The Purpose Alignment Model is a strategic technique used to evaluate whether an initiative, feature, or increment is worth pursuing. It helps teams analyze proposed work by plotting it on a matrix with two axes: Market Differentiator (how it helps compete) and Mission Critical (how essential it is for the business to function). This framework directly addresses the team's need to discuss and decide "what solution increments are worth doing" by aligning potential work with business and customer value, ensuring effort is focused on the most impactful activities.

A. Backlog refinement is a tactical process for preparing already-prioritized backlog items for development, not for the initial strategic assessment of whether an increment is worth doing.

B. Portfolio kanban is a method for visualizing and managing the flow of large-scale initiatives, not a technique for evaluating their intrinsic business value or strategic alignment.

D. Story elaboration is the process of adding detail and acceptance criteria to a user story that has already been deemed valuable, not for making the initial value judgment.

International Institute of Business Analysis. (2017). Agile Extension to the BABOK® Guide (Version 2).

Correct Answer (C): Section 7.16

Purpose Alignment Model

p. 113. The guide states

"The Purpose Alignment Model is used to assess ideas and features in the context of customer and business value... It helps agile teams to focus on options that have the highest potential value."

Incorrect Option (A): Section 7.2

Backlog Refinement

p. 78. This section describes the technique as an "ongoing process of getting backlog items ready for the delivery team to work on."

Incorrect Option (D): Section 7.20

Story Elaboration

p. 122. This is defined as "the analysis and decomposition of a story to understand the underlying need and the work required to fulfill that need."