CSPO Product Backlog Management 4 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Product Owner wants to quantify the return on investment for backlog items. Which framework helps rank items by dividing user business value by cost?
- MoSCoW
- Kano Model
- Cost of Delay divided by Duration (CD3)
- Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) calculates priority by dividing the Cost of Delay by job duration, helping teams sequence work that delivers the highest value soonest.
Question 2: A new regulation requires a major product change. The Product Owner must fit this into an already full Sprint backlog. What should they do?
- Add it to the Sprint without negotiation
- Work with the Development Team to reprioritize and remove or defer lower-priority items (Correct answer)
- Skip the regulation until the next planning cycle
- Have the Scrum Master approve the scope addition
Correct answer: Work with the Development Team to reprioritize and remove or defer lower-priority items
The Product Owner should collaborate with the Development Team to adjust the Sprint backlog scope, as only the team can decide what is feasible within the Sprint.
Question 3: The Kano Model categorizes product features into several types. Which category describes features that customers expect but don't consciously ask for?
- Performance (Linear) features
- Excitement (Delighters) features
- Basic (Must-be) features (Correct answer)
- Indifferent features
Correct answer: Basic (Must-be) features
Basic (Must-be) features are the foundational expectations customers assume are present; their absence causes dissatisfaction but their presence is not noticed.
Question 4: What does it mean when a Product Backlog item has a 'spike' added next to it?
- The item has the highest priority in the backlog
- The item requires a time-boxed research or investigation task to reduce uncertainty (Correct answer)
- The item is blocked and cannot be worked on
- The item will be delivered as a hotfix outside normal Sprints
Correct answer: The item requires a time-boxed research or investigation task to reduce uncertainty
A spike is a time-boxed investigation or research activity used to reduce technical or business uncertainty surrounding a backlog item.
Question 5: A Product Owner discovers that 30% of the Product Backlog items are outdated and no longer relevant. What is the CORRECT action?
- Keep them in case they become relevant again
- Archive or delete them to keep the backlog focused and transparent (Correct answer)
- Move them to a separate 'parking lot' document
- Re-estimate them and leave them at the bottom
Correct answer: Archive or delete them to keep the backlog focused and transparent
Removing obsolete items keeps the Product Backlog transparent and manageable, ensuring the team focuses only on genuinely valuable work.
Question 6: Which statement BEST describes the concept of 'Emergent Requirements' in Product Backlog Management?
- All requirements are fully known and documented before the project starts
- New requirements arise as the team builds, learns, and receives stakeholder feedback (Correct answer)
- Requirements emerge from the technical architecture of the system
- Emergency requirements are added only during Sprint Reviews
Correct answer: New requirements arise as the team builds, learns, and receives stakeholder feedback
Emergent requirements acknowledge that teams gain new insights through building and feedback, causing the backlog to evolve throughout product development.
Question 7: A Product Owner is creating a release plan based on the Product Backlog. What is the MOST important input to this plan?
- The number of developers available on the team
- The team's historical velocity and the ordered Product Backlog (Correct answer)
- The stakeholder's desired release date only
- The budget allocated for the next fiscal quarter
Correct answer: The team's historical velocity and the ordered Product Backlog
Release planning uses the team's velocity (throughput) and the ordered Product Backlog to forecast how much can be delivered by a given date or within a given number of Sprints.
CSPO Product Backlog Management 4
A Product Owner wants to quantify the return on investment for backlog items.
Which framework helps rank items by dividing user business value by cost?