POPM PI Execution Practice Question
During PI Execution, the Product Owner for Team Bravo notices that the team is consistently completing backlog items faster than planned, creating idle capacity. The team has already pulled in additional items from the Program Backlog, but those are now also done. What is the most appropriate action for the Product Owner?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that idle capacity should be filled by starting future work or reducing capacity, rather than using it for current value-adding activities.
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
✓
Collaborate with the team to identify additional value-adding work, such as technical debt reduction or innovation, from the Team Backlog or Program Backlog.
Extra capacity should be used to deliver additional value, not suppressed. The Product Owner should collaborate with the team to identify worthwhile work from the Team or Program Backlog, such as technical debt reduction or spikes. This maximizes the team's contribution to the PI and keeps them engaged. Slowing down or starting next PI's work prematurely can disrupt flow and cadence.
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 slow down to match the planned velocity and avoid disrupting the ART's cadence.
Why it's wrong here
Slowing down artificially is counterproductive and goes against the principle of optimizing flow. The team's increased throughput is an asset, and the Product Owner should leverage it to deliver more value, not suppress it. Cadence is maintained through synchronization events, not by limiting team output. This option misunderstands the purpose of cadence.
- ✗
Instruct the team to start working on the next PI's features to get ahead.
Why it's wrong here
Starting next PI's features prematurely can disrupt the current PI's focus and may lead to rework if priorities change. It also bypasses the collaborative planning that occurs in PI Planning. The Product Owner should focus on maximizing value within the current PI before moving on. This option ignores the need for synchronization and could cause confusion.
- ✗
Reduce the team's capacity for the next iteration to avoid idle time.
Why it's wrong here
Reducing capacity is a punitive measure that does not address the root cause and can demoralize the team. Idle time is an opportunity to invest in improvement or additional value. The Product Owner should instead help the team find meaningful work. This option fails to recognize that capacity should be used to deliver value, not artificially constrained.
- ✓
Collaborate with the team to identify additional value-adding work, such as technical debt reduction or innovation, from the Team Backlog or Program Backlog.
Why this is correct
When a team has extra capacity, the Product Owner should work with them to pull in more work that adds value, which could include technical debt reduction, spikes, or additional features. This maximizes the team's contribution to the PI objectives and aligns with the principle of optimizing the whole. It also keeps the team engaged and productive without disrupting cadence.
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.