Score Higher on Verified PSPO-II | Professional Scrum Product Owner™ II (PSPO 2) Exam Questions with Answers

Personas are fictional characters that represent the different user types that might use your product or service in a similar way1. Personas can help you to2345:

Understand the needs of a set of users by creating empathy and insight into their goals, behaviors, and pain points.

Formulate hypotheses about product value by identifying the problems and opportunities that your product can address for each user type.

Understand market potential by estimating the size and characteristics of each user segment and their willingness to pay for your product.

Discover key buying triggers by exploring the motivations, influences, and decision-making processes of each user type.

Design and test your product features and user experience by using personas as a guide and a reference point. References:

1: Personas – A Simple Introduction

2: The Complete Guide to User Personas and How They Can Help Your Marketing Strategy (With Examples)

3: Personas | Usability.gov

4: The importance of personas for digital experience

5: Personas | Definition and Overview

Let's analyze each option to determine the best considerations for a Product Owner when ordering the Product Backlog, referencing PSPO II competencies:

A. Alignment with organizational strategy and goals.

Verification:This is acorrectanswer.

Explanation and References:

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Business Strategy

The Product Backlog should reflect the overall business strategy andcontribute to achieving organizational goals.

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Product Vision

The Product Vision is guided by the organizational strategy. The Product Backlog ordering should help realize that vision.

Additional Explanation:A Product Owner must ensure the product is strategically aligned, maximizing the return on investment for the organization.

B. The techniques the Developers will use to implement the item.

Verification:This isincorrect.

Explanation and References:

Professional Scrum Competency: Understanding and Applying the Scrum Framework - Applying the Scrum Framework - Self-Managing Teams

The Developers are responsible for determininghowthey will implement Product Backlog items. The Product Owner focuses on thewhatandwhy.

Additional Explanation:The Product Owner should trust the Developers' expertise in technical implementation. While high-level technical feasibility might be a consideration, the specific techniques used are within the Developers' domain.

C. Risk. For example; business risk, market risk, or technology risk.

Verification:This is acorrectanswer.

Explanation and References:

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Evidence-Based Management

Identifying and mitigating risks is crucial for maximizing product value. Addressing high-risk items early can prevent significant problems later.

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Business Strategy

Understanding and mitigating business and market risks is essential for strategic product development.

Additional Explanation:Addressing high-risk items early (when appropriate) allows for early learning and adaptation, reducing overall project risk.

D. Alignment with other Product Backlog items.

Verification:This is acorrectanswer.

Explanation and References:

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Forecasting & Release Planning

Considering dependencies and relationships between Product Backlog items is essential for effective release planning.

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Product Backlog Management

The Product Backlog should be ordered in a way that considers dependencies and logical groupings of items to deliver coherent functionality.

Additional Explanation:Grouping related items or addressing dependencies early can improve development efficiency and create more valuable increments.

E. Importance to users or customers.

Verification:This is acorrectanswer.

Explanation and References:

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Stakeholders & Customers

Understanding and prioritizing based on user and customer needs is fundamental to delivering a valuable product.

Professional Scrum Competency: Managing Products with Agility - Product Value

Delivering value to users and customers is the ultimate goal, and the Product Backlog ordering should reflect this.

Additional Explanation:Focusing on user and customer value helps ensure that the most important features are delivered first, maximizing user satisfaction and business impact.

In conclusion, the four best considerations for ordering the Product Backlog are: alignment with organizational strategy and goals, risk, alignment with other Product Backlog items, and importance to users or customers. These factors help the Product Owner maximize product value, manage risks, and ensure the product aligns with business objectives and user needs, in accordance with the PSPO II competencies.

According to the Scrum Guide, the Developers are accountable for creating a plan for the Sprint, which includes selecting the Product Backlog items that they can deliver in the Sprint1. If they realize that the workload is too high, they have two options: either reduce the scope or increase the capacity. Reducing the scope means removing or changing some of the Product Backlog items, in agreement with the Product Owner, so that theSprint Goal can still be achieved2. Increasing the capacity means adding more Developersto the team, but this is not recommended, as it can disrupt the team dynamics, lower the quality, and increase the communication overhead3. Therefore, the best actions to take are A and B, as they respect the self-organization and collaboration of the Scrum Team, and allow them to deliver a valuable and potentially releasable Increment at the end of the Sprint4.