CPOA Backlog Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is a characteristic of a well-maintained product backlog?
- It contains hundreds of detailed, unchanging requirements
- It is ordered, estimated, and regularly refined (Correct answer)
- It is locked after sprint planning begins
- It is managed by the development team alone
Correct answer: It is ordered, estimated, and regularly refined
A healthy backlog is dynamic, prioritized, and regularly groomed to reflect current business priorities and team capacity.
Question 2: What is the difference between an epic and a user story in backlog management?
- Epics are completed in one sprint; stories span multiple sprints
- Epics are large bodies of work broken down into smaller user stories (Correct answer)
- Epics are technical tasks; stories are business requirements
- There is no functional difference between the two
Correct answer: Epics are large bodies of work broken down into smaller user stories
An epic is a large user story that cannot be completed in a single sprint and must be broken down into smaller, sprint-sized user stories.
Question 3: What does 'DEEP' stand for when describing a good product backlog?
- Detailed, Estimated, Emergent, Prioritized (Correct answer)
- Dynamic, Efficient, Expandable, Progressive
- Defined, Evaluated, Executable, Planned
- Descriptive, Evolving, Essential, Precise
Correct answer: Detailed, Estimated, Emergent, Prioritized
DEEP describes a healthy backlog: Detailed appropriately, Estimated, Emergent (evolving), and Prioritized.
Question 4: When should a Product Owner remove items from the product backlog?
- Only after each release
- When items are no longer valuable or relevant to the product vision (Correct answer)
- At the end of each sprint automatically
- Only when the backlog exceeds 100 items
Correct answer: When items are no longer valuable or relevant to the product vision
Items should be removed when they no longer deliver value, have become obsolete, or do not align with the current product vision.
Question 5: Which metric helps a Product Owner determine if backlog refinement is effective?
- Number of bugs per sprint
- Sprint goal completion rate
- Percentage of backlog items that are sprint-ready (Correct answer)
- Stakeholder satisfaction scores
Correct answer: Percentage of backlog items that are sprint-ready
Tracking what percentage of backlog items are refined and ready for sprints indicates whether the refinement process is keeping pace with demand.
Question 6: What is the purpose of acceptance criteria in backlog items?
- To describe how the feature will be coded
- To define the conditions that must be met for a story to be considered complete (Correct answer)
- To assign ownership of the story to a developer
- To estimate the story's business value
Correct answer: To define the conditions that must be met for a story to be considered complete
Acceptance criteria provide clear, testable conditions that determine when a backlog item has been successfully implemented.
CPOA Backlog Management 2
Which of the following is a characteristic of a well-maintained product backlog?