PMI SH - Engage and Support Virtual Teams

An agile project manager based in country A is working with a development team and business analyst in country B, and a quality assurance team in country C. During the second sprint, it becomes apparent that all of the test cases have failed. The agile facilitator ascertains that the business analyst changed the acceptance criteria of the stories and only communicated these changes to their local team.

What should the agile project manager implement going forward to prevent this from recurring?

• Password protection on the user stories

• Signed change control documentation

• Automated change notifications from the user story tool

• Backlog grooming

Answer explanation

Solution: D. Backlog grooming

Backlog grooming is a regular session where backlog items are discussed, reviewed, and prioritized by product managers, product owners, and the rest of the team. The primary goal of backlog grooming is to keep the backlog up-to-date and ensure that backlog items are prepared for upcoming sprints. This will help with preventing uncommunicated actions and changes.

Due to a lack of locally skilled resources, a company employs an internationally dispersed project team that will work virtually. The project manager has never worked with a virtual team and is concerned about engagement. 

What should the project manager do to ensure this virtual team remains engaged?

• Ensure the entire virtual team attends the project kickoff meeting.

• Adopt the communications management plan of a past virtual team.

• Rely on asynchronous communication for all major status reports.

• Conduct recurring check-ins and meetings at scheduled intervals. 

Answer explanation

Solution: D. Conduct recurring check-ins and meetings at scheduled intervals. 

Regular check-ins and meetings can help keep the team engaged and on track. These meetings can be conducted virtually and should be scheduled at periodic intervals. This can help keep the team on track and ensure that everyone is engaged and working towards the same goals. Regular communication is key for building trust and ensuring that everyone remains focused. Meetings and check-ins can also help ensure that everyone is accountable for their responsibilities and commitments and help to identify issues early on.

The other options are incorrect. 

Ensuring the team attends the kickoff meeting and adopting the communications management plan of a past virtual team does not directly address the matter of ongoing engagement. Past communication plans may not be appropriate for the new team, and attending the kickoff meeting does not ensure continued engagement.

Relying on asynchronous communication for all major status reports can lead to delays and misunderstandings.

The other answer choices are incorrect because they do not ensure the team members remain engaged.

A project manager is managing a project for a successful startup. The startup has shown exponential growth with multiple benefits to the team members, including flexible work hours and a work-from-home policy. During the last retrospective, one of the team members noted that the team velocity improved when the team was physically gathered in the project room.

What should the project manager do?

• Gather feedback and analyze the impact of physical location on team velocity.

• Refine the backlog to improve team velocity and maintain current policies.

• Share the idea with senior management and suggest updating company policies.

• Update the resource management plan and team charter to promote colocation.

Answer explanation

Solution: A. Gather feedback and analyze the impact of physical location on team velocity.
The project manager should gather feedback and analyze the impact of location on team velocity to better understand the team's needs and preferences and make informed decisions about how to optimize team productivity. It is important for the project manager to seek validation, ensure alignment, and identify potential impacts in order to make a well-informed decision. 
Other options that do not involve a holistic understanding of the situation may not be effective in optimizing team productivity.

Engagement and motivation can be successfully achieved by the project manager in a virtual team by all the following, except:

• Goal Setting

• Task Structures

• Inefficient Collaboration

• Reward Systems

Answer explanation

Solution: C. Inefficient Collaboration

There are studies that prove that engagement and motivation can be successfully accomplished by the project manager and this can be achieved through goal setting, task structures, and reward systems

One in two dispersed teams fails to reach objectives due to:

• Inability to manage the distributed workforce

• Conflict management

• Team purpose identification

• Distribution of power

Answer explanation

Solution: A. Inability to manage the distributed workforce

Research has indicated that one in two dispersed teams has been shown to fail reaching its objectives due to its inability to manage the distributed workforce.

A multinational company is locally developing a digital product using a new technology platform. The only expert on this platform is located in the company's headquarters, and they are responsible for providing support to different countries.

How can the local project manager ensure the involvement of this expert?

• Design a travel schedule so that timely, onsite assistance can be provided.

• Include the expert on the team using a virtual environment.

• Ask the project sponsor to assign the expert as a full-time member of the team.

• Ask team members to contact the expert as an external expertise source on an as-needed basis.

Answer explanation

Solution: B. Include the expert on the team using a virtual environment

The expert is not located locally, but needs to be involved in the team while maintaining their other support responsibilities. The PM needs to engage the expert using a virtual environment. They cannot easily be reassigned as a full time member due to other responsibilities and a travel schedule will take time away both from the project and the other responsibilities. Since they are an expert, they should be engaged virtually as a team member and not just consulted when needed.

During a new agile project, there have been hindrances related to budgeting and time management. The remote quality assurance team reported a lengthy defect list following completion of a couple sprints. The project manager concluded that the issues stem from language misinterpretation and not project quality.

What should the project manager do?

• Prepare and execute sessions with the full project team to review the list of required tasks and descriptions.

• Create a meeting with the quality assurance team and voice concerns regarding the feedback they provided.

• Request a financial increase from the change control board (CCB) to employ a quality assurance team locally, as opposed to remote.

• Combine the quality assurance team and the development team to complete testing at the conclusion of the project.

Answer explanation

Solution: A. Prepare and execute sessions with the full project team to review the list of required tasks and descriptions

The project manager should prepare and execute sessions with the full project team to review the list of required tasks and descriptions. The project team needs to agree on what is important and required to resolve misunderstandings.

The other answer choices are incorrect. They are focused on project quality but the issue deals with defining requirements.

A project manager has been assigned a project that involves a virtual, multicultural team including representatives from various countries. The project manager needs to prepare a kickoff meeting.

What should the project manager do to prepare for the meeting?

• Set rules and regulations that must be followed during the project.

• Ask the sponsor for different resources to facilitate the project.

• Consider various time zones, communication capabilities, and possible constraints.

• Set up the project sponsor's language as the official project communication language.

Answer explanation

Solution: C. Consider various time zones, communication capabilities, and possible constraints.

The project manager has to consider various internal and external enterprise environmental factors (EEFs) related to variables that affect, restrain, or influence the project team. this includes geographically spread virtual teams with multicultural backgrounds in different time zones, it's crucial for the PM to understand the team's culture, availability, and preferences for the kickoff meetings.

A new project manager is attempting to enable shared leadership within their virtual team. Which of the following options should the project manager avoid?

• Respect team members’ competencies

• Loosen the reins and avoid the “responsibility trap”

• Encourage leadership behaviors

• Maintain a "natural distance" with the team

Answer explanation

Solution: D. Maintain a "natural distance" with the team

In many companies, team members report a “natural distance” between the team leader and the team members. Team members feel separated from the team leader, who is often rather seen as management's representative than being a true team member. However, when team leaders interpret themselves as supporting team task accomplishments through their participation in shared leadership, just as any other team member, then team leaders can become more respected and trusted team members themselves. As such, they will be involved in more open communication processes and thus foster the very core purpose of virtual project teams, the integration of team members’ knowledge across distances.

Which of the following reduces complexity on any project?

• Team members are represented by diverse time zones

• Team members come from multiple global offices

• Team members have a variety of cultural backgrounds

• Team members use an agreed upon process to get the work done

Answer explanation

Solution: D. Team members use an agreed upon process to get the work done

In virtual team environments, it is essential to have agreed upon processes and procedures to ensure effectiveness in resolving issues and reporting on the project to ensure the project keeps moving forward toward a successful conclusion.