The correct action is to advise the developer to discuss the improvement with the product owner after the standup. This is because adding unplanned work during a sprint without stakeholder approval constitutes gold-plating, which violates the Agile principle of focusing on the sprint goal and delivering value as prioritized by the product owner. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the Scrum Master’s role as a servant leader who protects the sprint scope and facilitates communication, not as a decision-maker for scope changes. A common trap is choosing to let the developer proceed or to add the work immediately, which ignores the product owner’s authority over the backlog. Remember the memory tip: “Gold-plating goes to the PO’s plate”—any improvement that adds time or scope must be discussed with the product owner, not decided in the daily standup.
PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of process — managing technical aspects. 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.
During a daily standup, a developer mentions they found a way to improve the code's performance but it will add two extra days of work. What should the scrum master do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Advise the developer to discuss the improvement with the product owner after the standup
Adding extra work without stakeholder approval is gold-plating. The scrum master should remind the team to focus on the sprint goal and discuss the idea with the product owner.
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.
✗
Record the idea in the project documentation and move on
Why it's wrong here
While documenting is good, the improvement should be evaluated by the product owner for potential future sprints.
✗
Allow the developer to proceed because the improvement is valuable
Why it's wrong here
This is gold-plating and not recommended; unapproved changes should be avoided.
✗
Add the improvement to the sprint backlog immediately
Why it's wrong here
This bypasses the product owner and prioritization process.
✓
Advise the developer to discuss the improvement with the product owner after the standup
Why this is correct
The product owner should decide on scope changes; the team should focus on committed work.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Process — Managing Technical Aspects — This question tests Process — Managing Technical Aspects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Advise the developer to discuss the improvement with the product owner after the standup — Adding extra work without stakeholder approval is gold-plating. The scrum master should remind the team to focus on the sprint goal and discuss the idea with the product owner.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. During a daily standup, a developer mentions that they have started working on an additional feature requested by the product owner, which was not in the sprint backlog. What should the scrum master do?
easy
A.Escalate the issue to the project manager after the standup
B.Allow the work to continue since it adds value to the product
✓ C.Remind the team that work should only be added to the sprint through the product owner and should be deferred to the backlog for prioritization
D.Praise the developer for being proactive and customer-focused
Why C: Option B is correct because the scrum master should remind the team that no work should be added to the sprint without going through the product owner and change control. Option A is wrong because gold-plating is not allowed. Option C is too permissive. Option D is reactive.
Variation 2. During a daily standup, a developer mentions that he is working on a task that was not discussed during sprint planning. When asked, he says he thought it was important and started working on it. As the scrum master, what should you do?
easy
A.Ask the product owner to decide whether the task is valuable
B.Let the developer continue since he believes it is important
✓ C.Remind the developer that work should be agreed upon by the team and focused on the sprint goal
D.Add the task to the sprint backlog and adjust the sprint goal
Why C: Option C is correct. The scrum master should remind the developer about the sprint goal and the importance of not adding work without discussion. Option A is wrong because the sprint backlog should not be changed without team agreement. Option B is wrong because ignoring it sets a bad precedent. Option D is wrong because the PO is not needed for this team process.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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This PMP 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 PMP exam.
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