Who is responsible for team-level backlog prioritization?

The correct answer is the Product Owner, who plays a crucial role in backlog management at the team level within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). The Product Owner is directly responsible for defining user stories, prioritizing the team backlog, and ensuring that the work aligns with the overall goals of the product. They maintain a clear understanding of customer needs and business objectives, which allows them to make informed decisions about which features and tasks should be prioritized.

This role is essential for ensuring that the most valuable work is completed first, leading to the delivery of high-quality products that meet user requirements. The Product Owner collaborates closely with the team to clarify requirements and make necessary trade-off decisions about the scope, time, and resources involved in development.

In comparison, while the Scrum Master is responsible for the facilitation of the Scrum process, ensuring the team adheres to Agile practices, they do not set priority on the backlog items. The Release Train Engineer focuses on coordinating and facilitating program-level processes rather than team-level backlogs. The Program Manager, on the other hand, manages broader program objectives and aligns initiatives across multiple teams, but does not handle the day-to-day prioritization of a specific team’s backlog.