POPM PI Planning Preparation Practice Question
Which THREE factors are essential to consider when determining the 'readiness' of the Program Backlog before PI Planning?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often forget WSJF prioritization or select generic agile metrics, missing specific SAFe prerequisites like acceptance criteria and dependency identification.
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
✓
The features have clear, defined acceptance criteria.
Readiness means the backlog is actionable. Acceptance criteria clarify scope, WSJF-based priorities ensure value, and identified cross-team dependencies prevent unforeseen blockers. Without these, planning is just guessing. By ensuring these factors are addressed, the PM provides the necessary information for teams to plan effectively, creating a realistic, high-confidence plan that aligns with the organization's strategic goals and ensures a predictable flow of value throughout the upcoming PI.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The features have clear, defined acceptance criteria.
Why this is correct
Defined acceptance criteria are the foundation for understanding the 'done' state of a feature. Without them, teams cannot estimate effort or verify that they have met the business requirement, leading to ambiguity during the planning process and potential rework after the PI concludes.
- ✗
The features have been assigned to specific developers.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning features to individual developers before planning is a failure of team autonomy. Agile teams self-organize around the work based on their skill sets and capacity. The backlog should be ready for the team to own, not pre-allocated to individuals by the PM.
- ✓
The backlog has been prioritized using WSJF.
Why this is correct
Prioritization using WSJF ensures that the ART is focused on the most economically valuable work. It provides a shared language and a clear hierarchy for the team to follow, ensuring that their limited capacity is used to deliver the most impact to the business and customers.
- ✓
Cross-team dependencies have been identified.
Why this is correct
Identifying dependencies early is critical for successful planning. When teams know where they rely on others, they can coordinate ahead of time, preventing surprises and bottlenecks during the PI. This proactive identification allows for better sequencing and communication, leading to a much smoother execution.
- ✗
The backlog is completely fixed for the next twelve months.
Why it's wrong here
A twelve-month fixed backlog is an anti-pattern. Agile environments require flexibility to pivot based on feedback. While the roadmap indicates long-term direction, the backlog must be refined iteratively to adapt to changing market conditions, customer feedback, and new learning, preventing the waste of building obsolete items.
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.