POPM PI Execution Practice Question
A Product Owner is facilitating a backlog refinement session during Iteration 4 of a Program Increment. The team identifies a new user story that could significantly enhance the value of an upcoming feature. However, adding it would require reprioritizing other stories. What should the Product Owner do?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is either rejecting the new story because it wasn't planned or adding it without reprioritizing, instead of evaluating its value and making a trade-off decision.
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
✓
Add the story to the team backlog and reprioritize it based on its relative value compared to other stories.
The Product Owner should add the story to the backlog and reprioritize based on relative value. This ensures the team focuses on the highest-value work, even if it means adjusting earlier plans. It reflects the SAFe principle of delivering value continuously and adapting to new insights during PI execution, while maintaining alignment with PI objectives.
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 the team to work on the story in addition to their current commitments without reprioritizing.
Why it's wrong here
Adding work without reprioritizing can lead to overcommitment and reduce quality. The team has finite capacity, and the Product Owner must ensure a sustainable pace. The correct approach is to evaluate the new story against existing work and make a trade-off decision, not simply pile on more work.
- ✓
Add the story to the team backlog and reprioritize it based on its relative value compared to other stories.
Why this is correct
This is correct because the Product Owner is responsible for maximizing value and should continuously refine and reprioritize the backlog. Adding the story and evaluating its value against existing items ensures that the team works on the highest-priority items. This supports the principle of applying systems thinking and delivering value incrementally.
- ✗
Reject the story because it was not identified during PI Planning and could disrupt the PI objectives.
Why it's wrong here
Rejecting the story outright is too rigid. While PI objectives provide guidance, SAFe encourages adaptation during execution. The Product Owner should evaluate the story's value and impact on PI objectives. If it aligns and adds significant value, it may be worth reprioritizing. Flexibility is key to responding to new insights.
- ✗
Defer the story to the next PI Planning to avoid changing the current plan.
Why it's wrong here
Deferring to the next PI Planning may delay value delivery unnecessarily. If the story is high-value and can be accommodated by reprioritizing, it should be considered now. SAFe promotes continuous flow and adapting to new information. Waiting could mean missing an opportunity to enhance the solution and meet customer needs sooner.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scaled Agile exam blueprint
This POPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile 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 POPM exam.