PMI-ACP Practice Questions #106
Over the last few sprints, you’ve noticed a recurring issue: the team frequently picks up user stories that lack clear details, leading to mid-sprint clarifications, confusion, and delays. Some stories require significant rework or additional discussions, making sprint progress unpredictable.
The team agrees that this issue needs to be addressed, but there is disagreement on how to ensure user stories are well-defined before they are taken into a sprint.
As a Scrum Master, how should you guide the team in improving story readiness?
A. Encourage the team to establish a Definition of Ready (DoR) and require a formal sign-off on user stories before they are brought into sprint planning.
B. Use the Definition of Ready (DoR) as a guideline to ensure backlog refinement happens effectively, making sprints more predictable.
C. Apply the Definition of Ready (DoR) strictly—if a user story does not meet the agreed criteria, it should not be included in the sprint backlog.
D. Allow developers to start work on user stories as they arrive and refine details during the sprint to maintain flexibility and adaptability.
Analysis
The question presents a scenario where a Scrum Master observes recurring issues due to user stories being picked up without sufficient detail. This lack of clarity leads to mid-sprint confusion, delays, and rework, making sprint progress unpredictable. The team acknowledges the problem but disagrees on how to ensure that user stories are well-defined before sprint planning.
The best approach should:
- Improve backlog refinement to ensure stories are clear before sprint planning.
- Use Definition of Ready (DoR) as a guideline, not as a rigid rule or bureaucratic process.
- Avoid unnecessary constraints like formal sign-offs or inflexible DoR enforcement.
- Balance flexibility and structure—ensuring clarity while allowing for progressive elaboration.
Analysis of Options:
A: Encourage the team to establish a Definition of Ready (DoR) and require a formal sign-off on user stories before they are brought into sprint planning.
This is not ideal because:
- While a Definition of Ready (DoR) is useful, requiring a formal sign-off contradicts Agile principles of individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
- User stories should remain negotiable and adaptable, evolving with discussions rather than being locked down with a sign-off.
- This approach adds bureaucracy and might slow down Agile responsiveness.
B: Use the Definition of Ready (DoR) as a guideline to ensure backlog refinement happens effectively, making sprints more predictable.
This is the best approach because:
- It leverages DoR as a guideline rather than a strict rule, ensuring stories are refined to an appropriate level before sprint planning.
- Refining the backlog improves sprint predictability while allowing flexibility.
- It promotes collaboration between the Product Owner and the development team, ensuring that enough details are available without rigid constraints.
C: Apply the Definition of Ready (DoR) strictly—if a user story does not meet the agreed criteria, it should not be included in the sprint backlog.
This option is too rigid because:
- While DoR provides clarity, treating it as a strict gatekeeper could result in delays and inefficiencies.
- Agile encourages progressive elaboration, meaning minor gaps in a story should not block its inclusion in a sprint.
- It risks creating a bureaucratic approval process, which contradicts Agile’s lightweight, flexible approach.
D: Allow developers to start work on user stories as they arrive and refine details during the sprint to maintain flexibility and adaptability.
This is not a good approach because:
- It is too unstructured, leading to the exact issue described in the question—unpredictable sprints and frequent mid-sprint clarifications.
- While Agile values flexibility, it also emphasizes sprint goals and predictability.
- Without sufficient refinement, work may need frequent changes or rework, reducing team efficiency.
Conclusion
The best answer is Option B, as it effectively balances predictability and flexibility by using the Definition of Ready (DoR) as a guideline to improve backlog refinement. Other options either introduce unnecessary rigidity (A & C) or excessive flexibility (D), making them less suitable for Agile development.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Product | Refine Product Backlog |
Topics Covered:
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