Skip to content
PMPMedium

PMP Practice: Define Scope

Question 3 of 14 in Develop and Manage Project Scope

Pick an answer below — you'll get the explanation instantly, no signup.

Kofi Boateng-Owusu is the product owner for Fjord Analytics Group, a company building an AI-powered meal planning app. The team works in two-week sprints and tracks story points to measure velocity and forecast delivery. Over the past six sprints, the team has completed the following story points: Sprint 1: 28 points, Sprint 2: 32 points, Sprint 3: 26 points, Sprint 4: 34 points, Sprint 5: 30 points, Sprint 6: 28 points. The product backlog currently contains 145 story points of prioritized work that must be completed before the public launch. The executive sponsor has asked Luna to provide a realistic forecast for how many more sprints will be needed to complete the remaining scope, assuming the team maintains its current performance pattern. Luna wants to use the team's historical velocity data to calculate the most accurate forecast. Based on the team's average velocity, how many additional sprints should Luna forecast to complete the remaining 145 story points?
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: 5 sprints

Explanation

To forecast sprint capacity using historical velocity, calculate the team's average story points per sprint from past performance. Adding the completed points: 28 + 32 + 26 + 34 + 30 + 28 = 178 total points across 6 sprints. Dividing 178 by 6 gives an average velocity of 29.67 points per sprint. To complete the remaining 145 points at this velocity: 145 ÷ 29.67 = 4.89 sprints. Since partial sprints cannot be delivered, this rounds up to 5 complete sprints. This calculation method provides a realistic forecast based on demonstrated team performance rather than wishful thinking or theoretical capacity. Luna should communicate this 5-sprint forecast while noting that velocity can fluctuate and the team should inspect and adapt as they progress.

**Why not A:** Four sprints would require an average velocity of approximately 36 story points per sprint (145 ÷ 4 = 36.25), which significantly exceeds the team's demonstrated average of 29.67 points. This underestimates the time needed and creates an unrealistic commitment that could lead to quality issues and team burnout.

**Why not B:** Seven sprints would imply an average velocity of approximately 21 story points per sprint (145 ÷ 7 = 20.7), which significantly underestimates the team's demonstrated capacity. This overly conservative forecast wastes resources and unnecessarily delays the product launch when the team has consistently delivered higher output.

**Why not C:** Six sprints would require an average velocity of approximately 24 story points per sprint (145 ÷ 6 = 24.2), which is below the team's demonstrated average of 29.67 points. While closer to the correct answer, this estimate still does not accurately reflect the team's historical performance data.

Key Concept

This question covers Define Scope under Develop and Manage Project Scope (Process).

Share:

This is 1 of 100 free PMP questions

Unlock 6,300+ PMP practice questions with detailed explanations, progress tracking, and exam readiness prediction.

Unlock All Questions