PMP · Question #1433
An agile project has a documented list of requirements prioritized in high, medium, and low categories. The project team has expressed that it is difficult to know what to work on next as so many…
The correct answer is B. Ensure the product owner determines the priority based on a product roadmap, release plan, and. To resolve ambiguity in high-priority tasks, the project manager should recommend that the Product Owner refine prioritization using strategic tools like the product roadmap and release plan.
Question
Options
- AAsk the team to prioritize the high-priority items based on what they feel is a logical sequence to
- BEnsure the product owner determines the priority based on a product roadmap, release plan, and
- CAsk the team to prioritize the high-priority items based on the release plan and what allows for
- DDiscard the current categorization of requirements as "high, medium, and low" and prioritize
How the community answered
(41 responses)- A15% (6)
- B78% (32)
- C2% (1)
- D5% (2)
Why each option
To resolve ambiguity in high-priority tasks, the project manager should recommend that the Product Owner refine prioritization using strategic tools like the product roadmap and release plan.
While team input on technical sequencing is valuable, the ultimate responsibility for business value-based prioritization lies with the Product Owner, not solely the development team.
In agile, the Product Owner is solely responsible for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Development Team. This includes clearly defining and prioritizing product backlog items based on strategic alignment with the product roadmap, release plan, and stakeholder value, ensuring clarity on what to work on next.
Similar to A, while release plan context is crucial, empowering the team to prioritize solely based on "what allows for the most features" without Product Owner guidance risks misaligning with business value.
Discarding the current categorization without a structured replacement or clear ownership for prioritization does not solve the underlying problem and might introduce more confusion.
Concept tested: Product Owner's role in backlog prioritization
Source: https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-a-product-owner
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Luis F.Jan 13, 2026B is the answer here. In Agile the product owner owns the backlog and prioritization, so when high/medium/low buckets are too vague, the PM should defer to the PO to refine priorities using the roadmap and release plan.
Carlos M.Jan 15, 2026Agreed on B, but worth noting for the exam that if the PO is unavailable the PM should facilitate a prioritization session with stakeholders rather than stall, since the question usually assumes the PM still owns driving the process even if the PO owns the backlog.
Orla P.Jan 3, 2026B. The PO owns prioritization. C is tempting but that is the POs job, not the teams.
Fatima Z.Jan 4, 2026Exactly right, and to make it sticky just remember POP: Product Owner Prioritizes, so if you see the word backlog or ordering on the exam, hunt for the PO.
Carlos M.Jan 1, 2026B is the right call. In agile it is the product owner who owns backlog priority, not the team. That said the question wording is rough since the options all seem to cut off mid-sentence. C is tempting because it sounds collaborative and references the release plan, but the PM should not be pushing the team to self-assign priority when a product owner exists. The product owner uses the roadmap and release plan to break the logjam on all those high items.
Fatima Z.Jan 4, 2026Co-sign B, and for anyone panicking about the PO vs PM roles, remember OPOA: Only the Product Owner Adjusts the backlog, so if the stem says PM is messing with priority you are already in wrong-answer territory.
Fatima Z.Jan 8, 2026D all the way, and here is the sticky way to remember it: High-Medium-Low gives you a Hairy Mess to untangle. Remember MoSCoW instead - Must, Should, Could, Won't - because that model forces finer slicing so the team is not staring at a giant pile of equally "high" work.
Orla P.Jan 9, 2026B is correct here, Fatima. MoSCoW is a prioritization framework, but the question is asking about risk classification, which maps directly to High, Medium, Low severity tiers in standard exam theory.