Agile (Project Management) Practice Test 1 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Horizontal Market Software is best described by which of the following?

Developed and used across many industries (Correct answer)
Developed for many organizations
Developed for one organization
Developed for a dedicated customer

Correct answer: Developed and used across many industries

Horizontal market software is designed to address common business needs that are applicable across a wide variety of industries, rather than being tailored for a specific niche. Examples include accounting software, CRM systems, or project management tools that can be used by businesses regardless of their particular sector. This broad applicability makes it valuable to many different types of organizations.

Question 2: Small stand-alone applications that demonstrate what you've learnt are called spike solutions. If you need to test an approach to your production code, which of the following spike kinds will you use?

Scheduling Spikes
Iteration Spikes
Development Spike
Design Spike (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Design Spike

A design spike is a short, time-boxed investigation specifically aimed at exploring a technical approach or solution to a problem before committing to its full implementation. Its purpose is to reduce risk and uncertainty by testing assumptions, evaluating technologies, or understanding complex design challenges. This allows the team to make informed decisions about how to proceed with production code.

Question 3: What is the best way to explain an Agile leader's key role?

Manage stakeholders
Manage work allocation to team members
Manage teams without managing their tasks (Correct answer)
Manage WBS, schedule and cost of project

Correct answer: Manage teams without managing their tasks

An Agile leader's primary role is to serve the team, fostering an environment where they can be self-organizing and effective. This involves removing impediments, coaching, and providing support, rather than dictating individual tasks or micro-managing their daily activities. By focusing on the team's overall well-being and capability, the leader empowers them to manage their own work and achieve goals.

Question 4: What is the name of the XP technique in which two workers partner up, with one person coding and the other thinking as the Navigator?

Planning Poker
Pair Programming (Correct answer)
Coding Technique
Planning Technique

Correct answer: Pair Programming

Pair programming is an Extreme Programming (XP) practice where two developers work together at one workstation. One person, the 'driver,' writes the code, while the other, the 'navigator,' continuously reviews the code, thinks about the overall design, and identifies potential issues. This collaborative approach enhances code quality, facilitates knowledge transfer, and reduces defects.

Question 5: Elapsed Time is defined by which of the following?

Is the amount of time that something takes when stripped of all peripheral activities
Is the same as Ideal Time
Is the amount of time the team spent on the iteration
Is the amount of time that passes on a clock or perhaps a calendar (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Is the amount of time that passes on a clock or perhaps a calendar

Elapsed time refers to the actual duration that passes from the start to the end of an activity, as measured by a clock or calendar. Unlike ideal time, which excludes interruptions, elapsed time accounts for all real-world factors like breaks, meetings, and other non-work activities. It represents the total wall-clock time taken for a task or project to be completed.

Question 6: What does 'Ha' stand for in Shu Ha Ri's Agile Team Stages?

Follow the rule
Be the rule
Break the rule (Correct answer)
None of the above

Correct answer: Break the rule

Shu Ha Ri describes stages of learning and mastery, often applied to Agile teams. 'Shu' means to follow the rules, 'Ha' means to break the rules or adapt them, and 'Ri' means to transcend the rules and innovate. In the 'Ha' stage, the team has a solid understanding of the foundational principles and can begin to experiment, modify, and adapt practices to better suit their specific context.

Question 7: ROTI is best described by which of the following?

Measure of quality of features delivered in an iteration
Measure of effectiveness of the retrospective meeting (Correct answer)
Measure of product backlogs remaining
Measure of required effort to deliver in an iteration

Correct answer: Measure of effectiveness of the retrospective meeting

ROTI stands for 'Return on Time Invested' and is a quick feedback mechanism used to gauge the perceived value and effectiveness of a meeting, particularly retrospectives. Participants typically rate how worthwhile the meeting was, helping the team understand if their time was well spent and identify areas for improving future meeting structures and content. It directly measures the meeting's impact.

Question 8: Which financial return metric is the most appropriate for comparing the values of two distinct cash flow streams?

Discounted Payback Period
Compound Interest
Internal Rate of Return (Correct answer)
Payback Period

Correct answer: Internal Rate of Return

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a financial metric that calculates the discount rate at which the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows from a project equals zero. It provides a single percentage rate that can be used to compare the profitability of different investment opportunities, even those with distinct cash flow streams. A higher IRR generally indicates a more desirable project.

Question 9: Which of the following indicates an estimate of the project's monetary benefits?

Return on investment (ROI) (Correct answer)
Internal rate of return (IRR)
Net present value (NPV)
Gross domestic product (GDP)

Correct answer: Return on investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment. It directly quantifies the amount of financial return generated relative to the investment's cost. A positive and high ROI indicates that the project is expected to deliver significant monetary benefits, making it a key indicator for estimating financial gains.

