The correct answer is to work with the product owner to establish a process for handling ad-hoc requests and shield the team. This is the first action because, as both Scrum Master and PM, your core responsibility is to protect the team from disruptions while still addressing stakeholder needs, which aligns with the servant-leader principle. By collaborating with the Product Owner to create a formal triage and prioritization process, you ensure non-critical requests are deferred to the product backlog rather than derailing the sprint. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of stakeholder engagement and the Scrum Master’s role in maintaining team focus, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly jump to coaching stakeholders directly or escalating to management. The key is to remember that the Product Owner owns the backlog, so you must work through them to filter requests. Memory tip: “PO for the flow, SM for the shield”—the Product Owner manages the request flow, while the Scrum Master shields the team.
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.
During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by ad-hoc requests from stakeholders. Scrum Master role you are also the PM. 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
✓
Work with the product owner to establish a process for handling ad-hoc requests and shield the team
Option D is correct because, as both Scrum Master and PM, your primary responsibility is to protect the team from disruptions while ensuring stakeholder needs are addressed. Working with the Product Owner to establish a formal process for handling ad-hoc requests—such as triaging, prioritizing, and deferring non-critical items—preserves the team's focus and sprint commitment. This aligns with the servant-leader role of a Scrum Master and the PM's duty to manage stakeholder expectations without bypassing the product backlog.
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 stakeholders to submit all requests as change requests for formal approval
Why it's wrong here
While change control is formal, it may be too heavy for small ad-hoc requests; a lighter process may be needed.
✗
Instruct the team to ignore all ad-hoc requests until the next sprint planning
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring stakeholders can damage relationships; better to manage expectations.
✗
Add a buffer to the sprint backlog to account for interruptions
Why it's wrong here
This normalizes interruptions rather than reducing them, and may violate sprint commitments.
✓
Work with the product owner to establish a process for handling ad-hoc requests and shield the team
Why this is correct
The product owner can act as a buffer; establishing a clear process reduces disruptions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
PMI often tests the misconception that a PM should directly control stakeholder requests or add buffers, rather than empowering the Product Owner to manage the backlog and the Scrum Master to shield the team.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Scrum, the Product Owner is the single point of accountability for the product backlog, and all new work must be funneled through the backlog for prioritization. The Scrum Master's role includes coaching the Product Owner on how to manage stakeholder requests effectively, often using techniques like backlog refinement sessions or a 'parking lot' for non-urgent items. In a real-world scenario, a common practice is to establish a stakeholder triage board where requests are logged, assessed for urgency, and either added to the backlog or escalated to the Product Owner for immediate sprint interruption only if truly critical.
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: Work with the product owner to establish a process for handling ad-hoc requests and shield the team — Option D is correct because, as both Scrum Master and PM, your primary responsibility is to protect the team from disruptions while ensuring stakeholder needs are addressed. Working with the Product Owner to establish a formal process for handling ad-hoc requests—such as triaging, prioritizing, and deferring non-critical items—preserves the team's focus and sprint commitment. This aligns with the servant-leader role of a Scrum Master and the PM's duty to manage stakeholder expectations without bypassing the product backlog.
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.
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. During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned support requests from the operations department. The product owner agrees this is impacting velocity. What should the project manager do FIRST?
medium
✓ A.Work with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer for them.
B.Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to negotiate with operations.
C.Ask the team to track the time spent on support requests and report it at the next retrospective.
D.Instruct the team to handle support requests as they come to maintain stakeholder satisfaction.
Why A: Option A is correct because the immediate priority is to manage the unplanned work that is disrupting the sprint. By working with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer (e.g., a fixed capacity within the sprint backlog), the project manager ensures that the team can handle operational interruptions without derailing planned work. This aligns with the Agile principle of protecting the team's focus and using empirical data to adjust the process, rather than escalating or deferring action.
Variation 2. During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned work from other departments. The project manager wants to improve team focus. What should the project manager do?
easy
A.Increase the sprint duration to accommodate unplanned work
B.Tell the team to ignore unplanned work requests
C.Add a daily stand-up to discuss unplanned work
✓ D.Meet with other department managers to negotiate dedicated team time and establish a process for handling requests
Why D: Option D is correct because it addresses the root cause of the team's frustration by negotiating dedicated team time with other departments and establishing a formal process for handling unplanned work requests. This aligns with the servant leadership approach in the People domain, where the project manager acts as a buffer and facilitator to protect the team's focus and productivity, rather than imposing a technical fix that ignores the systemic issue.
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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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.
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