PMP · Question #462
The project manager of an agile project has been asked to reduce the budget by 30%. Since this is a small project team, the budget is primarily allocated to resources. What strategy should the project
The correct answer is C. Prioritize the product backlog looking for high business value and low effort, and adjust the project. To address a significant budget reduction in an agile project, the project manager should prioritize the product backlog to maximize value delivery with limited resources. This involves focusing on items that offer high business value and require low effort.
Question
The project manager of an agile project has been asked to reduce the budget by 30%. Since this is a small project team, the budget is primarily allocated to resources. What strategy should the project manager use in order to keep delivering value in a restricted environment?
Options
- AReduce the project staff and adjust the scope and timelines accordingly in support of the budget
- BBalance the project team in order to accommodate the budget challenges, and provide training to
- CPrioritize the product backlog looking for high business value and low effort, and adjust the project
- DRestrict the project scope only to basic critical features and run the project with the current
How the community answered
(18 responses)- A6% (1)
- B17% (3)
- C72% (13)
- D6% (1)
Why each option
To address a significant budget reduction in an agile project, the project manager should prioritize the product backlog to maximize value delivery with limited resources. This involves focusing on items that offer high business value and require low effort.
Reducing staff directly impacts team capacity and can slow down delivery, potentially reducing the value delivered, and adjusting scope and timelines is a reactive measure after reducing resources.
While balancing the team and training can be beneficial for efficiency, it doesn't directly address the 30% budget reduction and the need to prioritize value delivery in the short term.
In an agile environment, responding to budget constraints while continuing to deliver value means focusing on the most important work. Prioritizing the product backlog by identifying items with high business value and low effort ensures that the team delivers the most impactful features first, allowing for scope adjustment without losing core value.
Restricting scope only to basic critical features is a valid approach, but option C provides a more agile and value-driven approach by actively prioritizing based on value/effort rather than just cutting.
Concept tested: Agile budget reduction, value prioritization
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/agile-practice-guide
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Mei-Ling H.Mar 18, 2026Confirmed C on exam last week. The key phrase in the stem is "keep delivering value," which in agile means you must prioritize the backlog by focusing on high-value, low-effort items first. Option A is a trap because cutting staff on a small team where the budget is mostly resources will just stall the project, and agile teams do not simply shrink scope to "basic critical features" like option D suggests. Option B is also wrong because you cannot just train your way out of a 30% budget cut when the whole point is maximizing value with the resources you already have. The high business
Toby R.Mar 18, 2026Seconding C, and the other tell is that A, B, and D all describe a single tactic whereas C is the only one framed as continuous prioritization, which is what the stem is really testing.
Brenda K.Mar 21, 2026Saw this one on my exam last spring, flagged it because the 30 percent number made my brain want to do math, but then I remembered agile means you prioritize the backlog for max value with least effort. C is the answer, and it is actually a quick win if you do not overthink the budget math, so do not burn three minutes on it.
Toby R.Mar 30, 2026Just passed and picked B. Balancing the team plus training keeps value flowing within the 30% cut.
Brenda K.Apr 2, 2026C is correct because reallocating capacity to high value work directly addresses the 30% cut by focusing limited resources where they deliver the most impact. B sounds reasonable but training and balancing do not offset a budget reduction on their own.