PMP · Question #533
A project manager is using an agile approach. During the sprint planning meeting, the product owner flagged a backlog item as high business value and easy to implement. However, the other team…
The correct answer is C. Facilitate the discussion until the team reaches an agreement about the two items. In an agile sprint planning meeting, when there's a disagreement between the product owner and the development team regarding the prioritization of highly dependent backlog items, the project manager's role is to facilitate a discussion to achieve a shared understanding and…
Question
A project manager is using an agile approach. During the sprint planning meeting, the product owner flagged a backlog item as high business value and easy to implement. However, the other team members identified a high dependency between this item and another item that is flagged as low business value and high complexity. What should the project manager do to support the backlog prioritization?
Options
- ASupport the team to move both items to the next sprint when the team will know more.
- BPrioritize the item flagged as high business value and low complexity for this sprint.
- CFacilitate the discussion until the team reaches an agreement about the two items.
- DPrioritize the item flagged as a dependency with low business value and high complexity.
How the community answered
(27 responses)- A4% (1)
- B7% (2)
- C70% (19)
- D19% (5)
Why each option
In an agile sprint planning meeting, when there's a disagreement between the product owner and the development team regarding the prioritization of highly dependent backlog items, the project manager's role is to facilitate a discussion to achieve a shared understanding and agreement.
Moving both items to the next sprint defers the decision, potentially delaying high-value delivery without resolving the underlying conflict or gaining clarity.
Prioritizing only the high business value item without resolving its dependency on a complex, low-value item would likely lead to incomplete work or technical debt within the sprint.
In agile, the project manager, often acting as a Scrum Master, serves as a facilitator, especially during sprint planning where the product owner and development team collaborate on backlog prioritization. When there's a conflict or differing views on dependent items, the project manager should facilitate a detailed discussion to help the team understand the implications of the dependency, the true effort, and the combined business value, leading them to a consensus on how to prioritize or address both items effectively within the sprint. This fosters self-organization and commitment.
Prioritizing the low business value, high complexity dependency without a comprehensive discussion and agreement from the product owner might not align with the most important business outcomes.
Concept tested: Agile backlog prioritization and conflict facilitation
Source: https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum-master
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Nina C.Mar 27, 2026C is correct. Coming from teaching, I learned you never just hand students the answer, and agile works the same way here: the PM facilitates the discussion so the team owns the prioritization decision together instead of someone dictating it from the top.
Orla P.Mar 30, 2026Right call on C, and just to add a logistics note for test day: this prioritization question tends to show up around question 15 to 25, so if you get it early do not overthink it, flag it and keep moving because you will need that time for the longer scenario-based questions later.
Grace U.Mar 29, 2026Leaned toward B at first, but agile teams self-organize, so facilitate the discussion: C.
Orla P.Apr 8, 2026C on my exam last March, almost the exact sprint planning scenario with a high-value item tangled up in a messy dependency. The PM in agile is a facilitator, not a decision-maker, so you guide the conversation and let the team own the prioritization call.
Nina C.Apr 8, 2026Agreed on C, and the facilitator-not-decider distinction is exactly right, though I would add that the PM should also make sure the dependency itself gets surfaced as a risk or impediment so it does not just become a silent blocker after sprint planning ends.