PMI CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) Examination Content OutlineAgile Frameworks/MethodologiesHard
A Product Owner is trying to prioritize a Product Backlog that has a mix of new features, technical debt, and bug fixes. Various stakeholders have conflicting opinions on what is most important. To ensure the team is always working on the highest value items, which prioritization technique should the Product Owner primarily use?
- ACritical Path Method (CPM)
- BStory Points
- CFirst-in, First-out (FIFO)
- DWeighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
WSJF is a prioritization model that helps sequence jobs to produce maximum economic benefit. It calculates the Cost of Delay divided by Job Duration (size), ensuring that items with high value and low effort are prioritized, maximizing throughput and value delivery.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. CPM is a project management technique for scheduling activities in traditional projects, not an Agile prioritization method for value delivery.
- B. Story Points are units of estimation for effort, not a prioritization technique itself. They are used as part of WSJF (for Job Duration).
- C. FIFO simply processes items in the order they arrive, which does not guarantee delivery of the highest value first.
Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
WSJF is a prioritization model used to sequence work to provide the maximum economic benefit. It's calculated as Cost of Delay divided by duration (or size).
- Maximizes economic benefit.
- Cost of Delay / Job Duration.
- Prioritizes high value, low effort.
- Used in SAFe, Lean-Agile.
Memory trick: To maximize value, weigh the delay and pick the shortest path to economic gain.