PMP 50 Questions - Day 4

You are responsible for designing a new handheld gadget followed by a mass rollout to the market. The project has been requested as a result of your organization’s blue ocean strategy, and if successful, will create a market for its own. However there is a high degree of uncertainty around the requirements which can only be uncovered through prototyping. Which of the following approaches is most likely to succeed?

• Using a predictive approach for both design and rollout.

• Using a hybrid model; Agile approaches for the design phase followed by a predictive approach for the rollout.

• Using a hybrid model; predictive approach for the design phase followed by an Agile approach for the rollout.

• Using an Agile approach for both design and rollout.

Answer explanation

Since the product requirements are not known upfront and can only be discovered through a series of prototyping iterations, an Agile approach is suitable for the design phase. Once the product is developed, the mass rollout can be manage using a predictive life cycle. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 26] (Domain: Process, Task 13)

Your organization has been awarded a contract to develop and implement a new resource management system for a client based in Asia. Your development team is distributed across Europe. You are also planned to relocate the implementation team to the client location. What would be your biggest challenge in such a setup?

• Efficient and effective communication.

• Documenting sprint retrospectives.

• Controlling project costs.

• Monitoring project progress.

Answer explanation

The most efficient and effective method of communication is face-to-face conversation. When a project has a virtual team, the biggest challenge is ensuring efficient and effective communications. None of the other choices are more significant than this. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 9] (Domain: People, Task 3)

You and your team are executing the first Agile project in the organization. This is a special project for the organization as Agile is being piloted for the first time. You are nearing the end of the first iteration on the project and not all of the assigned user stories are complete. Can the team extend the iteration duration by a couple of days in order to complete all assigned stories in the iteration plan?

• Yes; but the extension cannot be more than 2 days.

• No; the iterations are time-boxed.

• Yes; but requires the approval of the product owner.

• Yes; but requires the approval of the Scrum Master.

Answer explanation

Iteration durations are time-boxed and cannot be extended. All incomplete stories need to be returned to the product backlog where they will get re-prioritized along with the other stories in the backlog. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 25] (Domain: Process, Task 6)

You are leading a massive knowledge work project. Some team members have complained they have to work overtime in order to complete some of the assigned work. What should you do to resolve this issue?

• Call a team retrospective

• Establish a Kanban board and set WIP limits

• Establish working agreements

• Launch a root cause analysis

Answer explanation

The problem is hand is unmanageable WIP. The solution is to limit the WIP based on team capacity. A Kanban board can be really helpful in setting this up. A Kanban board provides a means to visualize the flow of work, make impediments easily visible, and allow flow to be managed by adjusting the work in process limits. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 31] (Domain: People, Task 3)

You have asked a publisher to print some Agile principles on posters. When the posters were delivered, you found out that some of them had incorrect Agile principles printed on them. Which of the following posters has an incorrect Agile principle printed on it?

• “Plan conservatively and deliver aggressively”.

• “Working software is the primary measure of progress”.

• “Focus on technical excellence”.

• “Continuous delivery of valuable software”.

Answer explanation

“Plan conservatively and deliver aggressively” is not a valid Agile principle. The rest of the choices are all valid Agile principles. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 9] (Domain: People, Task 2)

You are responsible for designing a new lessons learned management system for an organization. As a part of the project, you need to consult with a number of senior stakeholders and assess their needs and requirements. You then have to facilitate consensus on the system features, workflows, processes and procedures. Once the system is developed, it has to be rolled out across the organization and all employees have to be trained in effective use of the system. You have chosen to use a hybrid project life cycle. Which of the following life cycles should be adopted for the user training phase of the project?

• Agile

• Iterative

• Incremental

• Predictive

Answer explanation

Once the system is successfully designed and built, user training may be an extensive task but this can well be planned in advance. Predictive life cycle should be the most structured approach for this phase of the project. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 26] (Domain: Process, Task 9)

You have called in key stakeholders for a brainstorming session. The main agenda item is to identify suitable project life cycles for a number of new initiatives launched by the organization. Two of the stakeholders are proposing exclusive use of predictive and Agile life cycles respectively. What should be your response?

• A blended life cycle needs to be designed which can then be exclusively used on all projects.

• Exclusive use of a life cycle on all projects is not recommended.

• Exclusive use of Agile life cycle is recommended as this is new way to manage projects.

• Exclusive use of Predictive life cycle is recommended as this is a tried and tested method.

Answer explanation

No life cycle can be perfect for all projects. Instead, each project finds a spot on the continuum that provides an optimum balance of characteristics of its context. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 19] (Domain: People, Task 2)

The product owner has requested some major changes that will have a significant impact on the project and require reprioritizing the remaining backlog items. What should you do?

• Cancel the current sprint and immediately call a retrospective.

• Complete the current iteration, reprioritize the backlog and adapt the new plan for the next iteration.

• Complete the started stories but do not bring any more “Ready” stories into “WIP”.

• Terminate the current sprint and reprioritize the entire project.

Answer explanation

Agile teams typically don’t adjust their long term plan during a sprint unless all of the items being developed are dropped from the backlog. It is recommended to complete the current sprint and then re-plan and adjust accordingly. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 25] (Domain: Process, Task 8)

You have recently been assigned as the project manager to a new service design project. This project resulted from the new corporate strategy your company has adopted. However, the organization is not sure how the new requested service would work in practice. What should you do?

• Create a proof of concept.

• Develop a product backlog.

• Determine the conditions of satisfactions.

• Conduct a root cause analysis.

Answer explanation

If the business is unsure of how the new business service might work in practice, create a proof of concept with evaluation criteria to explore desired outcomes. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 22] (Domain: Process, Task 1)

You are helping a software development team transition from traditional to Agile approaches. You tell the team that the single most important attribute of any product or feature is:

• The value customers associate with that product or feature.

• The time required to deliver the product or feature.

• The velocity at which the team takes on the development of that product or feature.

• The ideal days estimated to develop the minimum viable product or feature.

Answer explanation

A successful project, product or feature is the one that delivers value to the customer. Customers usually do not care how teams develop products, however they do care if the product delivers value to them or not. [Agile Practice Guide, 1st edition, Page 4] (Domain: Business Environment, Task 2)