The number of Product Backlog items for a Sprint is determined by the Developers. They decide how many items to pull into the Sprint based on their capacity, the size and complexity of the work, and their past performance, because in Scrum the Developers are self-managing and own the Sprint Backlog.

Who Determines How Many Product Backlog Items the Developers Select for a

Sprint?

Quick Scoop

  • The Developers choose how many Product Backlog items to take into a Sprint.
  • They make this call during Sprint Planning , in discussion with the Product Owner about priorities and the Sprint Goal.
  • The Product Owner orders the backlog, but does not decide the quantity; the Scrum Master does not decide it either.

Official Scrum Perspective

From a Scrum-exam style point of view, if you see a multiple-choice question like:

Who determines how many Product Backlog items the Developers select for a Sprint?

The correct single answer is:

  • C. The Developers.

Why?

  • The Sprint Backlog is “a plan by and for the Developers,” which includes the selected Product Backlog items and the plan to deliver them.
  • Developers are expected to be self-managing , so they decide what they can realistically complete in one Sprint based on:
    • Team capacity (holidays, people out, etc.).
* Complexity and risk of items.

* Past velocity or historical throughput.

What the Other Roles Do (and Don’t Do)

Product Owner

  • Orders the Product Backlog by value, risk, and necessity.
  • Clearly communicates what is most important next.
  • Does not decide how many items the Developers take; they provide priorities, not capacity decisions.

Scrum Master

  • Facilitates Sprint Planning and helps everyone understand Scrum.
  • Removes impediments and coaches the team, but does not pick or count items for the Sprint.

Stakeholders

  • Provide input, feedback, and context to the Product Owner.
  • Do not determine which or how many items are selected for a Sprint.

How Developers Decide “How Many” in Practice

In real teams, the Developers often use a mix of approaches:

  1. Velocity / Story Points
    • Track how many story points they usually finish in a Sprint (for example, ~40 points).
    • In Sprint Planning, they select items that roughly add up to that range.
  1. Capacity-based Planning
    • Look at how many hours or days are available for each person in the Sprint.
    • Break stories into tasks and check if the total fits into the available capacity.
  1. Risk and Buffer
    • Fill most of their capacity with higher-priority items.
    • Leave a bit of slack for unknowns and possibly some small “bonus” items if they finish early.

The key idea: they pull work based on realistic expectations, not have work pushed on them by others.

Mini FAQ and Forum-Style View

“Can the Product Owner push the team to take more items?”

They can negotiate and challenge the team, especially about the Sprint Goal , but they cannot dictate the number of Product Backlog items.

“Is it ever ‘the Scrum Team’ instead of just Developers?”

During Sprint Planning, the whole Scrum Team collaborates, but the final decision on how many items to select is made by the Developers , since they own the Sprint Backlog and the plan.

“What about exams (PSM, PSPO, PSU, etc.)?”

Exam-prep resources consistently state: the correct answer is the Developers , not the Product Owner, Scrum Master, or stakeholders.

SEO Extras

  • Focus phrase: who determines how many product backlog items the developers select for a sprint – answer: the Developers decide, based on capacity and forecasted work.
  • This topic remains a trending discussion on Scrum forums, especially among people preparing for certifications and debating how “pure” Scrum is applied in real-life teams.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.