CST Product Backlog Refinement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Scrum Guide recommends that Product Backlog refinement consume no more than what percentage of the Developers' capacity?
- 5%
- 10% (Correct answer)
- 20%
- 15%
Correct answer: 10%
The Scrum Guide states refinement usually consumes no more than 10% of the Developers' capacity.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT an activity that occurs during Product Backlog refinement?
- Adding detail to items
- Estimating items
- Ordering items by business value
- Accepting completed Sprint items (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Accepting completed Sprint items
Sprint acceptance is part of the Sprint Review, not Product Backlog refinement.
Question 3: A Product Owner wants to split a large user story during refinement. Which INVEST criterion most directly guides whether the split was done well?
- Negotiable
- Valuable (Correct answer)
- Estimable
- Small
Correct answer: Valuable
Each split story must still deliver independent value to users or the business, satisfying the 'V' in INVEST.
Question 4: During a refinement session, the team realizes a backlog item depends on an external API that may not be ready. What is the most appropriate response?
- Remove the item from the backlog immediately
- Flag the dependency, note it on the item, and address it with the Product Owner during ordering (Correct answer)
- Move the item to Done since it cannot be completed
- Assign a developer to resolve the dependency during the current Sprint
Correct answer: Flag the dependency, note it on the item, and address it with the Product Owner during ordering
Dependencies should be surfaced, documented on the item, and factored into backlog ordering so the team can plan around them.
Question 5: A 'spike' added to the Product Backlog during refinement is best described as:
- A placeholder for incomplete user stories
- A time-boxed research or investigation task to reduce uncertainty (Correct answer)
- An emergency bug fix that must be addressed immediately
- A technical debt item to be resolved in the next Sprint
Correct answer: A time-boxed research or investigation task to reduce uncertainty
A spike is a time-boxed activity used to gain the knowledge needed to estimate or implement a story.
Question 6: Which technique is specifically designed to help teams split large user stories into smaller, deliverable pieces during refinement?
- MoSCoW prioritization
- Story slicing (thin vertical slices) (Correct answer)
- Burndown charting
- Cumulative flow diagrams
Correct answer: Story slicing (thin vertical slices)
Thin vertical slicing cuts across all layers of the system to deliver a small but complete piece of functionality.
Question 7: Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the Product Backlog is refined sufficiently so Sprints can be planned?
- The Scrum Master
- The Developers
- The Product Owner (Correct answer)
- The Stakeholders
Correct answer: The Product Owner
The Product Owner is accountable for Product Backlog management, including ensuring items are sufficiently refined.
CST Product Backlog Refinement 2
The Scrum Guide recommends that Product Backlog refinement consume no more than what percentage of the Developers' capacity?