should protect the Sprint Goal and ensure the team focuses on completing committed work. In this scenario, User Story A is the highest priority and likely critical for the Sprint Goal; deferring B and D to the next Sprint maintains focus, avoids overloading the team, and preserves the integrity of the current Sprint. This aligns with the Scrum principle of delivering a potentially releasable increment at the end of each Sprint.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Ask the team to start work on User Story B in parallel.
Why it's wrong here
Starting new work may leave both A and B incomplete.
✗
Add another user story to the Sprint Backlog to keep the team busy.
Why it's wrong here
Adding work when time is limited risks incomplete work.
✗
Cancel the Sprint and start a new one.
Why it's wrong here
Cancelling a Sprint is only for rare circumstances; not warranted here.
✓
Encourage the team to focus on completing User Story A, and defer B and D to the next Sprint.
Why this is correct
Completing A aligns with velocity; uncommitted items can wait.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think adding more work (Option B) or parallelizing (Option A) shows efficiency, but Scrum values focus and completion over multitasking, and canceling a Sprint (Option C) is only for when the Sprint Goal is invalid, not for workload management.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the Sprint Backlog is a plan by and for the Development Team, and the Sprint Goal is a commitment that provides flexibility regarding the exact work done. The Scrum Master coaches the team to self-manage and focus on the Sprint Goal, which often means deferring lower-priority items to maintain a sustainable pace and high-quality increment. A real-world scenario might involve a team discovering mid-Sprint that a critical dependency for Story A is blocked; the Scrum Master would facilitate a solution (e.g., swarm on the blocker) rather than cancel the Sprint or add more work.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CAPM exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Agile Frameworks and Methodologies — This question tests Agile Frameworks and Methodologies — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Encourage the team to focus on completing User Story A, and defer B and D to the next Sprint. — Option D is correct because the Scrum Master should protect the Sprint Goal and ensure the team focuses on completing committed work. In this scenario, User Story A is the highest priority and likely critical for the Sprint Goal; deferring B and D to the next Sprint maintains focus, avoids overloading the team, and preserves the integrity of the current Sprint. This aligns with the Scrum principle of delivering a potentially releasable increment at the end of each Sprint.
What should I do if I get this CAPM question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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