Near the end of a Sprint, the team realizes that they will not be able to complete the stories they had committed to. What is the best course of action for the team?

Question

Options

• AAdd resources and team members to meet the goals of the current Sprint.
• BAsk the Product Owner to decide which stories can be delayed until the next Sprint.
• CDecide on a new definition of 'done' for the Sprint Backlog Items.

• A
  10% (6)
• B
  84% (49)
• C
  5% (3)

Explanation

Option B is correct because in Scrum, the Product Owner (PO) owns the Product Backlog and has authority over scope and priority. When capacity falls short mid-Sprint, the team collaborates with the PO to determine which stories are lowest priority and can be deferred - this preserves the Sprint Goal while respecting the PO's role as the business decision-maker.

Why A is wrong: Adding resources mid-Sprint violates Scrum's principle of a stable team composition. New members introduce onboarding overhead ("Brooks' Law") and disrupt team cohesion - they help less than expected and often slow the Sprint down further.

Why C is wrong: Changing the definition of "done" to make stories artificially "complete" is a form of technical debt and undermines quality standards. The definition of done exists to ensure transparency and real value delivery, not to be relaxed under pressure.

Memory tip: Think "PO = Priority Owner." Whenever scope needs to change - whether adding or removing work - the Product Owner decides what, while the team decides how. If there's a business trade-off to make, the PO makes it.

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