FREE Scrum Product Owner PSPO I Question and Answers

Question 1

The developers and you are disputing whether or not some of the Sprint Backlog Items were finished toward the conclusion of the Sprint.
You and the developers are advised by the Scrum Master to consult the Definition of Done (DoD).
Who ought to establish the DoD?

Accepted Answer

The Scrum Team unless the organization already has one. In that case, they should follow the Definition of Done as a minimum.

Answer

The Scrum Master as he/she knows how Scrum works and what fit best in an Agile environment

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The developers as they are the ones doing the actual work of converting the Sprint Backlog Items into an Increment.

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You as Product Owner as you have the authority to decide what is done and what is not.

Question 2

A cross-functional team led by a Scrum Master has already been established at your company as part of its Scrum experiment. In this Scrum Team, you have applied to be the Product Owner. After reviewing your application, management decided to hire you as a product owner. However, an other applicant also shown interest, and you are prepared to collaborate with him as a co-Product Owner in this team. What should I do in this situation?

Accepted Answer

There can only be one Product Owner so management should decide between you or the other candidate.

Answer

There should be a decision between who should work as proxy Product Owner and who should be the Product Owner in the Scrum Team.

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You and the other Product Owner should agree about who takes care of customer engagement and who take care of the Scrum Team questions.

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You and the other Product Owner should work on backlog prioritization techniques such as WSJF to ensure that you are aligned.

Question 3

The product backlog items (PBIs) should be well understood by the developers, something you as the product owner want to make sure of. You have scheduled a backlog refinement meeting with the developers based on suggestions from your Scrum Master. When sizing the PBIs, you strongly questioned the team's plan for the work they would do and suggested they follow your estimations instead.
The developers appear to be unhappy. What actions are required?

Accepted Answer

The developers doing the work are responsible for the sizing, you cannot force your way around it and should respect their decisions.

Answer

The Scrum Team is responsible for sizing so you have the right to speak and come to a consensus with the developers.

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This is ok. As Product Owner, you are entitled to challenge the team but can also overrule them whenever necessary.

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Ask the Scrum Master. When developers and Product Owner disagree on sizing, the Scrum Master is the final judge regarding items' sizing.

Question 4

In a Scrum team, you have been a Product Owner for a few weeks. The developers ran across some issues during the current Sprint, and after consulting the Scrum Master, they decided to call it off. Even though the Product Backlog Items chosen for those Sprints were difficult, the Sprint goal remains relevant, and you are available to respond to any queries the developers may have. You believe that this Sprint shouldn't be canceled.
What steps should I take?

Accepted Answer

Only the product owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint. You will therefore not cancel it but try to address the developer's concerns as best as you can and work towards the Sprint goal.

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The Scrum team decides if the Sprint should be cancelled. As the majority of the team think that it should be cancelled, the Sprint should be called off.

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The Scrum Master has the final authority on Scrum so if she supports the decision, you will go with it.

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The developers are responsible for completing the work. If they are not confident in completing the Sprint, it should be cancelled and restarted anew.

Question 5

Members of the Scrum team are cross-functional and self-managing. As a product owner, you've been a part of a Scrum team for a time. The developers began to work on sorting the product backlog items in the past several weeks owing to time limitations. A few stakeholders have already responded to you and said that they think the Scrum team has not recently been focusing on the most important projects.
What ought you to do?

Accepted Answer

As a Product Owner, you are accountable for the ordering of product backlog items. You apologize for this situation and free up some time to work with the developers on the ordering of the product backlog.

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You mention that the developers are now responsible for the ordering and that you will talk to them about it as soon as you have time.

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You address this issue to the Scrum Master so that she teaches the developers on how to best order the product backlog items by value

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The Scrum team is responsible for the ordering of the product backlog. If the developers are not doing it properly, it reflects on the entire team but you are not the only one to blame.

Question 6

You began to add Product Backlog Items (PBIs) to your product backlog as the Scrum team's product owner. You intend to consult your Scrum Master because you are unclear of the qualities you ought to enter for each of those PBIs.
What should your Scrum Master explain to you regarding the PBIs' characteristics?

Accepted Answer

That they depend on the domain of the work and that as product owner, you are free to add whatever you think is fit.

Answer

That they should have an order, a title, a description and a size

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That they should be written in the form of user story with a requestor and a value stated.

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That they can have as many attributes as required as long as they are properly estimated with Fibonacci numbers

Question 7

The developers choose not to participate in some of the PBIs you suggested throughout the Sprint planning and after the Sprint target was created. All other PBIs chosen for the Sprint are worthwhile and consistent with the objective.
What ought you to do?

Accepted Answer

Respect the decision of the developers as they are the ones doing the job. As long as the PBIs in the Sprint are the most valuable to reach the Sprint goal, you are fine with that. Other items will come in next Sprint if still necessary.

Answer

Let the developers have it their way but make sure that the remaining items get taken on mid Sprint.

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Force the developers to take on all the items that you proposed. Otherwise, the Sprint will not be complete.

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Enlist the Scrum Master for help to ensure that the developers respect your decision.

The developers and you are disputing whether or not some of the Sprint Backlog Items were finished toward the conclusion of the Sprint.You and the developers are advised by the Scrum Master to consult the Definition of Done (DoD).Who ought to establish the DoD?

The developers and you are disputing whether or not some of the Sprint Backlog Items were finished toward the conclusion of the Sprint.
You and the developers are advised by the Scrum Master to consult the Definition of Done (DoD).
Who ought to establish the DoD?