PMI-ACP Practice Questions #26
You are leading an Agile team that has completed release planning for an upcoming product launch. The release plan includes multiple iterations with clearly defined features. During the first iteration, a stakeholder approaches the team with additional requirements to be included in the release.
As an Agile practitioner, how would you handle this situation?
A. Suggest deferring the requested change to a future release to ensure the current plan is delivered as originally committed.
B. Accept the change immediately and revise the release plan by adding more iterations to accommodate the delay.
C. Ask the stakeholder to identify which existing requirements can be removed or deprioritized to make space for the new ones without impacting the release timeline.
D. Acknowledge the stakeholder’s request and review it during a backlog refinement session with stakeholders and the team to collaboratively evaluate the impact on value, risk, and timeline.
Analysis
An Agile team has completed release planning for an upcoming product launch, defining multiple iterations with clearly outlined features. During the first iteration, a stakeholder requests additional requirements to be included in the release. The challenge here is balancing agility with commitment—responding to change while maintaining the integrity of the release plan. The best approach should evaluate the change’s impact rather than outright rejecting or accepting it.
Analysis of Options
A: Suggest deferring the requested change to a future release to ensure the current plan is delivered as originally committed.
This approach follows a predictive mindset rather than an Agile one. Agile principles emphasize responding to change for customer competitive advantage, not rigidly adhering to a plan. If this were about Sprint commitments, deferring might be valid, but since this concerns a release, it is important to evaluate the change rather than rejecting it outright.
B: Accept the change immediately and revise the release plan by adding more iterations to accommodate the delay.
While Agile welcomes change, it does not advocate blindly accepting every request without evaluating its impact. Accepting the change immediately and revising the plan may cause scope creep and affect predictability. Agile encourages an informed decision-making process, and this option jumps to a solution without proper assessment.
C: Ask the stakeholder to identify which existing requirements can be removed or deprioritized to make space for the new ones without impacting the release timeline.
This approach introduces prioritization, which is a key Agile concept, but it assumes that the change must fit within the existing release timeline. The question does not specify that maintaining the timeline is an absolute constraint. While trade-offs are a possibility, it is better to first assess the overall impact before forcing a scope reduction.
D: Acknowledge the stakeholder’s request and review it during a backlog refinement session with stakeholders and the team to collaboratively evaluate the impact on value, risk, and timeline.
This option aligns perfectly with Agile principles. It ensures the request is evaluated collaboratively with the relevant stakeholders, considering value, risk, and timeline before making a decision. Backlog refinement is the right forum to discuss and decide how best to incorporate changes while maintaining transparency.
Conclusion
Option D is the best choice because it ensures that the change request is not rejected outright (as in A) or blindly accepted (as in B). It involves collaboration and assessment, which aligns with Agile’s adaptive planning and incremental delivery approach. While Option C is a good practice, it assumes removal of existing requirements as the only way forward, whereas Option D allows for a more holistic evaluation.
This question aligns with embracing change, value-driven prioritization, and collaborative decision-making, key aspects of Agile practice.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Mindset | Experiment Early |
| Mindset | Shorten Feedback Loops |
| Product | Refine Product Backlog |
Topics Covered:
- Evaluate change requests collaboratively
- Use backlog refinement to assess impact
- Balance flexibility with release commitments
- Prioritize value, risk, and timeline considerations
- Avoid rigid adherence to initial plans
- Prevent scope creep through structured decision-making
- Maintain transparency in stakeholder discussions
If you’re preparing for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam, we highly recommend enrolling in our PMI-ACP® Exam Prep Program. Designed to provide a comprehensive Agile learning experience, this program not only helps you ace the PMI-ACP® exam but also enhances your Agile mindset, leadership skills, and ability to deliver value-driven projects. Ensure exam success and career growth with our expert-led, structured preparation program tailored for Agile professionals.
