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✅ Correct Answer: B. Ask the product owner to prioritize the backlog with the project team

✅ Why B is the Best Answer

In Agile (Scrum), the Product Owner owns the product backlog and is responsible for prioritizing features based on business value.

However, changes should:

• Be discussed collaboratively with the team
• Occur during backlog refinement or sprint planning
• Respect the team’s capacity and velocity

By having the product owner prioritize with the team, the project manager:

• Ensures the team’s input is respected
• Encourages collaboration and transparency
• Prevents mid-sprint disruptions, which violate Scrum principles

This action reinforces agile values like collaboration, respect, and sustainable pace.

❌ Why Other Options Are Less Effective

• A. Request the scrum team to prioritize the product backlog
  🔻 Incorrect. The product owner owns backlog prioritization, not the Scrum team. The team can give input, but cannot take ownership of priority decisions.
• C. Call for an internal meeting to discuss the changes and their value
  🔻 Incomplete. While a meeting can help surface concerns, it doesn’t resolve the structural issue of backlog management and repeated mid-sprint changes. Direct collaboration with the product owner is needed.
• D. Incorporate the changes in the last sprint before the first release
  🔻 Risky. Accepting new features without reprioritizing can again jeopardize the sprint goal. This is reactive, not collaborative or strategic.

📌 Key Takeaways

• Backlog prioritization is owned by the Product Owner
• Sprint commitments must be respected — changes should go through backlog grooming, not injected mid-sprint
• Team collaboration and transparency are core to Agile values