Original PMP Agile decision exercise
A mid-Sprint request: protect the goal and negotiate scope
Use Scrum accountabilities, the Sprint Goal and acceptance evidence to reason through an original mid-Sprint change instead of memorizing a fixed response.
Reviewed for the current ReasonSpan™ exam profile · Updated October 11, 2026By the ReasonSpan™ editorial team · Our content standards
Flow metrics: distinguish finished work from aging work
A service team has six items started but unfinished today. During the preceding nine-day observation window it finished 18 items: observed throughput is 2 items/day. An unfinished item started on Day 3 and is still open on Day 10, giving a work item age of 7 days. A different item started on Day 4 and finished on Day 9, giving cycle time of 5 days. Use the team’s explicit start/finish definitions and one consistent elapsed-day convention.
The team’s service level expectation says 85% of items should finish within 6 days. This is a forecast with a probability, not a universal deadline or a 100% promise. The 7-day open item deserves investigation of its blockage and current context; it does not prove the whole team is failing. Limiting work in progress and helping finish stalled work may improve flow, while merely starting more items can worsen a bottleneck.
Do not use the age of unfinished work as its final cycle time or confuse the six current unfinished items with throughput. Changes should be tested against the workflow and observed evidence. Scrum and Kanban can be used together; their measures do not replace the Sprint Goal or product-value decisions.
| Measure | Exercise result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| WIP | 6 items | Started, not finished now |
| Throughput | 2 items/day | Finished count / observed duration |
| Work item age | 7 days | Elapsed time for still-open work |
| Cycle time | 5 days | Elapsed time for a finished item |
| SLE | 6 days at 85% | Probabilistic forecast |
The request and the governing constraint
A hospital scheduling team has a Sprint Goal of allowing nurses to review a usable shift-approval workflow. Mid-Sprint, a stakeholder requests a new export format. Developers estimate that adding it now would displace the workflow verification needed to meet the goal. The Product Owner still considers the Sprint Goal valuable. What should happen next?
The useful response is a conversation between Developers and the Product Owner about the requested value, capacity and scope. Protect the Sprint Goal and Definition of Done, and order deferred work transparently. The stakeholder's urgency does not transfer the Product Owner's accountability or justify weakening verification.
Why tempting shortcuts fail
| Response | Missing decision |
|---|---|
| Assign the export directly to a developer | Bypasses backlog ordering and the team's delivery plan. |
| Accept it and remove verification | Lowers quality and endangers the goal. |
| Refuse all discussion until the next Sprint | Ignores the opportunity to clarify and renegotiate scope without endangering the goal. |
| Cancel the Sprint immediately | The goal remains valuable; cancellation is the Product Owner's decision when the goal becomes obsolete. |
Change the condition and reconsider
If a new rule makes the original goal obsolete, the reasoning changes: the Product Owner may cancel the Sprint. If the request can be accommodated without endangering the goal or reducing quality, Developers and the Product Owner may renegotiate scope. The correct action follows the stated condition, not a blanket rule that every change is forbidden or must be accepted.
This is an original learning exercise. The Scrum Guide defines the underlying framework; PMI's exam outline covers broader approaches, including predictive and hybrid delivery. Scrum accountabilities do not erase regulatory, contractual or organizational authority outside the team.
Build and test the wider method
Sources and further reading
Exam requirements can change. Confirm current details with the organization that administers your exam and use the cited sources for the preparation principles summarized here.