PMI-ACP Practice Questions #110
During a sprint, the development team committed to a user story that was larger than other stories in the backlog. The story had three acceptance criteria, and by the end of the sprint, the team successfully completed two out of the three. Due to unforeseen challenges, the final acceptance criterion was not completed, leaving the story partially done.
As a Scrum Master, you notice that the Product Owner sees value in the completed portion and is considering how to handle the situation.
How should you guide the team in handling this incomplete story?
A. Mark the story as not done and carry it over into the next sprint as spillover to complete it as soon as possible.
B. Explore whether the story can be split now—keeping the completed portion as a separate story marked as ‘done’ while moving the unfinished part back into the backlog.
C. Mark the entire story as not done and move it back to the backlog for re-prioritization in a future sprint.
D. Mark the story as done since most of the work is complete, and the remaining acceptance criterion can be handled later in another story.
Analysis
In this scenario, the development team committed to a user story with three acceptance criteria, but only two were completed by the end of the sprint due to unforeseen challenges. The Product Owner sees value in the completed portion and is considering what to do next.
Key considerations:
- A user story is either done or not done—if any acceptance criteria remain incomplete, the story cannot be marked as fully done.
- Stories are negotiable—splitting them into smaller, independent increments is an option.
- Sprint spillover should be avoided if possible—unfinished work should ideally be reassessed rather than automatically carried over.
- Work should be properly tracked—remaining tasks should not be lost but moved back to the backlog for future prioritization.
The best approach should maximize value from the completed work while ensuring the unfinished part is properly accounted for.
Analysis of Options
A: Mark the story as not done and carry it over into the next sprint as spillover to complete it as soon as possible.
While carrying over unfinished work is an option, this does not consider the fact that part of the story is already valuable and usable. Simply treating it as a spillover task does not align with Agile principles of incremental delivery. The Product Owner should have the flexibility to deliver the completed portion separately rather than waiting until the entire story is finished.
B: Explore whether the story can be split now—keeping the completed portion as a separate story marked as ‘done’ while moving the unfinished part back into the backlog.
This is the best approach because it allows the team to:
- Deliver the completed portion as an independent increment.
- Move the unfinished work back to the backlog for future prioritization.
- Ensure transparency by clearly tracking what has been completed and what remains.
Since user stories are negotiable, splitting the story after the sprint (if the completed portion meets the Definition of Done) is a pragmatic Agile approach.
C: Mark the entire story as not done and move it back to the backlog for re-prioritization in a future sprint.
While this option is better than spillover, it does not take advantage of the value already created. If part of the story meets the Definition of Done and is usable, there is no reason to discard or delay delivering it. Marking the entire story as undone ignores the possibility of incremental delivery and splitting the work appropriately.
D: Mark the story as done since most of the work is complete, and the remaining acceptance criterion can be handled later in another story.
This option is incorrect because a story is either done or not done—it cannot be marked as done if any part of it is incomplete. While it does suggest handling the remaining work later, it does not formally split the story or ensure proper backlog tracking. This could lead to losing visibility of the unfinished acceptance criterion. Agile encourages transparency, so unfinished work must be explicitly managed in the backlog rather than being left out.
Conclusion
The best approach is Option B: Explore whether the story can be split now—keeping the completed portion as a separate story marked as ‘done’ while moving the unfinished part back into the backlog.
This solution balances Agile principles of incremental delivery, transparency, and adaptability, ensuring that:
- Value is delivered as soon as possible (completed portion is marked as done).
- Unfinished work is properly tracked (moved back to the backlog for re-prioritization).
- Stakeholders retain flexibility in deciding when to complete the remaining work.
This aligns with Agile’s emphasis on managing increments efficiently and ensuring partially completed work does not disrupt future sprint planning.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Delivery | Manage Agile Metrics |
Topics Covered:
- Incremental delivery of user stories
- Splitting stories to reflect completed and incomplete work
- Ensuring only work meeting the Definition of Done is marked complete
- Managing backlog items transparently
- Maintaining accurate Agile metrics (e.g., velocity)
- Supporting re-prioritization of unfinished work
- Promoting team collaboration and shared understanding
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