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
  18% (10)
• B
  75% (42)
• C
  7% (4)

Explanation

Option B is correct because in Scrum, the Product Owner (PO) owns the Product Backlog and has the authority to prioritize and re-scope work. When a Sprint is at risk, the PO decides which stories deliver the most value and which can be deferred - this is a core Scrum responsibility, not a team decision.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A is wrong because adding resources mid-Sprint violates Scrum principles - the team's composition should remain stable, and the "mythical man-month" problem means new members slow teams down short-term, not speed them up.
• C is wrong because changing the definition of "done" to accommodate incomplete work undermines quality and defeats the purpose of having a consistent DoD. This creates technical debt and misrepresents what was actually completed.

Memory tip: Think of the PO as the business decision-maker for scope. Whenever a question involves cutting, adding, or reprioritizing work, the PO holds that power - the team executes, but the PO directs what gets delivered.

No community discussion yet for this question.