PMP · Question #525
Midway through the execution of an agile protect there is a shift in the strategic objectives at the organization level to promote digital transformation. What should the project manager do next?
The correct answer is A. Schedule a meeting with the team to assess the impact of the change. A significant organizational strategic shift impacts an ongoing agile project, requiring the project manager to involve the team in understanding and adapting to the new direction. The initial step is to collectively assess the implications of the change to determine the necessar
Question
Midway through the execution of an agile protect there is a shift in the strategic objectives at the organization level to promote digital transformation. What should the project manager do next?
Options
- ASchedule a meeting with the team to assess the impact of the change
- BEscalate to the product owner and cancel the upcoming iterations
- CPrepare a user story to handle the change and assign it to the next iteration
- DUpdate the risk-prioritized backlog with the strategic change
How the community answered
(21 responses)- A76% (16)
- B14% (3)
- C5% (1)
- D5% (1)
Why each option
A significant organizational strategic shift impacts an ongoing agile project, requiring the project manager to involve the team in understanding and adapting to the new direction. The initial step is to collectively assess the implications of the change to determine the necessary adjustments.
In an agile environment, when a strategic shift occurs, the project manager should immediately involve the development team and relevant stakeholders to collaboratively assess the impact of this change on the project's current scope, goals, and direction. This collective assessment is crucial for determining how the project needs to adapt and for informing subsequent planning and prioritization adjustments effectively.
Immediately canceling upcoming iterations without assessing the impact is an extreme measure and might not be necessary, causing undue disruption.
Preparing a user story is a task-level action that should come after understanding the overall impact of the strategic change on the project's direction and scope.
While the strategic change presents risks, simply updating the risk-prioritized backlog doesn't adequately address the need to integrate this fundamental shift into the project's work plan.
Concept tested: Agile project adaptation to strategic changes
Source: https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/agile/agile-practice-guide
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Anjali D.Jul 2, 2026Our group landed on A. In agile, when a strategic shift lands mid-execution, the PM's first move is to bring the team together to assess impact before touching the backlog or re-planning iterations, and most of us agreed that jumping straight to action without that assessment step is what makes B, C, and D wrong. A few folks argued for D since the backlog is where strategic changes belong, but the consensus was that you assess first, then update the backlog. Anyone else see this one on the exam recently?
Carlos M.Jul 5, 2026Leaned toward D but A is right, you assess impact before touching the backlog.
Bao N.Jun 15, 2026Got A on my exam last week, team assessment always comes first before backlog changes.
Brenda K.Jun 16, 2026Agreed on A, and watch your clock here because people stall trying to compare backlog options when the team assessment keyword is the instant giveaway.
Brenda K.Jul 5, 2026C is the quick win here because agile handles shifts through the backlog, not through meetings or escalation chains. A strategic change like digital transformation needs to be captured as actionable work, and creating a user story gets it in front of the team for the next iteration planning. D sounds close but a strategic shift is not a risk, so the risk-prioritized backlog framing is a trap that burns clock if you overthink it. I sat on this one for maybe twenty seconds, saw the word "user story" tied to a concrete next iteration, and locked C.
Anjali D.Jul 5, 2026A is correct because a strategic shift like digital transformation needs to be captured at the product vision and roadmap level before it ever becomes a backlog item, so updating the vision statement ensures the change is communicated and prioritized properly rather than dropping it straight into a user story that skips the strategic framing.
Lena V.Jul 5, 2026A is correct. In agile, when a strategic shift hits mid-execution you assess impact with the team before touching the backlog or iteration plan, since they need to understand what the change means for current work. One thing that trips people up here: would the product owner typically be the one initiating that impact assessment conversation, or does the PM drive it and loop in the PO after?
Anjali D.Jul 8, 2026Good catch on A, and in my experience the PO owns that impact assessment conversation since they hold the backlog priorities, though the PM often brings the strategic context that triggered it, so it's really a tag-team moment rather than one person driving solo.