This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 review, the product owner rejects a user story because it does not meet their expectations, even though the team followed the acceptance criteria. The team is frustrated. What should you 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
✓
Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria and align expectations
Option B is correct because the immediate conflict stems from a misalignment between the acceptance criteria and the product owner's expectations. As a servant leader, the first step is to facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria and ensure a shared understanding, which directly addresses the root cause of the frustration without escalating or ignoring the issue.
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.
✗
Ask the team to rework the story based on the product owner's feedback without further discussion
Why it's wrong here
This may lead to rework without addressing the root cause of misalignment.
✓
Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria and align expectations
Why this is correct
Open communication resolves misunderstandings and improves the definition of done.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Appeal to the project sponsor to mediate the disagreement
Why it's wrong here
The PM should resolve at the team level first; escalation is premature.
✗
Add the story back to the product backlog for future prioritization
Why it's wrong here
This defers the problem rather than solving it.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
PMI often tests the principle of servant leadership and conflict resolution by tempting candidates to choose immediate rework (Option A) or escalation (Option C), when the correct first step is always facilitated communication to align expectations.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the sprint review is a working session for inspecting the increment and adapting the product backlog, not a formal sign-off gate. The product owner's rejection based on unmet expectations, despite the team meeting the written acceptance criteria, indicates a gap in the Definition of Done or a need for more collaborative refinement during backlog grooming. A real-world scenario is when a user story for 'login with OAuth' passes all technical tests but the product owner expected a specific UI flow not captured in the criteria, requiring a facilitated conversation to update the criteria and the product backlog item.
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: Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria and align expectations — Option B is correct because the immediate conflict stems from a misalignment between the acceptance criteria and the product owner's expectations. As a servant leader, the first step is to facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria and ensure a shared understanding, which directly addresses the root cause of the frustration without escalating or ignoring the issue.
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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