CDA Product Backlog & Requirements Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In DA, what distinguishes a 'team backlog' from a 'program backlog'?
- The team backlog is maintained by the Scrum Master; the program backlog by the Product Owner
- The team backlog contains work for a single delivery team; the program backlog spans multiple teams (Correct answer)
- The team backlog is prioritized by cost; the program backlog by risk
- There is no distinction — DA uses a single unified backlog
Correct answer: The team backlog contains work for a single delivery team; the program backlog spans multiple teams
DA recognizes that at scale, a program backlog coordinates work across multiple teams, while each team maintains its own backlog of detailed work items.
Question 2: When applying DA's 'Choose Your WoW' philosophy to requirements management, which outcome is most consistent with that principle?
- All teams in an organization must use the same backlog tool
- Teams select the requirements practices that best fit their context (Correct answer)
- Requirements must always be expressed as user stories
- The PMO mandates a single requirements format
Correct answer: Teams select the requirements practices that best fit their context
DA's 'Choose Your WoW' philosophy empowers teams to select practices — including requirements practices — that suit their specific context and constraints.
Question 3: A DA team is refining backlog items and realizes some items are too large to complete within a single iteration. What is the recommended action?
- Carry them over across multiple iterations as-is
- Decompose them into smaller, deliverable items (Correct answer)
- Move them to the program backlog
- Accept them as epic-level items requiring no refinement
Correct answer: Decompose them into smaller, deliverable items
DA recommends decomposing large items into smaller, actionable pieces that can be completed within a single iteration to maintain flow and transparency.
Question 4: What does DA suggest about the use of formal requirements documents versus lightweight alternatives like user stories?
- Formal documents are required for all DA projects
- Teams should choose the requirements artifact(s) that provide sufficient value for their context (Correct answer)
- User stories are mandated by DAD
- Lightweight artifacts are only permitted on Agile lifecycle projects
Correct answer: Teams should choose the requirements artifact(s) that provide sufficient value for their context
DA is non-prescriptive about artifact choice; teams should use whatever requirements representation provides the right level of detail for their stakeholders and risk profile.
Question 5: Which DA practice involves continuously re-ordering the product backlog to reflect evolving stakeholder priorities and market conditions?
- Release planning
- Backlog reprioritization
- Continuous prioritization (Correct answer)
- Value stream mapping
Correct answer: Continuous prioritization
Continuous prioritization ensures the backlog always reflects the highest-value work at the top, adapting to new information and changing business needs.
Question 6: In DAD, the 'Minimum Business Increment (MBI)' concept relates to the backlog primarily by:
- Setting the minimum number of stories required per sprint
- Defining the smallest slice of value that is worth releasing to stakeholders (Correct answer)
- Establishing the minimum team size for backlog ownership
- Specifying the minimum documentation for each backlog item
Correct answer: Defining the smallest slice of value that is worth releasing to stakeholders
An MBI is the smallest increment of value that is meaningful enough to release, helping teams prioritize the backlog around releasable, valuable outcomes.
Question 7: A Disciplined Agile team's backlog has grown to over 300 items, making it difficult to manage. What does DA recommend?
- Archive all items older than 90 days automatically
- Periodically prune low-value items and consolidate similar items to keep the backlog manageable (Correct answer)
- Split the backlog into exactly three tiers by date added
- Assign ownership of each item to individual team members
Correct answer: Periodically prune low-value items and consolidate similar items to keep the backlog manageable
DA advises keeping the backlog lean by regularly removing stale, low-value items and consolidating duplicates, ensuring it remains a useful prioritization tool.
CDA Product Backlog & Requirements Management 3
In DA, what distinguishes a 'team backlog' from a 'program backlog'?