The correct choice is to coach the product owner on the importance of maintaining a stable sprint backlog and using the product backlog for new ideas. This is correct because the Scrum framework strictly forbids changing the sprint backlog once the sprint has begun, as doing so violates the sprint goal and directly causes scope creep, which reduces team velocity and morale. On the Project Management Professional PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the Scrum Master’s servant-leader role in protecting the team from interruptions, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly choose to escalate or accept the changes. A common memory tip is “Sprint is sacred—new ideas go to the backlog, not the sprint.”
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
You are leading a distributed Scrum team. The product owner consistently interrupts the development team during sprints with new requirements, causing scope creep and reduced velocity. The team is frustrated. 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 maintaining a stable sprint backlog and using the product backlog for new ideas
Option C is correct because the Scrum framework explicitly requires the product owner to maintain a stable sprint backlog once the sprint has started. Introducing new requirements mid-sprint violates the sprint goal and causes scope creep, which undermines team velocity and morale. As the Scrum Master or project leader, your role is to coach the product owner to defer new ideas to the product backlog for future sprint planning, preserving the integrity of the current sprint.
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.
✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor
Why it's wrong here
Escalation should be a last resort after direct coaching fails.
✗
Ask the development team to work extra hours to accommodate the changes
Why it's wrong here
Working extra hours is unsustainable and does not solve the process issue.
✓
Coach the product owner on the importance of maintaining a stable sprint backlog and using the product backlog for new ideas
Why this is correct
Educating the product owner aligns with servant leadership and protects the team.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add the new requirements to the sprint backlog and adjust the sprint goal
Why it's wrong here
Adding unplanned work disrupts the sprint and violates Scrum principles.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the product owner's authority to prioritize the product backlog with the ability to change the sprint backlog mid-sprint, leading them to choose Option D, which violates Scrum's core sprint commitment principle.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the sprint backlog is a frozen set of product backlog items selected during sprint planning, and the sprint goal provides a clear, measurable objective. The product owner can cancel a sprint only under extreme circumstances, but mid-sprint changes to the backlog require renegotiating the sprint goal with the team, which is rarely justified. A real-world scenario: a product owner adds a 'critical' feature mid-sprint; the team's velocity drops by 30%, and the sprint goal is missed, leading to stakeholder distrust—coaching the PO to use the product backlog as a parking lot prevents this.
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: Coach the product owner on the importance of maintaining a stable sprint backlog and using the product backlog for new ideas — Option C is correct because the Scrum framework explicitly requires the product owner to maintain a stable sprint backlog once the sprint has started. Introducing new requirements mid-sprint violates the sprint goal and causes scope creep, which undermines team velocity and morale. As the Scrum Master or project leader, your role is to coach the product owner to defer new ideas to the product backlog for future sprint planning, preserving the integrity of the current sprint.
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.
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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