- A
Coach the product owner on writing effective acceptance criteria and encourage the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement
Coaching and open communication address the root cause while maintaining roles.
- B
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor
Why wrong: The PM should first try to resolve the issue with the product owner directly.
- C
Write the acceptance criteria yourself to ensure clarity
Why wrong: This undermines the product owner's role and does not empower the team.
- D
Add a task to the sprint backlog for the team to clarify acceptance criteria with the product owner
Why wrong: This may be a temporary fix but does not solve the systemic issue.
Question 410 of 892
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. 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.
Your agile team has been self-organizing and performing well, but during the last two retrospectives, the team has raised concerns about the product owner not providing clear acceptance criteria for user stories. As the project manager, what is the most effective way to address this?
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 on writing effective acceptance criteria and encourage the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement
Option A is correct because it directly addresses the root cause—unclear acceptance criteria—by coaching the Product Owner (PO) on how to write them effectively. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous improvement and the servant-leader role of the project manager, who facilitates collaboration between the PO and the development team. Encouraging the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement ensures that issues are resolved proactively before the sprint begins, maintaining self-organization and team performance.
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.
- ✓
Coach the product owner on writing effective acceptance criteria and encourage the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement
Why this is correct
Coaching and open communication address the root cause while maintaining roles.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor
Why it's wrong here
The PM should first try to resolve the issue with the product owner directly.
- ✗
Write the acceptance criteria yourself to ensure clarity
Why it's wrong here
This undermines the product owner's role and does not empower the team.
- ✗
Add a task to the sprint backlog for the team to clarify acceptance criteria with the product owner
Why it's wrong here
This may be a temporary fix but does not solve the systemic issue.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'taking action' with 'doing the work yourself' (Option C) or 'escalating' (Option B), failing to recognize that the PM's role is to coach and enable the PO, not to bypass or override their responsibilities.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Acceptance criteria are a key component of user stories in Scrum, typically defined using the 'Given/When/Then' format (from Behavior-Driven Development) to ensure testability and shared understanding. Coaching the PO on this format—such as specifying exact conditions like 'Given a user is logged in, when they click 'Submit', then the form data is saved to the database'—prevents ambiguity that leads to rework. In a real-world scenario, a team might face a 20% velocity drop due to unclear criteria; coaching the PO restores flow without breaking the team's self-management.
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 PMP 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.
Visual reference
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PMP question test?
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Coach the product owner on writing effective acceptance criteria and encourage the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement — Option A is correct because it directly addresses the root cause—unclear acceptance criteria—by coaching the Product Owner (PO) on how to write them effectively. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous improvement and the servant-leader role of the project manager, who facilitates collaboration between the PO and the development team. Encouraging the team to raise concerns during backlog refinement ensures that issues are resolved proactively before the sprint begins, maintaining self-organization and team performance.
What should I do if I get this PMP 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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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