What would be good advice to give the Product Owner?

A Development Team asks their Product Owner to re-order the Product Backlog. The team is waiting for an external supplier to deliver a specific software component. Without that component there won’t be enough work in the next Sprint to occupy the full team. The Product Owner asks the Scrum Master for help.

What would be good advice to give the Product Owner?
A . Remind the Product Owner that his primary concern is the flow of value reflected in the ordering of the Product Backlog.
B . Tell the Product Owner to re-order the Product Backlog so the work involving the external component can be planned in a separate sprint.
C . Tell the Product Owner that the Product Backlog should be ordered to maximize utilization of the Development Team.

View Answer

Answer: A

Explanation:

According to the Scrum Guide1, ordering Product Backlog items is solely up to the Product Owner’s discretion. The Product Owner orders items in the Product Backlog to best achieve goals and missions. To do this, they optimize value by considering various factors such as cost and benefit, risk, dependencies, date needed, etc.