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PMI-ACP · Question #402

Which one is NOT a reason to perform a Spike?

The correct answer is C. To defer a story until a later Sprint while still showing progress to the Product Owner. Options A, B, and D are all legitimate reasons to run a spike: exploring unfamiliar technology, analyzing a large story to enable splitting, or prototyping to validate an approach. Option C describes gaming the system-using a spike label to create the appearance of progress while

Submitted by ashley.k· Apr 18, 2026Adaptive Planning

Question

Which one is NOT a reason to perform a Spike?

Options

  • ATo perform basic research to familiarize the team with a new technology or domain
  • BTo analyze the expected behavior of a large story so the team can split the story into estimable
  • CTo defer a story until a later Sprint while still showing progress to the Product Owner
  • DTo do some prototyping to gain confidence in a technological approach

How the community answered

(27 responses)
  • A
    4% (1)
  • C
    93% (25)
  • D
    4% (1)

Explanation

Options A, B, and D are all legitimate reasons to run a spike: exploring unfamiliar technology, analyzing a large story to enable splitting, or prototyping to validate an approach. Option C describes gaming the system-using a spike label to create the appearance of progress while actually deferring real work. A spike is a research and risk-reduction tool; its deliverable is knowledge or a validated decision, not a placeholder that buys time. Using it this way violates its intent and misleads stakeholders.

Topics

#Spikes#Agile Planning#Story Refinement#Risk Reduction

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