PMPExam-2024_Lesson 1-BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

During a sprint retrospective, the project team suggests purchasing a 3D printer to print out product prototypes. The team says that their work would be more efficient with the printer and allow the project to be completed ahead of schedule. The organization does not have access to such a printer, and purchasing it would put the project over budget. What action, if any, should the scrum master take?

• Thank the team for their suggestion and tell them they need to do more with less
• Acquire the printer for the team using the project's management reserves
• Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to see if additional funds can be allocated
• No action is necessary since the expense would put the project over budget

Answer explanation

Agile leaders need to demonstrate leadership behaviors. As a servant leader, the scrum master has an obligation to ensure that the project team has all of the tools and resources to be successful. If the project team feels that the 3D printer would help them work more efficiently and benefit the project by having it completed earlier, the scrum master should attempt to secure the resource. Since the scrum master does not likely have the authority to approve an unplanned expense that would put the project over budget, approval should be sought from the appropriate authority, such as the project sponsor. The project sponsor might deny the request, but the scrum master should at least make the attempt. While you may notice that escalating issues to the sponsor (or other authority) is often considered an incorrect answer, each question should be reviewed in its context. Under the circumstances provided in this particular scenario and with the given set of these particular answer choices, escalating the issue to the project sponsor to see if additional funds can be allocated is the best answer to the question asked. A. Incorrect. Thanking the team for the suggestion is certainly appropriate. However, just dismissing the request in this manner would likely be discouraging and even demotivating to the team members. The scrum master should at least attempt to secure the resource for the project team by directing the request to the appropriate authority. B. Incorrect. Even if we assume that the project has a management reserve allocated for unknown unknowns and that the funds are sufficient for the acquisition, the scrum master does not have control over this resource. The scrum master would first need approval from the appropriate authority before accessing funds from the management reserve. C. Correct. As a servant leader, the scrum master has an obligation to ensure that the project team has all the tools they need to be successful. Since the scrum master does not likely have the authority for such a purchase, they should seek approval from the appropriate authority. The request might still get denied, but the scrum master should at least try. D. Incorrect. While the purchase will put the project over budget, the scenario suggests the project can be completed faster, thus delivering value earlier. The benefit of the early completion may eventually even out the cost of purchasing the printer. Hence, by taking no action without considering cost-benefit, the scrum master demonstrates poor judgment.

During a sprint retrospective, an issue is raised that some project team members are slow to respond to inquiries resulting in degraded project performance. The identified team members become defensive and claim that no standard had been established for response times. What might the agile leader do differently going forward to improve project performance?

• Establish a standard that all inquiries must be responded to within 24 hours
• Report the underperforming team members to their functional managers for disciplinary action
• Update the lessons learned register with the delays caused by the slow responses
• At every subsequent retrospective, review the team's social contract and revise it as needed

Answer explanation

As part of creating a collaborative project team environment, an agile project leader should ensure that the project team develops a set of team agreements at the start of the project. However, it is not uncommon that unforeseen conflicts that are not addressed in the team's social contract arise as the project progresses. The team agreements should evolve over time so that they continue to be relevant and effective. Revisiting the team agreements on a regular basis and revising them necessary might be helpful in addressing new concerns and establishing norms for team member behavior going forward. A. Incorrect. While the scenario is vague as to what inquiries exactly the team should respond to, the scenario does not provide any specific response times established for the project either. Regardless, response times or any other working agreements should be defined collaboratively by the team rather than being dictated by the project leader. B. Incorrect. There is no indication that the issue rises to the level that would require disciplinary action. Agile team members should work together to determine and establish appropriate response times and hold each other accountable. Only if all collaborative efforts have failed should the agile leader consider involving the functional managers. C. Incorrect. Updating the lessons learned register with what went well during the project/sprint and what needs improvement is common practice for well-managed projects. However, merely updating the lessons learned register or any other project document, for that matter, would not improve project performance, as requested by the question. D. Correct. Team agreements, sometimes referred to as the team charter or social contract, should be established at the start of the project. However, it is often necessary for the team agreements to evolve over the course of a project to address new issues and adapt to an ever-changing work environment.

