PMP · Question #1333
Multiple agile teams are working on a product deliverable. During the last few iterations, one of the teams received several unplanned, nonproduction support requests from other teams. This affected t
The correct answer is D. Direct the team to only focus on the planned deliverable and not take on any unplanned activity.. To protect an agile team's velocity and deliverables from unplanned requests, the project manager must ensure the team focuses solely on its committed iteration work.
Question
Options
- ATell the team to extend and complete the planned deliverable as well as incoming requests.
- BAsk the team to accommodate most of the requests in each of the iterations.
- CInform members of the other teams to add these requests directly in the iteration backlog.
- DDirect the team to only focus on the planned deliverable and not take on any unplanned activity.
How the community answered
(26 responses)- A8% (2)
- B15% (4)
- C4% (1)
- D73% (19)
Why each option
To protect an agile team's velocity and deliverables from unplanned requests, the project manager must ensure the team focuses solely on its committed iteration work.
Telling the team to extend and complete both planned and unplanned work is unsustainable and will further degrade velocity and morale.
Asking the team to accommodate most requests still means accepting unplanned work, which compromises the iteration's commitment and predictability.
While adding requests to the iteration backlog is better than ad-hoc interruptions, the immediate action should be to protect the *current* iteration's scope; new requests should be prioritized for subsequent iterations.
In agile methodologies, a team commits to a specific scope for an iteration or sprint, and unplanned work significantly disrupts its velocity and ability to deliver. The project manager should direct the team to prioritize and focus exclusively on the planned deliverable for the iteration, ensuring predictability and successful completion of sprint goals.
Concept tested: Agile sprint commitment and scope protection
Source: https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
Topics
Community Discussion
4
Grace U.Jun 10, 2026D is correct here, and it makes sense when you think about how agile teams protect their commitments. When unplanned requests keep flooding in, the team loses focus and their velocity suffers, which puts the actual deliverable at risk. The project manager needs to shield the team from this kind of scope creep during an active iteration. Those support requests should go through proper backlog refinement and get prioritized for future iterations instead of derailing the current plan.
Dervla O.Jun 7, 2026D is correct. The stem is really asking whether the PM understands how to protect iteration commitments, and the giveaway is that unplanned, nonproduction work is eroding velocity and threatening the deliverable. Saw this on my exam last March and almost picked B because accommodating requests sounds collaborative and agile-friendly, but then I re-read the stem and noticed the phrase affected the velocity of the team and the planned deliverable, which told me the real issue is scope protection, not flexibility.
Toby R.Jun 9, 2026Just sat this last month and D is right, but the thing that locked it for me was that the PM role here is less about saying no and more about making the tradeoff visible to stakeholders so they own the decision to reprioritize.
Toby R.Jun 2, 2026Passed last month and got D. A is the trap because it sounds cooperative, but agile teams protect their iteration commitment, so unplanned work gets deferred or routed through the product owner.