PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
During a sprint review, the product owner is dissatisfied with the increment and wants to revert to a previous version of a feature. The development team believes the current version meets the acceptance criteria. As Scrum Master, what should you do FIRST?
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
✓
Facilitate a discussion to clarify the acceptance criteria and expectations
Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and team to clarify expectations. Option B is reactive and may not be needed after discussion. Option C escalates prematurely. Option D bypasses collaboration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Facilitate a discussion to clarify the acceptance criteria and expectations
Why this is correct
As a Scrum Master, facilitating open discussion is crucial for resolving misunderstandings and aligning stakeholders. This approach allows the Product Owner and development team to collaboratively review the acceptance criteria, clarify expectations, and identify any discrepancies between the implemented feature and the agreed-upon definition of "done." It promotes transparency and helps the team self-organize towards a mutually acceptable solution, embodying the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader.
- ✗
Escalate to the program manager to resolve the conflict
Why it's wrong here
Escalating to a program manager prematurely undermines the Scrum Team's autonomy and the Product Owner's authority to manage the product backlog and accept increments. Scrum encourages resolving conflicts and impediments at the lowest possible level, ideally within the Scrum Team itself, through direct communication and collaboration. Such an action would bypass the team's ability to self-organize and learn from the situation, hindering their growth and problem-solving capabilities.
- ✗
Instruct the team to revert the feature as requested
Why it's wrong here
Instructing the development team to revert a feature directly contradicts the Scrum Master's role, which is to serve the team and facilitate, not to dictate technical or product decisions. While the Product Owner has the final say on product value, a request to revert should first trigger a discussion to understand the underlying dissatisfaction and explore alternative solutions. Such an instruction bypasses collaborative problem-solving and potentially wastes valuable development effort without proper analysis.
- ✗
Update the issue log with the product owner's concern
Why it's wrong here
While documenting concerns is part of good practice, simply updating an issue log without first facilitating a direct conversation to understand and address the Product Owner's dissatisfaction is insufficient and passive. The Sprint Review is a critical event for immediate feedback and adaptation, requiring active engagement to clarify issues and seek resolution. Prioritizing documentation over immediate collaborative problem-solving delays resolution and fails to leverage the real-time interaction opportunities inherent in Scrum events.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PMP
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Variation 1. During a sprint review, a key stakeholder expresses dissatisfaction with the product increment, stating that it does not meet their expectations. The team followed the acceptance criteria defined in the user stories. What should the project manager do NEXT?
easy- A.Explain that the team delivered exactly what was agreed upon and the stakeholder should have raised concerns earlier
- ✓ B.Schedule a meeting with the stakeholder and product owner to clarify expectations and refine the backlog
- C.Refer the stakeholder to the product owner to discuss changes for future sprints
- D.Ask the team to redo the work to meet the stakeholder's unspoken needs
Why B: The project manager must facilitate a meeting between the stakeholder and the product owner to clarify expectations and refine the backlog. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous stakeholder engagement and ensures that acceptance criteria are updated to reflect true needs, preventing future mismatches.
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.