A company is experiencing exponential growth and will soon run out of space in their current production facility. A needs assessment has been completed to evaluate alternatives. One of the options to support future growth is to build an expansion on to their existing production facility. What should the company do next?

• Collect requirements and develop the project management plan
• Understand the business goals and objectives to recommend proposals
• Prepare the business case and benefits management plan
• Perform the processes within the Initiating Process Group

Answer explanation

The business case is a documented economic feasibility study used to establish the validity of the benefits of a selected component lacking sufficient definition, and that is used as a basis for the authorization of further project management activities. The benefits management plan is the documented explanation defining the processes for creating, maximizing, and sustaining the benefits provided by a project or program. The business case and benefits management plan comprise the business documents which are used as an input to create the project charter. Pre-project work includes developing the needs assessment, business case, and benefits management plan. The pre-project work should be completed before project initiation. The question states that the needs assessment has already been completed; therefore, the next step is to prepare the business case and benefits management plan. A. Incorrect. Collecting requirements and developing the project management plan are activities that take place during project planning. According to the scenario, the project has not even been initiated yet. B. Incorrect. The needs assessment involves understanding business goals and objectives, issues, and opportunities and recommending proposals to address them. The scenario states that the needs assessment has already been completed. Therefore, this answer choice can be eliminated. C. Correct. Pre-project work includes developing the needs assessment, business case, and benefits management plan. The pre-project work should be completed before project initiation. The question states that the needs assessment has already been completed; therefore, the next step is to prepare the business case and benefits management plan. D. Incorrect. The Initiating Process Group includes the processes of Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders. Before these processes are performed, the pre-project work should be completed.

You meet with your team to determine the life cycle for your project. After analyzing the best way to define and manage requirements, develop deliverables, handle changes, control risk and cost, and engage key stakeholders, the decision is made to select a hybrid life cycle. With the project life cycle selected, how will the requirements be managed on your project?

• Defined during the transition to the customer
• Elaborated at periodic intervals during delivery
• Defined up-front before development begins
• Elaborated as often as needed during delivery

Answer explanation

Predictive project life cycles are characterized by an emphasis on the specification of requirements and detailed planning during the beginning phases of a project. Agile life cycles, on the other hand, are characterized by the progressive elaboration of requirements based on short iterative planning end executing cycles. Projects that are managed using hybrid methods combine elements of both approaches. Depending on how well or poorly the requirements are defined at the beginning of the project, the elaboration of requirements on hybrid projects will tend to either predictive or agile side of the project life cycles continuum. In any case, requirements on hybrid projects will be elaborated at periodic intervals during delivery with the time between the intervals being dependent on the level of detail of the requirements. A. Incorrect. Defining requirements during the transition to the customer make no sense. Requirements should be either defined up-front as it's done with traditionally managed projects or, at least, drafted at the beginning of the project and then progressively elaborated (with iterative projects) or at the beginning of each iteration (with agile projects). B. Correct. When a hybrid life cycle is selected for a project, requirements can be roughly defined up-front and then elaborated at periodic intervals during delivery. Depending on the way requirements are specified, the project hybrid life cycle may tend to be either more predictive or agile. C. Incorrect. Requirements are defined up-front before development begins in predictive, not hybrid, project life cycles. Such up-front planning is possible when requirements are stable and are unlikely to change significantly as the project progresses. D. Incorrect. Requirements are elaborated as often as needed during delivery in agile, not hybrid, project life cycles. Typically requirements on agile projects are vague, and only High level knowledge about the product exists. Requirements are elaborated as often as needed as more information becomes available.

You are leading an off-grid housing construction project. Each of the ten homes in the development will have solar shingles to generate energy and a novel energy storage system. The performing organization is highly experienced with traditional construction methods, but this is their first project to incorporate energy generation and storage. How might you best support continuous improvement efforts throughout the project?

