PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
During a sprint review, the product owner rejects a completed user story because it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The developer argues that the story is functionally complete and the product owner is being too strict. 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
✓
Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and developer to clarify the acceptance criteria
In Scrum, the product owner is responsible for defining and validating acceptance criteria. When a disagreement arises, the scrum master should facilitate a discussion to ensure clarity and alignment, not impose a decision or take sides. Option A is incorrect because simply accepting the product owner's decision without discussion may miss opportunities to resolve misunderstandings and improve collaboration. Option B is incorrect because removing the story from the sprint backlog avoids accountability and undermines the sprint review's purpose. Option D is incorrect because supporting the developer against the product owner would escalate conflict and ignore the product owner's authority over scope and quality.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the team to accept the product owner's decision and move on
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Master's role is to facilitate understanding and collaboration, not to enforce unilateral decisions. Simply asking the team to accept the Product Owner's decision without discussion bypasses a crucial opportunity for clarification and shared learning, which can lead to resentment and a lack of transparency regarding acceptance criteria. This approach fails to address the underlying disagreement and improve future work.
- ✗
Remove the story from the sprint backlog and skip it in the review
Why it's wrong here
Removing a story from the sprint backlog and skipping its review is counterproductive to the principles of transparency and inspection in Scrum. The Sprint Review is the designated event for the Scrum Team and stakeholders to inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog as needed, including discussing items that do not meet the Definition of Done or acceptance criteria. Avoiding this discussion prevents valuable feedback and learning opportunities.
- ✓
Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and developer to clarify the acceptance criteria
Why this is correct
This is the correct action because the Scrum Master's role involves facilitating effective communication and resolving impediments within the Scrum Team. A Product Owner rejecting a completed story often indicates a misalignment or misunderstanding of the acceptance criteria between the Product Owner and the Developers. Facilitating a direct discussion ensures clarity, promotes shared understanding, and helps refine future work, aligning the team's efforts with the Product Owner's vision.
- ✗
Support the developer by telling the product owner the story is complete
Why it's wrong here
The Scrum Master must maintain neutrality and objectivity, acting as a facilitator for the entire Scrum Team, not as an advocate for individual members. Supporting the developer by unilaterally declaring the story complete undermines the Product Owner's accountability for maximizing product value and their authority over the product backlog. This action would create an adversarial environment rather than fostering collaborative problem-solving and shared understanding of "Done."
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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.