Project Management Professional (PMP) — Question 822

A company is transitioning from a predictive to an agile approach. During the last two sprint reviews, the product owner complained about the development team, indicating that the increments do not meet the acceptance criteria defined in the user stories. The development team complained about the product owner, who is defining sprint backlog items, because the backlog items cannot be delivered during the 2-week sprints agreed to at the beginning of the project.

How should the project manager resolve this situation in their new role as servant leader?

Answer options

• A. Encourage the whole team to be empowered and accountable for the decisions made according to their roles.
• B. Extend the sprints to 3 weeks to allow the work requested by the product owner to be completed.
• C. Request that the team use the next sprint to complete all technical debt remaining from the previous sprints.
• D. Review the organizational process assets (OPAs) to find similar situations and review the resolution actions taken.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

The correct answer is A because empowering the team fosters accountability and collaboration, which are essential in agile environments. Options B and C do not address the root cause of the problem and merely extend timelines or focus on technical debt instead of improving communication and understanding. Option D, while potentially helpful, does not directly resolve the immediate conflict between the product owner and the development team.