POPM Leadership for PI Planning Practice Question
During the second day of PI Planning, a team's draft plan reveals that they have committed to a stretch objective that depends on a feature owned by another team that is not yet planned. The team's confidence vote is low. As a leader, what is the most appropriate action to facilitate resolution?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that leaders should solve the problem for the team rather than facilitating collaboration to resolve dependencies.
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
✓
Encourage the team to discuss the dependency with the other team during the draft plan review to adjust plans collaboratively.
The best action is to facilitate a collaborative discussion between the teams to address the dependency. This aligns with SAFe principles of face-to-face communication and decentralized decision-making. It allows the teams to adjust their plans together, potentially increasing confidence and ensuring alignment. Directing or ignoring the issue would undermine team autonomy and could lead to execution problems.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Instruct the other team to prioritize the dependency immediately, regardless of their own plan.
Why it's wrong here
Unilaterally instructing another team disrupts their planning and may create new problems. SAFe promotes decentralized decision-making and mutual respect. The other team may have their own priorities and constraints. Forcing a change without collaboration can lead to resentment and suboptimal outcomes. It's better to facilitate a discussion where both teams can negotiate and adjust plans together.
- ✗
Accept the low confidence and proceed, as stretch objectives are optional and can be dropped later.
Why it's wrong here
Accepting low confidence without action misses an opportunity to improve the plan and address risks. While stretch objectives are optional, low confidence may indicate unresolved dependencies that could impact committed objectives. Leaders should help teams resolve issues during planning. Proceeding without resolution can lead to problems during execution and reduce the PI's success. Active facilitation is key.
- ✓
Encourage the team to discuss the dependency with the other team during the draft plan review to adjust plans collaboratively.
Why this is correct
This action aligns with SAFe's emphasis on collaboration and dependency management during PI Planning. By facilitating a conversation between teams, the leader helps them address the dependency directly, potentially adjusting plans to increase confidence. It respects team autonomy and promotes collective ownership. The draft plan review is designed for such cross-team coordination, making this the most effective approach.
- ✗
Direct the team to remove the stretch objective and replace it with a lower-risk item to increase confidence.
Why it's wrong here
Directing the team to remove the objective undermines their autonomy and may not address the underlying dependency. Leaders should facilitate problem-solving, not dictate solutions. The team might be able to resolve the dependency with the other team. Removing the objective without discussion could lead to missed opportunities and reduced ownership. It's better to help the team explore options.
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.