PMI-ACP Practice Questions #109
You are working on a user story in the current sprint. Initially, the Product Owner requested a simple report showing the number of visitors to the website. However, during the sprint, the Product Owner now wants the report to also include visitor geography and time-of-day analytics.
As a Scrum Team, how should you handle this evolving scope while maintaining Agile principles?
A. Clearly say no change during the sprint and add the updated request as a new story in the backlog.
B. Assess whether the change can be accommodated without jeopardizing the sprint goal; if not, defer the request to the backlog.
C. Remove other stories from the sprint to make room for the expanded reporting requirement, as it’s an enhancement to an ongoing story and should take less time.
D. Allow the change since the Product Owner requested it, and if needed, extend the sprint by a day to accommodate the additional work.
Analysis
In this scenario, the Product Owner initially requested a simple report, but during the sprint, expanded the requirement to include additional details (visitor geography and time-of-day analytics). This represents a scope change during the sprint, which must be handled while maintaining Agile principles.
Key considerations:
- User stories are negotiable—minor refinements can be incorporated if they do not impact sprint commitments.
- Sprint goals should not be compromised—any change that affects the sprint goal should be deferred.
- The timebox of the sprint is fixed—sprints should not be extended to accommodate changes.
The ideal approach should balance flexibility (negotiable user stories) and stability (sprint goal integrity).
Analysis of Options
A: Clearly say no change during the sprint and add the updated request as a new story in the backlog.
This option enforces stability but lacks flexibility. While it correctly ensures that the sprint goal is not compromised, it ignores the Agile principle that user stories are negotiable. Minor refinements within a story may be acceptable as long as they do not jeopardize sprint commitments. A rigid “no change” stance is unnecessary and does not align with Agile best practices.
B: Assess whether the change can be accommodated without jeopardizing the sprint goal; if not, defer the request to the backlog.
This is the best option because it follows a pragmatic Agile approach. It allows the team to evaluate the impact of the change:
- If the additional work does not affect the sprint goal, it can be accommodated within the sprint.
- If it does impact the sprint goal, the request should be deferred to the backlog for future iterations.
This approach balances agility and stability, ensuring that evolving requirements are managed without disrupting sprint commitments.
C: Remove other stories from the sprint to make room for the expanded reporting requirement, as it’s an enhancement to an ongoing story and should take less time.
This option introduces unnecessary variability in sprint commitments. While rebalancing work is sometimes possible, arbitrarily dropping other stories to accommodate changes may affect sprint objectives.
- The dropped stories could be part of the sprint goal, leading to incomplete commitments.
- Assumption that the enhancement takes less time is speculative—new reporting features could add complexity.
This option lacks clarity on sprint goal impact and is not the best approach.
D: Allow the change since the Product Owner requested it, and if needed, extend the sprint by a day to accommodate the additional work.
This is not an Agile approach. The sprint timebox is fixed and should never be extended to accommodate changes. Allowing the change without assessing its impact contradicts the principle of sprint goal stability. In a real-world setting, teams sometimes stretch timelines, but for PMI-ACP and Agile best practices, sprint time should remain fixed.
Conclusion
The best approach is Option B: Assess whether the change can be accommodated without jeopardizing the sprint goal; if not, defer the request to the backlog.
This approach correctly balances:
- Agility: User stories are negotiable, and refinements can be incorporated.
- Stability: Sprint goals remain fixed, ensuring commitments are honored.
- Discipline: Work is evaluated before accepting changes, avoiding unnecessary disruptions.
This aligns well with Agile principles, ensuring that scope evolution is handled thoughtfully without disrupting the sprint’s primary objectives.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Mindset | Embrace Change |
Topics Covered:
- Adapting to evolving customer needs: Recognizing that change is expected, even during development, and being open to considering new insights.
- Balancing flexibility with commitment: Encouraging the team to assess changes pragmatically while maintaining sprint stability.
- Negotiable user stories: Reinforcing the idea that user stories are not rigid contracts and can be refined—if the sprint goal isn’t at risk.
- Fixed timeboxes: Respecting the timebound nature of sprints—changes should be considered within the sprint, not by extending it.
- Value-driven decisions: Making changes only if they help achieve the sprint goal or add clear value without undermining existing commitments.
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