• Construct the homes sequentially using a predictive model and hold a retrospective after the completion of each home
• Review the lessons learned repository during project planning and apply the knowledge gained during project execution
• Build all of the homes concurrently using a predictive approach and update the lessons learned register continuously
• Utilize an incremental project management approach for the development of the homes and hold a project retrospective

Answer explanation

The scenario describes a project with aspects of low uncertainty and risk, along with other aspects that have high uncertainty and risk. Since the performing organization has a great deal of experience with traditional construction methods, these aspects of the project represent little uncertainty and risk. However, the organization does not have experience with solar shingles and energy storage, making these aspects of the project high uncertainty and risk. One method of managing the uncertainty and risk is to combine a predictive project management framework with an incremental approach, resulting in a hybrid project. The construction of each home can follow the traditional waterfall framework, but also incorporate an incremental approach by building one home at a time (sequentially). Using the incremental approach and conducting a retrospective after the completion of each deliverable (similarly to how this process is carried out on agile projects) will provide the opportunity for lessons learned to be applied to each subsequent deliverable (home), thus providing opportunities for continuous improvement throughout project execution. A. Correct. Adopting an incremental approach by constructing the homes sequentially and, after each consecutive home is built, learning what went well and what should be improved will allow the project team to gain valuable information that can be applied to the construction of the subsequent homes in the development. B. Incorrect. Reviewing the organization's lessons learned repository might yield some useful information regarding home construction. However, the question indicates that this will be the organization's first project incorporating solar panels and energy storage. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the lessons learned repository will have information regarding energy generation and storage, which represents the highest risk and uncertainty for the project. C. Incorrect. Updating the lessons learned register continuously is a proper project management practice. However, building all of the homes concurrently would not provide an opportunity for lessons learned to be applied to the current project. For example, if the solar shingles are installed on all of the homes at the same time, any mistakes or poor practices would likely be duplicated across all of the homes. D. Incorrect. Utilizing an incremental approach is a good idea for this project. However, the project retrospective is held at the end of the project. While the project retrospective might be helpful in improving performance with future projects, it will not be helpful with improving performance throughout the current project as requested by the scenario.

A project team that is experienced in the waterfall project management approach has been assigned to their first agile project. To make the transition easier, it has been decided to keep some elements of the waterfall approach in place. During the iteration review, it was realized that a misunderstanding among the development team has led to a duplication of efforts. How might the project manager address this issue?

• Bring up the topic during the upcoming iteration retrospective
• Do nothing since the team members are transitioning from waterfall to agile
• Fallback to a waterfall project management framework going forward
• Submit a change request to update the communications management plan

Answer explanation

The question states the project team is transitioning from a waterfall approach to an agile project management framework. The fact the project still uses some elements of the waterfall to make the transition easier implies the project, as a whole, is hybrid. While retrospectives are typically associated with the agile project management framework, they can be used on any project, whether it is managed using waterfall/predictive, agile, or hybrid methodology. Retrospectives can be used to investigate issues and provide the project team an opportunity to learn from its previous work. Retrospectives allow the team members to improve and adapt their processes. During the iteration retrospective, the project team has the opportunity to discuss the issue of duplicate efforts and then adjust their practices to avoid the issue from happening in the upcoming iterations. A. Correct. Regularly scheduled retrospectives can be used on any project, predictive, agile, hybrid. Retrospectives provide the project team an opportunity to learn from its previous work, investigate issues, and improve and adapt their processes. B. Incorrect. Project managers are responsible to do everything in their power to make the projects they are leading successful. Duplication of efforts may lead to a waste of project resources thus reducing the chances of the project's success. Therefore, doing nothing is unlikely to be the correct answer. C. Incorrect. It is unclear if switching to a waterfall project management framework would resolve the issue of duplicate work. Regardless, this is an extreme response to a relatively minor issue. The project manager should not overreact and revert back to using a waterfall approach, but rather address the issue from within the agile or hybrid framework. D. Incorrect. Change requests may be used when employing a hybrid project management framework implied by the question. However, even if the project used the change control system in place to manage changes, it is unclear as to what update exactly to the communications management plan would have been required so that it would have resolved the issue of duplicate efforts.

