An increment was delivered to the customer at the end of a sprint.

When a delivered increment fails to meet expected quality, the project manager should first verify whether agreed quality practices were actually followed and whether quality controls were effective. Reviewing the evidence of QA activities performed (A) helps determine if the team met the Definition of Done, executed required tests, completed reviews, and produced documented results. This is the most direct step to identify the gap: was quality planning insufficient, were QA steps skipped due to time pressure, or were tests inadequate to detect defects? Impact analysis (B) is important, but it is premature without understanding why quality failed and what must change to prevent recurrence. Adding time for inspections next increment (C) assumes the solution is more inspection rather than improving prevention and adherence to standards. Confirming expected quality with the customer (D) can be useful, but in most cases expectations are already defined through acceptance criteria and DoD; the immediate need is to check compliance and effectiveness of the team’s QA process. Evidence-based QA review supports corrective actions that restore quality and protect future sprint outcomes.

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