PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
You are the project manager for a software upgrade project. The team is using a hybrid approach with two-week sprints. During sprint planning, the product owner wants to include a user story that the team believes is too large to complete in one sprint. Which TWO actions should you take?
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
✓
Facilitate breaking the story down into smaller, manageable stories for the sprint
Options C and D are correct. In a hybrid approach with sprints, user stories that are too large should be broken down into smaller, manageable pieces to fit within a sprint (C). This aligns with agile principles of decomposition and iterative delivery. Additionally, documenting the product owner's request and managing expectations through the change control process ensures that any changes to scope or priorities are properly managed (D). Option A is incorrect because removing the story from the backlog is premature; it should be refined first. Option B is incorrect because adjusting sprint duration defeats the purpose of time-boxed sprints. Option E is incorrect because forcing the team to commit to an oversized story leads to poor quality and unmet commitments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Remove the story from the backlog since it cannot be completed in one sprint
Why it's wrong here
Removing a story from the Product Backlog without collaborative discussion with the Product Owner and development team is inappropriate. The Product Backlog is a living artifact managed by the Product Owner, reflecting prioritized work. While a story might be too large for a sprint, the correct action is to discuss options like deferral, decomposition, or re-prioritization, not unilateral removal, which undermines transparency and stakeholder collaboration.
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Accept the story without changes and adjust the sprint duration
Why it's wrong here
Adjusting the sprint duration to accommodate an oversized story is generally an anti-pattern in agile frameworks. Sprints are fixed-length timeboxes designed to establish a consistent rhythm and predictability for the team and stakeholders. Changing this cadence disrupts flow, complicates forecasting, and often masks the underlying issue of poor story sizing rather than resolving it effectively.
- ✓
Facilitate breaking the story down into smaller, manageable stories for the sprint
Why this is correct
Facilitating the breakdown of an oversized user story into smaller, more manageable stories is a core agile practice. This decomposition ensures that individual work items can meet the "INVEST" criteria (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable) and fit within a single sprint's capacity. The Project Manager, acting as a servant leader, guides the team and Product Owner in this collaborative effort during sprint planning or backlog refinement.
- ✓
Document the product owner's request and manage expectations through the change control process
Why this is correct
Documenting the Product Owner's request and managing expectations through a formal change control process is a valid approach, especially if the oversized story represents a significant scope addition or alteration to the overall project baseline. This ensures that the impact on project objectives, schedule, and budget is formally assessed, approved by relevant stakeholders, and communicated transparently, maintaining project governance.
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Insist that the team commit to the story to satisfy the product owner
Why it's wrong here
Insisting that the development team commit to an oversized story against their professional judgment is detrimental to team morale, sustainable pace, and product quality. Agile principles emphasize self-organizing teams that forecast their capacity and commit to achievable work. Forcing commitment leads to burnout, technical debt, missed deadlines, and erodes trust between the team, Product Owner, and Project Manager.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to the PMP Exam and Project Management Basics
Key term
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps teams deliver complex projects in small, iterative chunks called sprints.
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.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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