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.
During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned support requests from the operations department. The product owner agrees this is impacting velocity. What should the project manager do FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Work with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer for them.
Option A is correct because the immediate priority is to manage the unplanned work that is disrupting the sprint. By working with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer (e.g., a fixed capacity within the sprint backlog), the project manager ensures that the team can handle operational interruptions without derailing planned work. This aligns with the Agile principle of protecting the team's focus and using empirical data to adjust the process, rather than escalating or deferring action.
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.
✓
Work with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer for them.
Why this is correct
Creating a buffer or limiting work-in-progress helps protect the team's focus.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to negotiate with operations.
Why it's wrong here
Direct escalation should be a last resort; the PM can resolve at the team level.
✗
Ask the team to track the time spent on support requests and report it at the next retrospective.
Why it's wrong here
Tracking delays action; the issue needs immediate attention.
✗
Instruct the team to handle support requests as they come to maintain stakeholder satisfaction.
Why it's wrong here
Uncontrolled interruptions harm sprint goals and team morale.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose to escalate (Option B) or defer action (Option C) instead of recognizing that the product owner is the correct stakeholder to collaborate with for immediate prioritization and capacity planning.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the product owner is the single point of accountability for backlog prioritization, including unplanned work. Allocating a dedicated buffer (e.g., a 'support' story or a fixed percentage of capacity, such as 20% of the team's velocity) is a common technique to absorb operational interruptions without affecting the sprint commitment. This approach is supported by the concept of 'slack' in lean project management, which allows teams to handle variability without sacrificing predictability.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
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: Work with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer for them. — Option A is correct because the immediate priority is to manage the unplanned work that is disrupting the sprint. By working with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer (e.g., a fixed capacity within the sprint backlog), the project manager ensures that the team can handle operational interruptions without derailing planned work. This aligns with the Agile principle of protecting the team's focus and using empirical data to adjust the process, rather than escalating or deferring action.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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