Question 10: One of your stakeholders need more information than the vision statement gives, but not as much as the release and iteration plans provide. With which of the following progress reports would you share this stakeholder's information?

Status email
Iteration plan
Productivity chart
Roadmap (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Roadmap

A product roadmap provides a high-level visual summary of the product's vision, strategic direction, and planned evolution over time. It offers more detail than a simple vision statement by outlining key initiatives and features, but it avoids the granular detail found in release or iteration plans. This makes it ideal for stakeholders who need a strategic overview of upcoming goals without getting bogged down in specifics.

Question 11: One of your stakeholders wants to see how the project is progressing but isn't interested in the details. Which of the following reports are you able to share with this individual?

Release plan
Burn up chart (Correct answer)
Weekly demo
Vision Statement

Correct answer: Burn up chart

A burn-up chart visually tracks the total amount of work completed against the total scope of the project over time. It provides a clear, high-level overview of progress and any changes in the project's scope. This makes it an excellent tool for communicating overall project trajectory to stakeholders who want to see progress without delving into granular task details.

Question 12: What are the three types of coaches?

Coaching, Mentoring and Advising
Teaching, Coaching and Advising (Correct answer)
Mentoring, Teaching and Advising
Coaching, Informator, Advising

Correct answer: Teaching, Coaching and Advising

In professional development and Agile contexts, coaching often encompasses a spectrum of approaches to support growth. 'Teaching' involves imparting specific knowledge or skills, 'Coaching' focuses on guiding individuals to discover their own solutions and improve performance, and 'Advising' offers expert recommendations or suggestions based on experience. These three roles represent different ways a coach can support an individual or team's development.

Question 13: For value stream analysis, choose the right sequence.

Make a value stream map of the current process, noting steps, queues, delays, and data flows. (Correct answer)
Create a value stream map to track delays and time wasters like meetings and coffee breaks.
Examine how to make the value stream charter more adaptable.
Examine the present process's value stream map and compare it to the project charter's objectives.

Correct answer: Make a value stream map of the current process, noting steps, queues, delays, and data flows.

Value stream analysis begins by creating a 'current state' value stream map. This involves meticulously documenting all steps, handoffs, queues, delays, and information flows involved in delivering a product or service. The purpose is to visualize the entire process, identify waste, and understand where value is being added or lost, before attempting to optimize it.

Question 14: Which of the following statements about the differences between burn up charts that also monitor overall scope and burn down charts is false?

Burn up and burn down charts have a vertical trend in the opposite direction.
The rate of advancement is separated from the scope fluctuations using burn up charts.
Changes in the rate of effort are indicated by burn down charts, which show whether the changes are attributable to changes in progress rates or scope. (Correct answer)
WIP can be added to burn up charts to turn them to cumulative flow diagrams.

Correct answer: Changes in the rate of effort are indicated by burn down charts, which show whether the changes are attributable to changes in progress rates or scope.

Burn-down charts primarily show the remaining work over time, indicating the rate of progress towards completion. While they reflect changes in the rate of effort, they do not inherently distinguish whether these changes are due to progress rate fluctuations or scope changes. Burn-up charts, by showing both completed work and total scope, are better at separating these two factors, as they have distinct lines for total scope and completed work.

Question 15: The overall value of all features is 35, while feature X has a value of 12. What is the priority of this feature using relative weighting if the feature is anticipated to cost 56%?

0.61 (Correct answer)
0.65
0.37
81.70

Correct answer: 0.61

Relative weighting for priority is often calculated as Value / Cost. In this scenario, the value of Feature X is 12, and the overall value is 35. The anticipated cost is 56% (or 0.56). Therefore, the priority is calculated as (12 / 35) / 0.56. This calculation yields approximately 0.342857 / 0.56, which equals 0.6122, rounding to 0.61.

Question 16: Which of the following statements regarding Retrospective is NOT correct?

It aids in the process of reflection and learning from the past.
It aids in determining how the team will work in the future.
It chooses who will work on the following project. (Correct answer)
It empowers the team to take control of and direct their own development.

Correct answer: It chooses who will work on the following project.

A retrospective meeting is a key Agile ceremony focused on continuous improvement within a team. Its purpose is to reflect on a past iteration or project, identify what went well, what could be improved, and how to implement those improvements in future work. It does not involve making decisions about team staffing or who will work on subsequent projects; that is typically a management or product owner responsibility.

Question 17: The prioritized requirements list is created by DSDM using the MoSCoW approach. The 'M' in the MoSCoW method stands for:

Must Have (Correct answer)
Medium
Minimum Marketable Features
Must Not Have

Correct answer: Must Have

The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique used in Agile, particularly DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method), to categorize requirements. The 'M' in MoSCoW stands for 'Must Have,' indicating requirements that are absolutely essential for the solution to be considered viable and delivered successfully. These are non-negotiable features.

Question 18: During active listening, evaluate your progress in listening skills.

