Agile Business Analysis Product Backlog Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A product backlog item has been sitting at the top of the backlog for three sprints without being selected. What should the Product Owner do?
- Remove it from the backlog immediately
- Re-evaluate its value, clarify acceptance criteria, and discuss with the team (Correct answer)
- Move it to an icebox and never revisit
- Assign it to a developer to be completed outside of sprints
Correct answer: Re-evaluate its value, clarify acceptance criteria, and discuss with the team
Persistent high-priority items that aren't selected signal unclear value or readiness; the PO should reassess and refine them.
Question 2: Which technique helps a Product Owner decide the relative order of backlog items when multiple stakeholders have conflicting priorities?
- Velocity planning
- Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) (Correct answer)
- Burn-down analysis
- Definition of Done review
Correct answer: Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
WSJF scores items by cost of delay divided by job duration, providing an objective basis for prioritization across stakeholders.
Question 3: What does 'backlog grooming' (refinement) produce as its primary output?
- A sprint plan with assigned tasks
- Backlog items that are estimated, clarified, and ready for upcoming sprints (Correct answer)
- A release roadmap approved by stakeholders
- A list of defects to be fixed in the next sprint
Correct answer: Backlog items that are estimated, clarified, and ready for upcoming sprints
Refinement ensures PBIs are well-understood, estimated, and sized appropriately so the team can commit to them in sprint planning.
Question 4: A newly discovered regulatory requirement conflicts with several planned backlog items. Who has final authority to re-order the backlog?
- The Scrum Master
- The development team
- The Product Owner (Correct answer)
- The compliance officer
Correct answer: The Product Owner
The Product Owner is solely responsible for ordering the product backlog, even when input comes from compliance or other stakeholders.
Question 5: How should a Product Owner handle a backlog item whose business value can no longer be justified?
- Keep it in the backlog in case it becomes valuable later
- Push it to the bottom of the backlog
- Delete or archive it to keep the backlog manageable (Correct answer)
- Escalate to the Scrum Master for a decision
Correct answer: Delete or archive it to keep the backlog manageable
Removing unjustified items prevents backlog bloat and keeps the team focused on work that delivers real value.
Question 6: In a scaled Agile environment, what artifact aligns multiple team backlogs to a shared product vision?
- Individual team sprint goals
- The Program Increment (PI) backlog or portfolio backlog (Correct answer)
- Separate product roadmaps per team
- The Scrum Master's impediment log
Correct answer: The Program Increment (PI) backlog or portfolio backlog
A PI backlog (SAFe) or portfolio backlog aggregates features and capabilities that feed individual team backlogs toward a shared vision.
Question 7: What is the recommended maximum percentage of sprint capacity that should be spent on product backlog refinement?
- 5%
- 10% (Correct answer)
- 25%
- 50%
Correct answer: 10%
The Scrum Guide suggests the team spends no more than 10% of its sprint capacity on backlog refinement activities.
Agile Business Analysis Product Backlog Management 2
A product backlog item has been sitting at the top of the backlog for three sprints without being selected.
What should the Product Owner do?