PMP Practice Question: Business Environment: strategy and project benefits

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  Reduce the sprint backlog to a manageable size without consulting the product owner.

  Why it's wrong here

  Unilaterally reducing the Sprint Backlog without consulting the Product Owner directly violates Scrum's principle of collaboration and disrespects the Product Owner's accountability for maximizing product value. This action bypasses the critical dialogue needed to understand the Product Owner's priorities and the rationale behind the commitments. Furthermore, it fails to address the underlying behavioral issue of overcommitment, merely treating a symptom rather than fostering a sustainable solution through shared understanding and agreement.

• ✗

  Add more team members to increase capacity.

  Why it's wrong here

  Adding more team members is a superficial solution that fails to address the fundamental issue of unrealistic commitment during Sprint Planning. This approach, often referred to as "Brooks's Law," can actually decrease productivity in the short term due to increased communication overhead, onboarding new members, and the formation of new team dynamics. It avoids coaching the Product Owner on sustainable pace and realistic goal-setting, which is the true root cause of the development team consistently missing commitments.

• ✗

  Escalate to senior management about the product owner's behavior.

  Why it's wrong here

  Escalating directly to senior management is a premature and often counterproductive step for a Scrum Master. The Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to serve the Product Owner and the Development Team by coaching them on Scrum principles and practices, including realistic commitment and sustainable pace. Bypassing direct coaching attempts undermines the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader and impediment remover, potentially damaging team trust and internal relationships before attempting a resolution at the team level.

• ✓

  Coach the product owner on the importance of sustainable pace and realistic commitments.

  Why this is correct

  Coaching the Product Owner on sustainable pace and realistic commitments is the most appropriate and effective action for a Scrum Master. This directly addresses the root cause of the development team consistently missing commitments, which often stems from pressure to deliver more than is feasible. The Scrum Master, as a servant leader, facilitates understanding of empirical process control and helps the Product Owner appreciate the team's actual capacity, fostering a more predictable and healthy development rhythm aligned with core Scrum principles.

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