POPM PI Planning Preparation Practice Question
A Product Owner is preparing for an upcoming PI Planning session. The Program Backlog contains several features that are not yet estimated. What is the most appropriate action for the Product Owner to take before PI Planning?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that estimation should happen during PI Planning itself, when it should actually be done beforehand in refinement sessions.
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
✓
Work with the teams to refine and estimate the features during backlog refinement sessions prior to PI Planning.
The Product Owner should ensure features are refined and estimated before PI Planning through backlog refinement sessions. This collaborative approach allows teams to understand the work, provide estimates, and surface dependencies. It also ensures PI Planning time is used efficiently for coordination and commitment rather than estimation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Estimate the features using historical velocity data from the teams.
Why it's wrong here
Estimating features using historical velocity data is not appropriate because velocity is a team-specific metric and should not be used to estimate features across teams. The Product Owner should not pre-estimate features; estimation is done collaboratively by the teams during PI Planning. This action could lead to inaccurate estimates and undermine team ownership.
- ✗
Ask the Release Train Engineer (RTE) to estimate the features on behalf of the teams.
Why it's wrong here
The RTE does not estimate features; estimation is a team responsibility. Asking the RTE to do so would bypass team collaboration and likely produce inaccurate estimates. The Product Owner should instead facilitate refinement sessions where teams can estimate. The RTE's role is to facilitate the PI Planning event, not to perform estimation.
- ✗
Prioritize the features based on business value and let the teams estimate them during PI Planning.
Why it's wrong here
While prioritization is important, waiting until PI Planning to estimate features can cause delays and reduce planning effectiveness. Estimation should occur during backlog refinement, not during the limited PI Planning time. The Product Owner should ensure features are estimated beforehand so that PI Planning focuses on coordination and commitment.
- ✓
Work with the teams to refine and estimate the features during backlog refinement sessions prior to PI Planning.
Why this is correct
Backlog refinement sessions before PI Planning allow teams to review, refine, and estimate features collaboratively. This ensures features are ready for planning and reduces uncertainty during the event. The Product Owner facilitates this by clarifying requirements and acceptance criteria, enabling teams to provide reliable estimates and identify dependencies early.
About these practice questions
This POPM question is part of Courseiva's 336-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.