PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
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 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
✓
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.
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
Recording an idea in project documentation, while a good practice for knowledge management, is insufficient in an agile context for addressing a potential improvement. It fails to trigger the necessary evaluation by the Product Owner, who is responsible for maximizing value and prioritizing items for the Product Backlog. Without this evaluation, a valuable idea might never be considered for a future sprint, or worse, it might be implemented without proper prioritization, diverting resources from higher-value work.
- ✗
Allow the developer to proceed because the improvement is valuable
Why it's wrong here
Allowing a developer to unilaterally proceed with an unapproved improvement constitutes 'gold-plating,' which is detrimental to agile principles. This action diverts focus and resources from the committed Sprint Goal, potentially delaying essential work or introducing scope creep without proper validation. All changes, even seemingly valuable ones, must be evaluated and prioritized by the Product Owner to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and to prevent unnecessary work.
- ✗
Add the improvement to the sprint backlog immediately
Why it's wrong here
Adding an improvement directly to the sprint backlog immediately bypasses the critical role of the Product Owner and the established prioritization process. The Product Owner is solely accountable for managing the Product Backlog and determining its content and order based on value and strategic alignment. Such an unapproved addition would violate the stability of the Sprint Backlog, jeopardize the Sprint Goal, and undermine the team's commitment to the agreed-upon scope.
- ✓
Advise the developer to discuss the improvement with the product owner after the standup
Why this is correct
Advising the developer to discuss the improvement with the Product Owner after the standup is the correct agile approach, upholding Scrum principles. The Product Owner is the sole authority for managing the Product Backlog and deciding what work maximizes value for the product. This approach respects the Daily Scrum's purpose of synchronizing progress on the Sprint Goal, while ensuring potential future work is properly evaluated and prioritized without disrupting the current sprint's focus.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Leading Teams and Empowering Team Members
Key term
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps teams deliver complex projects in small, iterative chunks called sprints.
Key term
Daily Standup
A short, time-boxed daily meeting where team members share progress, plans, and blockers to stay aligned.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on PMP
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: In Scrum, the sprint backlog is frozen during the sprint to protect the team's focus and commitment. The scrum master's role is to enforce this boundary by reminding the team that any new work must first be vetted by the product owner and added to the product backlog for future prioritization. Allowing unplanned work undermines the sprint goal and velocity tracking.
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 D is wrong because the Scrum Master should not unilaterally add tasks to the Sprint Backlog or adjust the Sprint Goal. The Sprint Backlog is owned by the Developers, and the Sprint Goal is a commitment by the Developers. While the Product Owner collaborates on scope negotiations and is accountable for product value, the Sprint Goal itself is not the Product Owner's sole responsibility, and changes should not be made without team collaboration and agreement. The immediate action is to address the deviation from the agreed plan, not to legitimize it by changing the plan.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.