POPM Product Owner and Product Management Roles Practice Question
Which TWO factors should a Product Manager consider when prioritizing the Program Backlog?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often include 'team capacity' or 'technical risk' as primary WSJF factors. WSJF strictly uses Cost of Delay and Job Size (Duration) to determine economic priority.
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 cost of delay associated with the feature.
Prioritization requires a balance between economic feasibility and strategic alignment. Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is the standard method in SAFe, incorporating cost of delay and job size. By considering these factors, the PM ensures that the most impactful work is done first, maximizing ROI and ensuring that the most urgent customer needs are met while keeping the ART focused on the right goals.
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 personal preference of the stakeholders.
Why it's wrong here
Personal preferences do not equate to business value. Prioritization must be based on data, economic models like WSJF, and strategic alignment. Relying on personal opinions introduces bias and often leads to suboptimal decision-making, which can waste resources and fail to deliver the most significant value to the business and customers.
- ✓
The cost of delay associated with the feature.
Why this is correct
Cost of delay is a primary component of WSJF. It quantifies the economic loss associated with waiting to deliver a feature. By prioritizing items with higher costs of delay, the PM ensures that the business realizes value as quickly as possible, which is essential for maintaining a competitive market advantage.
- ✓
The job size of the feature.
Why this is correct
Job size is the denominator in the WSJF calculation. Smaller jobs that provide significant value should generally be prioritized over large, complex ones. Understanding job size helps the PM manage throughput and ensures that the ART can deliver value consistently, rather than being stuck on massive projects for long periods.
- ✗
The number of hours the team has available.
Why it's wrong here
While capacity is important for execution, it is not a direct factor in feature prioritization. Prioritization should be about value and urgency, regardless of capacity. Once the priorities are set, the team uses their capacity to determine how much of the top-priority work can be delivered in the upcoming cycle.
- ✗
The tenure of the developers on the team.
Why it's wrong here
Developer tenure is irrelevant to feature prioritization. Decisions should be based on the business value of the features, not on the composition of the team. Using irrelevant factors like tenure can lead to poor decision-making and misaligned priorities that do not support the overall strategic goals of the organization.
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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.