The correct answer is to coach the product owner on the importance of not changing priorities during a sprint to protect the team’s focus. This is rooted in the agile principle that the sprint backlog is a frozen commitment once the sprint begins; changing priorities mid-sprint undermines the team’s velocity and their ability to deliver a potentially shippable increment. On the Project Management Professional PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the product owner’s role in safeguarding the sprint goal and the project manager’s responsibility to enforce agile frameworks rather than accommodating disruptive changes. A common trap is choosing to extend the sprint or add buffer time, but those options fail to address the root cause of priority instability. Remember the mnemonic “Sprint is Sacred”—once the sprint starts, the product owner must protect the team’s focus by deferring all new priorities to the next sprint planning.
PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of process — managing technical aspects. 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 an agile project, the product owner frequently changes priorities during the sprint, causing the team to lose focus and miss sprint goals. The team expresses frustration in the retrospective. As the project manager, what should you do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Coach the product owner on the importance of not changing priorities during a sprint to protect the team's focus
Option A is correct because the product owner should respect the sprint backlog and not change priorities once the sprint starts. The PM should coach the product owner on agile principles. Option B is wrong because the team should not ignore the product owner; collaboration is key. Option C is wrong because adding buffer time does not address the root cause. Option D is wrong because extending the sprint without addressing the issue may lead to further disruptions.
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.
✗
Instruct the team to ignore the product owner's changes until the next sprint planning
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the product owner is not collaborative; the PM should facilitate a discussion.
✓
Coach the product owner on the importance of not changing priorities during a sprint to protect the team's focus
Why this is correct
The PM should educate the product owner on agile principles, including the stability of sprint goals.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add a buffer to the sprint backlog to accommodate potential changes
Why it's wrong here
This does not address the root cause and may lead to scope creep.
✗
Extend the sprint duration to allow the team to accommodate changes
Why it's wrong here
Extending sprints is a tactical fix and does not solve the problem of changing priorities.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Process — Managing Technical Aspects — This question tests Process — Managing Technical Aspects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Coach the product owner on the importance of not changing priorities during a sprint to protect the team's focus — Option A is correct because the product owner should respect the sprint backlog and not change priorities once the sprint starts. The PM should coach the product owner on agile principles. Option B is wrong because the team should not ignore the product owner; collaboration is key. Option C is wrong because adding buffer time does not address the root cause. Option D is wrong because extending the sprint without addressing the issue may lead to further disruptions.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. You are managing an agile project. The product owner frequently changes priorities during the sprint, causing the team to lose focus and miss sprint goals. What should the scrum master do?
medium
A.Tell the team to ignore the product owner's changes and focus on the original sprint goal.
✓ B.Coach the product owner on the importance of sprint goal stability and the impact of changes.
C.Ask the product owner to stop changing priorities and escalate to management.
D.Request a new product owner who understands agile principles.
Why B: Option B is correct because the scrum master should coach the product owner on their role. Option A is incorrect because the scrum master should not override the product owner. Option C is incorrect; the team cannot change priorities without product owner input. Option D is incorrect; the product owner is not empowered to remove the scrum master.
Variation 2. In an agile project, the product owner frequently changes priorities within a sprint, causing the team to lose focus and velocity to drop. What should the project manager do first?
hard
A.Ask the team to accommodate the changes and work overtime to meet the original commitment
✓ B.Facilitate a retrospective where the team can discuss the impact of changing priorities and agree on a process
C.Escalate to the project sponsor that the product owner is interfering with the team
D.Tell the product owner that scope changes are not allowed during a sprint
Why B: Option B is correct because the retrospective is the appropriate forum for the team to raise process issues. Option A is wrong because the PM should not unilaterally restrict the product owner. Option C is wrong because involving the sponsor may be premature. Option D is wrong because it violates the sprint commitment concept.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.