PMI-ACP Practice Questions #81
You are initiating a new Customer Reward Management System aimed at improving customer retention and driving more sales. As a Product Owner, you introduce backlog refinement meetings for the first time. The team discusses, asks clarifying questions, and refines the concept into detailed user stories. However, some developers feel disengaged, stating that discussions focus too much on business needs and lack technical depth. One developer expresses frustration, feeling their time is not being used effectively.
What should the Product Owner do to improve the situation?
A. Work alone on user requirements until they are well refined, then involve the team only for estimation and technical discussions.
B. Only involve senior developers in early refinement stages and have them educate the rest of the team later.
C. Take a vote from the team to decide who wants to participate in backlog refinement sessions.
D. Encourage the team to explore stories together, do more preparation before the session, and involve everyone in refinement discussions
Analysis
The issue in this scenario arises because some developers feel disengaged in backlog refinement meetings, believing discussions are too focused on business needs and lack technical depth. One developer expresses frustration over perceived inefficiency. The Product Owner must find a way to balance business and technical discussions, keep developers engaged, and ensure backlog refinement remains a collaborative effort rather than a one-sided process.
Analysis of Options:
A: Work alone on user requirements until they are well refined, then involve the team only for estimation and technical discussions.
This is not an ideal approach because backlog refinement should be a collaborative effort involving the entire team. While some level of preparation by the Product Owner is beneficial, refining user stories in isolation removes valuable input from developers. Developers might have early insights on feasibility, dependencies, and potential risks that should be considered before refinement is finalized.
B: Only involve senior developers in early refinement stages and have them educate the rest of the team later.
This is not aligned with Agile principles. Agile encourages self-organizing teams and cross-functional collaboration. Relying only on senior developers creates a communication bottleneck and may lead to misunderstandings when passing information to other team members. This approach also discourages teamwide engagement, making backlog refinement less effective.
C: Take a vote from the team to decide who wants to participate in backlog refinement sessions.
While this might seem democratic, it is not an effective solution because backlog refinement is a team responsibility. Allowing only some team members to participate risks knowledge gaps and misalignment when stories are later implemented. Agile teams must work together to understand and refine user stories collectively, ensuring shared ownership of the backlog.
D: Encourage the team to explore stories together, do more preparation before the session, and involve everyone in refinement discussions.
This is the best approach because it directly addresses the root cause. It ensures that discussions are well-prepared, balanced between business and technical concerns, and inclusive of all team members. Encouraging team members to explore stories together fosters engagement and ensures that both business and technical perspectives are incorporated early.
Conclusion
The best choice is Option D (Encourage the team to explore stories together, do more preparation before the session, and involve everyone in refinement discussions) because it maintains teamwide engagement, balances business and technical inputs, and improves the efficiency of backlog refinement. Options A, B, and C either exclude parts of the team or reduce the effectiveness of backlog discussions, making them less desirable.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Product | Refine Product Backlog |
Topics Covered:
- Encourage the team to collaboratively explore user stories, ensuring both business and technical perspectives are addressed.
- Improve preparation before backlog refinement sessions to make discussions more efficient and valuable.
- Foster an inclusive environment where all team members actively contribute to refining stories.
- Balance business and technical discussions to keep developers engaged and informed.
- Maintain shared ownership of the backlog to ensure alignment and clarity across the team.
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