Option B is the best answer because it reflects the agile and empirical nature of Scrum and Product Ownership. The Product Backlog is a living artifact that represents the current understanding of what the product needs to be most valuable for the customers and the stakeholders1. The Product Backlog is not a fixed or static document, but rather an emergent and dynamic one that adapts to the changing environment, needs, and feedback. The Product Owner is accountable for managing the Product Backlog and ensuring that it is transparent, ordered, and refined2. The Product Owner collaborates with the Scrum Team and the stakeholders to inspect and adapt the Product Backlog items based on the new insights, opportunities, and learnings that arise from the changing environment34. The Product Owner also uses various techniques, such as product vision, value proposition, user stories, experiments, and evidence-based management, to define, validate, and prioritize the Product Backlog items5 .
Option A is not the best answer because it contradicts the agile and empirical nature of Scrum and Product Ownership. The Product Backlog is not a requirements specification document, but rather a list of hypotheses and assumptions that need to be tested and validated in the real world5. The Product Backlog items are not detailed or fixed upfront, but rather refined and clarified as they get closer to implementation2. Updating the requirements specification document to ensure stability implies a plan-driven and predictive approach that does not embrace change and feedback, and that does not optimize value delivery.
Option C is not the best answer because it contradicts the agile and empirical nature of Scrum and Product Ownership. The Product Backlog is not a project plan, but rather a product roadmap that guides the development of the product. The Product Backlog does not have a predefined end date or scope, but rather evolves and changes as the product grows and matures1. Keeping the Product Backlog the same until the end of the project implies a plan-driven and predictive approach that does not embrace change and feedback, and that does not optimize value delivery.
Option D is not the best answer because it contradicts the agile and empirical nature of Scrum and Product Ownership. The Product Backlog is not a disposable artifact, but rather a cumulative and iterative one that builds on the previous work and learnings1. The Product Backlog items are not discarded or replaced, but rather refined and updated as the product evolves and changes2. Archiving the Product Backlog and creating a new one implies a disruptive and wasteful approach that does not leverage the existing knowledge and feedback, and that does not optimize value delivery.