POPM PI Planning Preparation Practice Question
During PI Planning preparation, a Product Manager discovers a major conflict between two teams regarding a shared dependency. What should they do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think PMs should unilaterally dictate the solution to conflicting teams, rather than bringing them together to foster collaborative consensus and alignment.
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
✓
Bring the teams together to discuss and reach a consensus.
Resolving cross-team dependencies is a crucial part of PI planning preparation. By proactively identifying and addressing conflicts, the PM prevents delays and friction during the planning event. This fosters collaboration and ensures that the dependency is handled through architectural alignment or feature sequencing, allowing teams to plan confidently without the risk of being blocked by external factors during the execution phase.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Force both teams to accept the PM's preferred resolution.
Why it's wrong here
Forcing a resolution ignores the expertise and context of the teams involved. The PM should facilitate a discussion, not dictate the outcome. Collaborative problem-solving ensures the teams agree on the solution, which increases the likelihood of successful implementation and reduces frustration across the ART.
- ✓
Bring the teams together to discuss and reach a consensus.
Why this is correct
Consensus-based resolution is essential for fostering ownership and collaboration. By bringing the teams together to discuss the dependency, the PM facilitates a shared understanding and ensures that the final resolution is technically and operationally feasible for all parties involved, leading to a smoother planning event.
- ✗
Remove the features causing the dependency from the plan.
Why it's wrong here
Removing features is a reactive measure that could lose significant business value. The PM should aim to solve the conflict, not simply avoid it. By facilitating a discussion, the PM can help the teams find a way to sequence or redesign the work to resolve the conflict.
- ✗
Wait until the PI Planning session to let the teams work it out.
Why it's wrong here
Delaying the resolution until the PI Planning session wastes valuable planning time. The goal of the preparation phase is to identify and resolve these issues ahead of time so that the event itself can focus on detailed planning and commitment, rather than resolving fundamental conflicts.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every POPM question from scratch — 336 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.