What three things might a Scrum Product Owner focus on to ensure the product delivers value?
(choose the best three answers)
Correct Answer:
ABC
✑ The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. The Product Owner is responsible for managing and refining the Product Backlog, collaborating with the stakeholders and the Developers, and ordering the items in a way that best achieves goals and missions. The Product Owner represents the interests of everyone with a stake in the product and ensures that the Scrum Team works on the right things at the right time.
✑ To ensure that the product delivers value, a Scrum Product Owner might focus on the following aspects:
✑ The other options are not valid or relevant aspects that a Scrum Product Owner might focus on to ensure that the product delivers value. They are either too narrow, unrealistic, or unrelated to the product value delivery. They are:
References:
✑ Scrum Guide: https://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
✑ Product Owner: https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-product-owner
✑ Value: https://www.scrum.org/resources/blog/value-scrum-value
✑ Velocity: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/velocity
How much of the Sprint Backlog must be defined during the Sprint Planning event? (choose the best answer)
Correct Answer:
B
The amount of the Sprint Backlog that must be defined during the Sprint Planning event is enough so the Developers can create their forecast of what work they can do. This is because:
✑ Sprint Planning is an event where the Scrum Team plans for the upcoming Sprint.
The purpose of Sprint Planning is to align the entire Scrum Team around a common goal and a plan for delivering an Increment that meets that goal.
✑ The Developers are accountable for creating a Sprint forecast, which is a selection
of Product Backlog items that they intend to work on during the Sprint. The Sprint forecast should be realistic, achievable, and valuable.
✑ The Developers are also accountable for creating a plan for how they will deliver
the selected Product Backlog items as a “Done” Increment. The plan may include tasks, dependencies, risks, estimates, or other information that helps them organize and manage their work.
✑ The amount of the Sprint Backlog that must be defined during Sprint Planning may vary depending on the context, complexity, and uncertainty of the product development. However, it should be enough so that the Developers can create their forecast of what work they can do and have a clear direction for the first few days of the Sprint.
Other options, such as just enough to understand design and architectural implications, the entire Sprint Backlog being identified and estimated by the end of Sprint Planning, or just enough tasks for the Scrum Master to be confident in the Developers’ understanding of the Sprint, are not valid answers as they do not reflect what must be defined during Sprint Planning or what is required for creating a Sprint forecast.
References:
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 14, section “Sprint Planning”
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 7, section “Developers”
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 15, section “Sprint Backlog”
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 14, section “Sprint Planning”
True or False: When there are multiple teams working on one product, each Scrum Team should have a separate Product Owner.
Correct Answer:
B
When there are multiple teams working on one product, each Scrum Team should not have a separate Product Owner. This is because:
✑ The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team. They are responsible for identifying and articulating the Product Goal, which is a long-term objective for the product that guides all the activities of the Scrum Team.
✑ The Product Owner is the sole person responsible for managing the Product Backlog, which is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product. They must ensure that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible, and understood by everyone who needs to work on it.
✑ Having multiple Product Owners for one product may lead to conflicts,
inconsistencies, or confusion among the Scrum Teams and the stakeholders. It may also reduce the alignment, collaboration, and ownership of the product development.
✑ Instead of having multiple Product Owners, it is recommended to have one Product Owner who works with representatives from each Scrum Team to ensure that they have a shared understanding of the product vision, goals, and priorities. The Product Owner may also delegate some of the Product Backlog management tasks to these representatives, but they remain accountable for the final decisions.
References:
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 6, section “Product Owner”
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 11, section “Product Backlog”
✑ [Scrum Guide], page 10, section “Product Goal”
✑ [Professional Scrum Product Owner™ Training], page 6, section “Product Vision”
✑ [Professional Scrum Product Owner™ Training], page 9, section “Business Strategy”
True or False: The value delivered by a product can only be determined by revenue.
Correct Answer:
B
The value delivered by a product can not be determined by revenue alone, because:
✑ Revenue is only one aspect of value, and it may not reflect the true impact or benefit of the product for the stakeholders, the users, and the society. For example, a product may generate high revenue, but also cause environmental damage, ethical issues, or customer dissatisfaction.
✑ Value is a subjective and relative concept, and it may vary depending on the context, the perspective, and the criteria of the evaluation. For example, a product may have different value for different segments of customers, or for different markets or regions.
✑ Value is dynamic and emergent, and it may change over time due to various factors, such as feedback, competition, innovation, or regulation. For example, a product may lose its value as new alternatives or solutions become available, or as customer needs or preferences evolve.
References:
✑ Scrum Guide 2020, page 6: “The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team.”
✑ Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The Product Goal describes a future state of the product which can serve as a target for the Scrum Team to plan against.”
✑ Scrum Guide 2020, page 11: “The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes … optimizing the value of the work the Scrum Team performs.”
The Product Owner is the person who will be held accountable if a product does not achieve its
goals or deliver value. Does this mean that the Product Owner has final say over the Definition
of Done?
(choose the best answer)
Correct Answer:
B
The Definition of Done is a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete, and to ensure transparency. The Scrum Guide states that "The Developers are required to conform to the Definition of Done, as defined by the Scrum Team. If there
are multiple Scrum Teams working together on a product, they must mutually define and comply with the same Definition of Done."1 This means that the Product Owner does not have the final say over the Definition of Done, but rather collaborates with the Developers and the Scrum Master to agree on the quality standards and expectations for the product. References:
✑ 1: The Scrum Guide2, page 14
✑ 2: The Scrum Guide