GAQM CASPO-001 - Certified Agile Scrum Product Owner (CASPO)

TheScrum Guideexplicitly states: "The Product Owner is accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes... clearly expressing Product Backlog items." This responsibility ensures that the items reflect stakeholder needs and are understandable to the Developers. Option B is incorrect—the Scrum Master facilitates and coaches, not manages the Product Backlog. Option C is wrong—neither the Scrum Master nor Developers are accountable for this; it’s the Product Owner’s role. Option D introduces a "business analyst" role, which isn’t part of Scrum; the Product Owner directly handles this duty without delegation to a proxy. Thus, A is correct.

The Product Owner’s role during a Sprint centers on maximizing value through Product Backlog management and stakeholder engagement, as outlined in theScrum Guide.

C:Refinement is a key activity: "The Product Owner may do the above work [Product Backlog management], or may delegate the responsibility to others. Regardless, the Product Owner remains accountable." Collaborating with Developers ensures items are clear and "Ready."

E:Stakeholder collaboration is critical: "The Product Owner is also accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes... representing the needs of many stakeholders in the Product Backlog."

A:Attending every Daily Scrum isn’t typical; it’s the Developers’ event, and the Product Owner attends only if needed.

B:The Developers manage their work plan (Sprint Backlog); the Product Owner doesn’t update it.

The Product Owner’s primary accountability is maximizing the value of the product, per theScrum Guide. Metrics should reflect outcomes, not just internal process efficiency:

A (Time to market):Faster delivery of Increments to the market validates value through real-world feedback, a key Scrum principle.

B (Customer satisfaction):This directly measures whether the product meets user needs, aligning with value delivery.

C (Velocity):While useful for Developers to gauge capacity, it’s an internal metric, not adirect indicator of value.

D (Productivity):This focuses on effort, not outcome, and isn’t tied to value in Scrum.

In Scrum, Sprints are continuous and fixed-length, with no gaps allowed between them. TheScrum Guideexplicitly states: "A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint." This ensures a consistent cadence of delivery and adaptation, a cornerstone of Scrum’s empirical process. Let’s examine each option:

A (Not enough "Ready" items):The Product Backlog can be refined incrementally; a lack of "Ready" items doesn’t justify delaying a Sprint. The team can start with what’s available and refine further during the Sprint.

B (No Sprint Goal):The Sprint Goal is defined during Sprint Planning, not beforehand. Its absence pre-Sprint isn’t a valid delay reason.

C:This aligns with theScrum Guide’s mandate for immediate succession, making it correct.

D (QA needs more time):Scrum rejects external dependencies like a separate QAdepartment; the Developers must deliver a "Done" Increment within the Sprint. Delaying contradicts this.