PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
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?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: 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.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
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
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.
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
Escalating directly to the project sponsor is premature and undermines the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader and coach. The Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to resolve impediments and foster self-organization within the team and with stakeholders, starting with direct communication and coaching. Skipping this crucial step can damage working relationships and create an unnecessary dependency on higher authority, rather than empowering the team and Product Owner to resolve issues collaboratively.
- ✗
Ask the development team to work extra hours to accommodate the changes
Why it's wrong here
Asking the development team to work extra hours is an unsustainable and counterproductive approach that directly contradicts Scrum's emphasis on sustainable pace and predictable delivery. This action does not address the root cause of the Product Owner's behavior and can lead to burnout, decreased quality, and a loss of team morale. A Scrum Master should protect the team from external pressures and focus on process improvement rather than temporary, detrimental fixes.
- ✓
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
Coaching the Product Owner on the importance of a stable Sprint Backlog is the most appropriate action for a Scrum Master. This aligns with the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader and coach, helping the Product Owner understand Scrum principles like commitment, focus, and protecting the Development Team's ability to achieve the Sprint Goal. It reinforces that new ideas belong in the Product Backlog for refinement and future sprints, maintaining the integrity and predictability of the current sprint.
- ✗
Add the new requirements to the sprint backlog and adjust the sprint goal
Why it's wrong here
Adding new requirements to the Sprint Backlog and adjusting the Sprint Goal mid-sprint directly violates the Scrum principle of commitment and the stability of the Sprint Backlog. Once the Sprint Goal is set and the Sprint Backlog is committed to during Sprint Planning, it should remain stable to allow the Development Team to focus and deliver. Unplanned changes disrupt the team's focus, jeopardize the Sprint Goal, and undermine predictability, leading to potential scope creep and missed commitments.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Sprint Planning
Sprint Planning is a time-boxed meeting at the start of a Scrum sprint where the team decides what work they can deliver and how they will do it.
Key term
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps teams deliver complex projects in small, iterative chunks called sprints.
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