PMP_Exc_14

Two start-up companies have merged, and now more than 100 developers on eight agile teams are working on a common portfolio. Which agile practice or method can best ensure release coordination between the teams?

• Scrum of Scrums
• Mobbing
• Scrumban
• Feature-Driven Development

Answer explanation

Your answer is incorrect. FDD provides the most complete set of methods specifically for the needs of large software development projects. The correct answer is: Feature-Driven Development

Six months into a strategic agile project, company executives are closely monitoring its progress. The COO expresses frustration that the last weekly burn-down charts show the projected completion date significantly moving back and forward several times. How can the project manager forecast the completion date with more accuracy and certainty?

• Ensure upcoming backlog items are elaborated in more detail with the team.
• Educate the executive committee on the flexible nature of agile planning.
• Plan for variable-size iterations according to story complexity and load.
• Reduce frequency of the progress reports sent to senior stakeholders.

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. Erratic progress curve variations are typical of inconsistent or uninformed story point estimates. Backlog refinement can ensure that overly complex stories are broken down and that past progress informs new story estimates. The correct answer is: Ensure upcoming backlog items are elaborated in more detail with the team.

An ongoing agile project is measured as follows: According to the table, which two of the following are the project's metrics? (Choose TWO).

• SPI = 0.98
• CPI = 1.05
• CPI = 1.30
• SPI = 1.01
• CPI = 0.95

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. SPI is calculated as stories completed/stories planned (78/77 = 1.01) and CPI as planned value /completed value (3090K/2950K = 1.05). The correct answers are: CPI = 1.05, SPI = 1.01

A project team has been efficiently delivering results. The product upgrade they are working on must be released in three months or else a competitor’s new product will make theirs obsolete. Citing this reason, the product owner makes a sudden request for a feature revision. However, no one on the project team is capable of doing the work. The project sponsor is willing to extend the budget but CANNOT extend the schedule. What should the project manager do?

• Meet the new demand by adding new resources with the required skills.
• Recommend suspending the project until a firm decision can be made.
• Discuss options with the project sponsor and choose the best one.
• Challenge the request and initiate customer research to determine whether the new feature is desirable.

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. In situations with time constraints, the most efficient option is expanding the team to include skilled resources. Training is also an option if resources have the capability to learn within the timeframe. The project sponsor has already made their request, so it is up to the project manager to realize it. Agile projects are designed to function in highly complex and unpredictable environments, so suspending or cancelling the project hardly ever is an option. The correct answer is: Meet the new demand by adding new resources with the required skills.

A start-up has grown quickly, and there are now four (4) agile teams working on interrelated products. All teams have begun to experience impediments and gaps related to work in other teams. How should the project manager address this problem?

• Eliminate dependencies between teams.
• Favor collaboration tools over meetings.
• Implement a Scrum of Scrums layer.
• Merge into two large teams to reduce issues.

Answer explanation

Your answer is incorrect. Scrum of Scrums is the most effective way to coordinate work between teams working on interrelated products. The correct answer is: Implement a Scrum of Scrums layer.

The IT integration team has a major setback in a hybrid project. Testing has confirmed that the hardware does NOT support the target operating system. The agile team's software releases must now run on a later operating system version. What should the project manager do next?

• Meet with the scrum master to determine if the product vision is still valid.
• Meet with the product owner and team to update the product backlog during the sprint.
• Work with the agile team to run root cause analysis on why the problem did not surface earlier.
• Inform the team at the daily meeting and update the Definition of Done and Definition of Ready.

Answer explanation

Your answer is incorrect. "Changes of frame assumptions during execution requires impact analysis as quickly as possible. Product owner input is required for major scope changes (including rework) which would be reflected as updates to the product backlog. Reviewing the product vision would give you insight to use cases rather than specific OS versions. Root cause analysis is already performed by the IT team—the agile team must work with the new requirement—and changing the Definition of Done and Definition of Ready would NOT address the impact analysis on work already done." The correct answer is: Meet with the product owner and team to update the product backlog during the sprint.

A hybrid virtual reality project is running an agile software track and a predictive electronics track. Halfway into the project, delays are accumulating due to misaligned deliverable releases between the two tracks. Which two elements should the project manager combine to produce a common network diagram? (Choose TWO).

• Definition of Ready with dependency milestones
• Epic breakdown with work breakdown structure
• Product backlog with critical path task sequence
• Definition of Done with exit criteria
• Definition of Ready with work breakdown structure

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. Misalignment is caused by missing dependencies between the tracks. The purpose of the network diagram is to sequence activities based on dependency. The Scrum equivalent of a task start dependency is the Definition of Ready, and the equivalent of the task exit criteria are the Definition of Done. The correct answers are: Definition of Ready with dependency milestones, Definition of Done with exit criteria

A hybrid municipal waste management project combines many brief administrative tasks with small-scale public works. An agile track makes good progress on key objectives, but small tasks are accumulating in the backlog. Most tasks can be done in one day but are dependent on unpredictable triggering events. Which approach would be most effective to clear out these minor tasks faster?

• Combine multiple minor tasks to make story sizes consistent with key objectives.
• Reprioritize the backlog to favor the smallest stories and reassign them daily.
• Reprioritize the backlog on a daily basis so that recent triggers boost story priority.
• Integrate the small tasks to either the Definition of Done or acceptance criteria.

Answer explanation

Your answer is incorrect. The stories will NOT be considered complete until associated small tasks are triggered and completed. The correct answer is: Integrate the small tasks to either the Definition of Done or acceptance criteria.

A skincare company reports growing customer complaints about an underweight product. A project manager needs to determine if something needs to be changed in the production line. Which tool or technique can the project manager use for this task?

• Scatter diagram
• Affinity diagram
• Control chart
• Histogram

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. Control charts are used to determine whether or not a process is stable or has predictable performance. The correct answer is: Control chart

A project has the following characteristics: - A quality management plan is in place. - The quality management plan states that project deliverables must be reviewed, at a minimum, 1.5 weeks before the deadline. - Four (4) deliverables have missed this quality requirement. Which step should the project manager take?

• Reach out to the project sponsor for their input.
• Modify the quality management plan to conform to project practices.
• Request that the project undergo an internal audit.
• Use a cause-and-effect diagram for root cause analysis.

Answer explanation

Your answer is correct. By understanding the root cause of the issue, the project manager may avoid this type of problem later on in this and other projects. The correct answer is: Use a cause-and-effect diagram for root cause analysis.