What might be a valid reason for abnormally cancelling a Sprint?

Question

Options

• AWhen the Development Team discovers it cannot meet their Sprint commitments.
• BWhen the work becomes too difficult for the Development Team.
• CWhen the sales department discovers features that add more value than the current work being
• DWhen the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete.

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  9% (5)
• C
  4% (2)
• D
  86% (49)

Explanation

According to the Scrum Guide, only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel a Sprint, and the sole valid reason is that the Sprint Goal has become obsolete - meaning the goal no longer aligns with the company's direction, market conditions, or stakeholder needs, making further work pointless.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A - Teams routinely adjust scope during a Sprint when they can't meet all commitments; that's normal, not a cancellation trigger.
• B - Difficulty is never grounds for cancellation; the team works through challenges, possibly descoping lower-priority items.
• C - Discovering higher-value features is handled through the Product Backlog, not by cancelling the Sprint; those items get prioritized for a future Sprint.

Memory tip: Think of Sprint cancellation as a "mission abort" - you only abort when the mission itself (the Sprint Goal) is no longer worth completing, not because of execution difficulties or new opportunities discovered along the way.

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