. A) 1) Self-centered listening, 2) Focused listening, 3) Intuitive listening
1) Global listening, 2) Focused listening, 3) Intuitive listening
1) Internal listening, 2) Focused listening, 3) Global listening (Correct answer)
1) Interested listening, 2) Focused listening, 3) Global listening

Correct answer: 1) Internal listening, 2) Focused listening, 3) Global listening

These three stages represent a progression in active listening skills. Internal listening is self-focused, where one is primarily thinking about their own thoughts and responses. Focused listening involves paying close attention to the speaker's words and immediate message. Global listening is the highest level, where one not only hears the words but also perceives non-verbal cues, emotions, and the broader context, understanding the speaker holistically.

Question 19: Which of the following graphs depicts the total number of story points accomplished by each iteration's end?

Cumulative story point burndown chart (Correct answer)
Iteration burndown chart
Burn up chart
Daily Burndown chart

Correct answer: Cumulative story point burndown chart

A cumulative story point burndown chart, often functioning similarly to a burn-up chart, tracks the total amount of work completed (e.g., in story points) over time. It shows a rising line as story points are 'burned down' or completed across iterations, thereby depicting the accumulated progress of the team. This chart provides a clear visual of the total accomplishment by the end of each iteration.

Question 20: For a retrospective meeting, what style of seating arrangement is most effective?

Theatre style arrangement
Meeting Room
Circle or semicircle of chairs (Correct answer)
Tables arranged in U-shape

Correct answer: Circle or semicircle of chairs

A circle or semicircle seating arrangement is most effective for retrospective meetings because it promotes open communication, equality, and active participation among all team members. This setup eliminates hierarchical barriers, allows everyone to see and hear each other clearly, and fosters a sense of shared responsibility and collaboration essential for honest reflection and problem-solving.

Question 21: Which of the following statements about the Iteration Demos is NOT correct?

Iteration demos are a closed affair and are shown only to a selected set of stakeholders (Correct answer)
It's a concrete demonstration of the team's progress
The demo is an opportunity to solicit regular feedback from the customers
The demos help the team be honest about its progress.

Correct answer: Iteration demos are a closed affair and are shown only to a selected set of stakeholders

Iteration demos (or Sprint Reviews in Scrum) are designed to be open and transparent events where the development team showcases the completed work from the iteration to a wide audience. This audience typically includes customers, stakeholders, and other interested parties, not just a selected few. The goal is to gather broad feedback, foster collaboration, and ensure alignment, making them far from a 'closed affair'.

Question 22: Task Board is best described by which of the following?

It serves the dual purpose of giving the team a convenient mechanism for organizing their work and a way of seeing at a glance how much work is left. (Correct answer)
Task Boards plot the Velocity
The task board is always a white board
It is a great tool to show the project trend

Correct answer: It serves the dual purpose of giving the team a convenient mechanism for organizing their work and a way of seeing at a glance how much work is left.

A task board, such as a Kanban or Scrum board, is a visual tool used by Agile teams to manage and track the progress of their work. It typically categorizes tasks into columns like 'To Do,' 'In Progress,' and 'Done,' providing a clear, real-time overview of the team's workflow, current status, and remaining work. This visual representation aids in organization and transparency.

Question 23: Which of the following alternatives best represents User Stories?

Use Cases
Support tools for analysis (Correct answer)
Interaction Design Scenarios
None of the above

Correct answer: Support tools for analysis

User stories are short, simple descriptions of a feature told from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability, usually a user or customer. They serve as a primary tool for requirements gathering and analysis in Agile development, helping teams understand user needs, facilitate conversations, and break down work into manageable, value-driven chunks. They are a lightweight way to capture and analyze requirements, not formal use cases themselves.

Question 24: If consumer persona modeling is utilized for stakeholder management, which of the following personas will not be applicable?

Real people
Stereotyped users
Requirements (Correct answer)
Archetypal description

Correct answer: Requirements

Consumer persona modeling focuses on creating detailed representations of *users* or *stakeholders* to understand their needs, behaviors, and motivations. Requirements, on the other hand, are descriptions of what a system or product must do, not a type of person. Therefore, 'Requirements' is not a persona applicable in this context.

Question 25: The term "incremental delivery" refers to:

Only after testing each increment do we release working software.
In iteration retrospectives, we deliver nonfunctional increments.
Throughout the project, we deploy functional increments. (Correct answer)
With each increment produced, we refine and improve our agile process.

Correct answer: Throughout the project, we deploy functional increments.

Incremental delivery in Agile methodologies refers to the practice of continuously releasing small, functional pieces of working software throughout the project lifecycle. This approach allows for early and frequent feedback, enabling teams to adapt and refine the product based on real-world usage. It contrasts with a single, large release at the end of a project.

Agile (Project Management) Practice Test 1

Horizontal Market Software is best described by which of the following?