The Product Backlog is allowed to grow and change as more is learned about the product and its customers. It is not baselined, it is never a complete project plan, and it is not a handoff into a design phase.
Exam Question
Which best describes the Product Backlog? (choose the best answer)
- A. It is baselined to follow change management processes.
- B. It contains all foreseeable tasks and requirements from which the Scrum Team can develop and maintain a complete project plan.
- C. It is allowed to grow and change as more is learned about the product and its customers.
- D. It provides just enough information to enable a Scrum Team to start the design phase of a product.
Correct Answer
C. It is allowed to grow and change as more is learned about the product and its customers.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The Scrum Guide calls the Product Backlog “an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product.” Emergent means it changes as the Scrum Team and stakeholders learn from each Increment and from the market. New items appear, others are removed, and the order shifts. This reflects Scrum’s empirical basis: decisions are made on what is observed, not on a fixed upfront plan. A backlog that could not change would stop the team from adapting.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
A. It is baselined and follows change management. Baselining assumes the requirements are known and stable. The Product Backlog is expected to change all the time.
B. It has all foreseeable tasks for a complete project plan. The Product Backlog is never complete, and Scrum does not use a fixed project plan.
D. It gives just enough to start the design phase. Scrum has no design phase. Design happens every Sprint as part of building done Increments.
Exam Tip
Words like baselined, complete, all foreseeable or phase signal a waterfall view. The Scrum answer describes the Product Backlog as emergent.
Key Takeaways
- The Product Backlog is emergent and keeps changing.
- Change in the backlog is a sign of learning.
- Scrum has no separate design phase.
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