Correct Answer to Q#1: C

Explanation:

In an Agile environment, the Product Owner (PO) is responsible for managing and prioritizing the product backlog. Even if a request comes from a senior executive like the Managing Director, it should not bypass the established process.

The PO should discuss the request with the MD, evaluate its business value, and determine whether it should be added to the backlog or scheduled for a future iteration.

Once an iteration (Sprint) has started, the scope should remain stable unless the Product Owner and Development Team agree that a change is appropriate, and significant changes may even require canceling and replanning the Sprint in Scrum.

Why the other options are incorrect
A. ❌ Incorrect. Authority does not override Agile roles and processes. The team should not arbitrarily replace backlog items because an executive requested it.
B. ❌ Incorrect. Agreeing without prioritization and asking the team to work overtime violates Agile principles of sustainable pace and proper backlog management.
C. ✅ Correct. The Product Owner is responsible for stakeholder communication, prioritization, and deciding what delivers the most value.
D. ❌ Incorrect. Ignoring stakeholder input is unprofessional and contrary to Agile's emphasis on collaboration.

PMP Exam Tip:
Whenever a stakeholder—including a senior executive—requests a new feature or change, the best answer is usually to route the request through the Product Owner (Agile) or the formal change control process (Predictive) rather than having the development team act on it directly.

Here is our free PMI-ACP Exam sample question of the week. All questions for this season will be taken from the book 'Ace the PMI-ACP Exam'.

Question 1: The Managing Director (MD) of the organization stops by the task board of the team and makes a suggestion of an important feature that the development team should deliver in the current iteration. What should the development team do?

A. Since it is coming from the MD, it must be done at any cost. So drop an item of equal size from the backlog.
B. Say yes to the MD and then ask the team members to work overtime to achieve their target.
C. Ask the product owner so that he can discuss the value and priorities with the MD.
D. Ignore it, the MD will most likely forget what he said a few weeks later.