The correct answer is to facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs. This is because the Scrum Master’s primary responsibility is to protect the team from sprint overcommitment, which directly undermines the sprint goal and team velocity. By guiding a negotiation, the Scrum Master enables the product owner to prioritize the new story while the team identifies which existing work can be swapped out or deprioritized, preserving the integrity of the sprint backlog. On the Project Management Professional PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of servant leadership and stakeholder negotiation within an Agile framework—a common trap is choosing to simply add the story (violating the sprint commitment) or having the Scrum Master decide unilaterally, which exceeds their role. Remember the memory tip: “Swap, don’t stack”—when a sprint is full, trade-offs must be made, not additional work piled on.
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.
In a Scrum project, the product owner wants to add a new high-priority story to the current sprint, but the sprint is already full. The team is concerned about overcommitment. What should the Scrum Master do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs
Option D is correct because the Scrum Master should protect the team from overcommitment and facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team. Option A is not the Scrum Master's role. Option B violates the sprint commitment. Option C may not be feasible.
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.
✗
Extend the sprint duration to accommodate the new work
Why it's wrong here
Sprint durations should not be changed mid-sprint.
✗
Remove a lower-priority story to make room for the new one
Why it's wrong here
Decisions about scope should involve the product owner and team.
✗
Add the story to the sprint and ask the team to work overtime
Why it's wrong here
Overworking the team is not sustainable and violates Scrum principles.
✓
Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs
Why this is correct
The Scrum Master facilitates collaboration to find the best solution.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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.
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 discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs — Option D is correct because the Scrum Master should protect the team from overcommitment and facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team. Option A is not the Scrum Master's role. Option B violates the sprint commitment. Option C may not be feasible.
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.
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Question Discussion
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