PMI-ACP Practice Questions #93
An e-commerce company is developing a new online marketplace. The development team has completed the first increment, which includes product listing, search functionality, and a basic checkout process.
Given the highly dynamic nature of the market, the Product Manager is questioning whether stakeholder inputs on prioritization truly align with real market needs. To ensure that future development efforts focus on what delivers the most value, the Product Manager must choose the best approach to validate prioritization decisions and guide future work.
Which of the following is the best way to validate prioritization decisions and get direction for future work?
A. Engaging key stakeholders in a meeting to reconfirm their priorities and ensure alignment with business goals.
B. Conducting early user testing and collecting customer feedback on the first increment.
C. Benchmarking against competitors and industry leaders to determine which features should be developed next.
D. Conducting extensive testing of completed work to ensure it meets the definition of done.
Analysis
The question is about validating prioritization decisions to ensure future development efforts align with real market needs rather than just stakeholder opinions. Since the product has already completed its first increment with core functionalities like product listing, search, and checkout, the best approach would be to gather direct user feedback. This would provide insights into what users actually value and help the team refine its priorities based on real usage rather than assumptions.
Engaging stakeholders can be helpful, but their perspectives may not always reflect customer needs. Benchmarking competitors might offer useful insights, but it does not guarantee that the company’s specific users require the same features. Conducting testing to meet the definition of done ensures quality, but it does not validate whether the right features are being prioritized. The most effective approach is to conduct early user testing and collect feedback, as this aligns with Agile principles of frequent inspection and adaptation.
Analysis of Options
A: Engaging key stakeholders in a meeting to reconfirm their priorities and ensure alignment with business goals.
This approach helps ensure that the development priorities align with business objectives, but it does not necessarily validate whether stakeholder priorities match actual user needs. Stakeholders may have their own biases, and their understanding of market needs might not reflect real user preferences. While stakeholder input is valuable, it is not sufficient on its own to determine what will drive the most value for end users.
B: Conducting early user testing and collecting customer feedback on the first increment.
This is the best choice because it allows the team to gather real user feedback on the initial increment and use that information to refine future priorities. Direct input from end users provides clarity on which features are useful, which need improvement, and what is missing. This aligns with Agile principles, where decisions are based on iterative learning and real-world validation rather than assumptions or internal discussions. By using early feedback, the team can adjust its backlog and ensure that development efforts focus on features that truly add value.
C: Benchmarking against competitors and industry leaders to determine which features should be developed next.
While competitive analysis can provide insights, it does not serve as a direct validation of prioritization decisions. Just because competitors have certain features does not mean that the company’s users need or want them. Agile teams focus on solving their users’ problems, not just copying industry trends. Benchmarking can be useful for inspiration, but it is not a reliable method for validating what the team should build next.
D: Conducting extensive testing of completed work to ensure it meets the definition of done.
Ensuring that the product meets quality standards is important, but it does not help validate whether the right features were built in the first place. Testing focuses on completion and correctness, whereas prioritization is about ensuring the team is working on features that provide the most value. A product can be fully tested and functional but still fail to meet user needs if the prioritization was incorrect. This option is unrelated to the main objective of validating prioritization decisions.
Conclusion
The best approach is Option B, conducting early user testing and collecting customer feedback. This ensures that prioritization decisions are validated through real-world usage and customer insights rather than assumptions. Agile development thrives on feedback loops, and using user data to drive backlog decisions ensures that future work aligns with actual market needs rather than just stakeholder input.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Product | Refine Product Backlog |
| Product | Manage increments |
| Product | Manage Value Delivery |
Topics Covered:
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