PMP · Question #1193
A sales manager submitted a new feature request to the product owner, and the request was added to the product backlog. During the sprint planning meeting, the team struggles over which algorithm is t
The correct answer is D. Create a new item in the sprint backlog to determine the appropriate algorithm.. When an agile team requires research or exploration to resolve a technical dependency for a product backlog item, they should create a separate sprint backlog item specifically for that investigatory work.
Question
A sales manager submitted a new feature request to the product owner, and the request was added to the product backlog. During the sprint planning meeting, the team struggles over which algorithm is the most efficient one to use. The team thinks that some development work is needed to decide. What should the project manager do?
Options
- AAsk the scrum master to choose an algorithm based on the pros and cons of each option.
- BRequest a meeting with the product owner to help clarify the user story.
- CInvite the sales manager to the next sprint meeting to clarify requirements.
- DCreate a new item in the sprint backlog to determine the appropriate algorithm.
How the community answered
(34 responses)- A12% (4)
- B6% (2)
- C3% (1)
- D79% (27)
Why each option
When an agile team requires research or exploration to resolve a technical dependency for a product backlog item, they should create a separate sprint backlog item specifically for that investigatory work.
Asking the Scrum Master to choose an algorithm is generally inappropriate as technical decisions are the responsibility of the self-organizing development team.
The user story might be clear from a functional perspective, but the team's struggle is technical implementation, not a lack of clarity on what the feature should do.
Inviting the sales manager is usually for clarifying functional requirements, not for technical implementation details like algorithm choice, which is the team's domain.
In agile, when a team encounters a technical decision or research task necessary to proceed with a feature, it should be treated as a separate, time-boxed work item, often called a 'spike.' Creating a new item in the sprint backlog for this allows the team to allocate dedicated time to research, prototype, and decide on the best algorithm within the sprint, ensuring transparency and progress.
Concept tested: Agile sprint planning and technical spikes
Source: https://www.agilealliance.org/glossary/spike/
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Wei W.Apr 27, 2026D is correct. The team has surfaced a real unknown and the empirical move is to make that uncertainty visible rather than papering over it with a guess. Adding a short investigative item to the sprint backlog lets the team spike the options, learn what actually works, and come back with data. A is anti-Agile because it hands a technical decision to someone not doing the work, and B and C confuse a technical feasibility question with a requirements question.
Yusuf A.Apr 25, 2026Saw this on my exam last month, my lead calls these spikes. D is correct.
Samuel O.Apr 28, 2026D is right and your lead is spot on, though in my experience the tricky part is that the stem usually buries the word "automated" in the middle of a longer sentence, so folks scanning fast latch onto the first plausible-sounding option and miss it.
Toby R.Apr 6, 2026Picked D on my exam last month. Does anyone know if a spike is the formal term for this?
Wei W.Apr 8, 2026D is correct, and yes, spike is the generally accepted term for a timeboxed investigation to reduce uncertainty or answer a technical question, though the exam tends to frame it as a research or exploration activity rather than leaning on the XP-specific vocabulary.
Samuel O.May 5, 2026Leaned toward A but team needs a spike, so D is the agile answer.
Yuki V.Apr 14, 2026I first leaned toward B because when a team is stuck I usually assume the user story needs more clarity. But re-reading the stem, the team already understands the feature request, they just need to figure out the technical approach through some actual development work. In agile, when you need to investigate or prototype before making a decision, that effort becomes its own sprint backlog item. D is the move because it makes the research work visible and planned rather than letting the team spin in place.