A company operating in a high-tech industry with new technologies emerging every few months charters a project that is expected to have unstable requirements for its whole duration. A project manager is assigned, and the sponsor requests the project manager to suggest a strategy that best supports the adaptability and resiliency of the project in this environment. Which of the following capabilities should the project leader leverage for this strategy?

• Expediting decision making to occur at the first possible moment
• Acquiring project team members with a highly specialized set of skills
• Limiting the exposure to tacit knowledge and leveraging explicit knowledge
• Incorporating short feedback loops to adapt the product and process quickly

Answer explanation

Project leaders should embrace adaptability and resiliency. Adaptability refers to the ability to respond to changing conditions, while resiliency is the ability to absorb impacts and recover quickly from a setback or failure. In the scenario, the organization operates in the high-tech industry with new technologies emerging every few months, and the project is expected to have unstable requirements for its entire duration. Adaptive (agile) methodologies are best suited to projects with unstable requirements. A predictive framework typically requires the project to be planned in detail upfront, and changes are tightly controlled. Thus, a predictive framework works well when the requirements are well understood up front and are not likely to change. Conversely, an iterative and incremental life cycle incorporates planning, execution, and feedback within each iteration permitting the requirements and deliverables to be progressively elaborated. Short feedback loops are a fundamental component of agile projects. Integrating short feedback loops into the project workflow enhances adaptability and resiliency by ensuring that the project team can collect fast and frequent feedback from relevant stakeholders and increases the opportunities to adapt to emerging technologies and changes. A. Incorrect. Adaptability is enhanced by deferring decision-making to the last responsible moment. By deferring decision making, more information and alternatives to discuss will be available by the time a decision must be made. Making a decision too early could cause the team to pursue a less than optimal approach with an increased risk of rework. B. Incorrect. Project teams with broad skill sets, rather than narrow, will enhance adaptability and resiliency. For example, a software development project would benefit from individuals with coding experience as well as knowledge in testing, integration, and business analysis. Having highly specialized team members may lead to bottlenecks. C. Incorrect. Tacit knowledge is personal knowledge that can be difficult to articulate and share. Explicit knowledge is the type of knowledge that can be codified using symbols. Both types of knowledge are beneficial for projects. Limiting one type at the expense of another is unlikely to support the adaptability and resiliency of the project. D. Correct. Incorporating short feedback loops into the team's workflow enables the team to adapt quickly. This approach ensures that the project team collects fast and frequent feedback from the relevant stakeholders and increases the opportunities to adapt to emerging technologies on a project that is expected to have unstable requirements.

An organization is about to undertake three complex agile projects that will have interdependencies between them. Each project has a team consisting of six members and is led by a scrum master. The projects are part of a bigger program. What is the best strategy for the program manager to coordinate the work between the projects?

• Suggest that the scrum masters establish a scrum of scrums between the projects
• Allow the project teams to work independently to expedite the delivery of value
• Combine the project teams into one large scrum team led by a scrum master
• Ensure that all project activities are scheduled during initial project planning

Answer explanation

Project leaders need to recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions. When interdependencies exist, project leaders need to adopt systems thinking. Systems thinking entails taking a holistic view of how projects and project parts interact with each other. Systems thinking is critical in dealing with complex projects with interdependencies so the organization can maximize the delivery of business value through the various value streams. When agile teams need to coordinate their activities to address interdependencies between various projects, as in the scenario provided, a scaling approach is often used. One scaling approach is to incorporate a scrum of scrums. A scrum of scrums is a meeting where representatives from each scrum team meet to coordinate their activities between the projects. Under the circumstances described in the scenario, where three complex agile projects with interdependencies between them are planned to be carried out, suggesting that the scrum masters establish a scrum of scrums between the projects is the best course of action for the program manager. A. Correct. Often, interdependencies exist between projects and project teams. A scrum of scrums is a meeting where representatives from each scrum team meet to coordinate their activities between the projects. This approach will help ensure that the project work is completed in a coordinated manner to maximize the delivery of value for the organization. B. Incorrect. The question states that interdependencies exist between the three projects. Allowing the project teams to work in isolation would make it hard to impossible for the teams to coordinate their work. This lack of coordination would cause impediments between the projects and would likely delay the delivery of value rather than expedite it. C. Incorrect. Scrum teams typically consist of three to nine project team members. Large projects often require that the project be broken up into separate projects and project teams. In this case, combining the project teams would result in a team with 18 team members, which is significantly larger than what is recommended by agile best practices. D. Incorrect. When requirements are known upfront, a predictive project management approach is used. This allows the development of a schedule for all project activities during initial project planning. However, the scenario describes agile projects, implying the requirements are vague and won't allow scheduling of 'all' activities early in the project.

First, a project manager assisted with the development of the project charter which has been approved. Second, he completed the development of the stakeholder register. What should the project manager do next?

• Submit a change request to update any project documents with information gathered during the Identify Stakeholders process
• Update the communications management plan to include the communication requirements of stakeholders identified in the newly developed stakeholder register
• Update the stakeholder engagement plan with any pertinent information uncovered during the Identify Stakeholders process
• Establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve

Answer explanation

The question states that the development of the stakeholder register has just been completed. The stakeholder register is created during the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholders process. Change requests and project management plan updates can be outputs of the Identify Stakeholders process, but not during the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholders process. The project management plan does not exist when the Initiating Process Group is first completed. Change requests are not required until the project management plan has been completed and approved. Once the project charter and the stakeholder register have been completed at the start of the project, the Initiating Process Group is complete. The next logical step is to begin project planning with the Planning Process Group. The Planning Process Group is represented by the answer choice that defines this group as specified in the reference: "establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve". A. Incorrect. A change request is not required at this point in the project. The question states that the project charter and the stakeholder register have just been completed, which means the Initiating Process Group has just been completed and the Planning Process Group has yet to begin. Change requests are not required until the project management plan has been completed and approved. B. Incorrect. The question indicates that the stakeholder register, which is developed during the Identify Stakeholders process, has just been completed. The communications management plan, a subsidiary of the project management plan, has yet to be created with the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholder process. Thus, the communications management plan cannot be updated. C. Incorrect. The stakeholder register is created during the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholders process. The stakeholder engagement plan, a component of the project management plan, does not yet exist after the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholders process. Therefore, there is nothing to update. D. Correct. The stakeholder register is created during the first iteration of the Identify Stakeholders process. Once the project charter and the stakeholder register have been completed at the start of the project, the Initiating Process Group is complete. The next logical step is to begin project planning with the Planning Process Group. This answer choice is the definition of the Planning Process Group, making this the best answer to the question asked.

During project execution, the new state-of-the-art technology that is used on the project to produce the deliverables is unstable, which puts the whole project at risk of failure. Your sponsor is on vacation and cannot be reached. To get immediate attention to the issue, you want to know what is the escalation procedure. What should you do next?

• Consult the communications management plan
• Consult the risk register
• Consult the stakeholder engagement plan
• Submit a change request to replace the technology

Answer explanation

The communications management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, implemented, and monitored for effectiveness. The plan contains information such as stakeholder communication requirements, what information will be communicated, the reason for the distribution of information, and escalation processes. In the scenario, you need immediate action, and your sponsor is unavailable. You should consult the communications management plan to understand the escalation process for the project. A. Correct. The communications management plan describes how project communications will be planned, structured, implemented, and monitored for effectiveness. The plan contains information on escalation processes; therefore, the communications management plan would be the best document to consult. B. Incorrect. The risk register provides details of identified individual project risks along with their risk responses. While the risk described in the scenario may be documented in the risk register along with its corresponding risk response, the question asks what you should do next to find the escalation procedure rather than address the risk. The risk register does not contain information on the escalation procedure making this choice an incorrect answer. C. Incorrect. The stakeholder engagement plan identifies the strategies and actions required to promote the productive involvement of stakeholders in decision making and execution. Escalation processes are not addressed in the stakeholder engagement plan. D. Incorrect. Although a change request may be required to address the issue with the technology, the question is asking to select the answer choice that describes your next step in escalating the matter for immediate attention. Submitting a change request is not likely to draw the immediate attention of the relevant stakeholders and is, therefore, not the best answer to the question asked.