Agile Project Management Continuous Improvement Process 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Scrum team, which event is primarily dedicated to inspecting and adapting the team's process for continuous improvement?
- Sprint Review
- Sprint Retrospective (Correct answer)
- Daily Scrum
- Sprint Planning
Correct answer: Sprint Retrospective
The Sprint Retrospective is where the team inspects how the last Sprint went and plans process improvements.
Question 2: A team repeatedly identifies the same impediment across retrospectives but never resolves it. What is the most likely root cause?
- The retrospective is too short
- Improvement actions are not tracked or owned (Correct answer)
- The team has too many members
- The Sprint length is wrong
Correct answer: Improvement actions are not tracked or owned
Without assigned owners and follow-up, improvement actions get lost and recurring issues persist.
Question 3: What does the Japanese term 'Kaizen' represent in Agile continuous improvement?
- Large, infrequent transformations
- Small, incremental ongoing improvements (Correct answer)
- Eliminating all team meetings
- Fixed annual process reviews
Correct answer: Small, incremental ongoing improvements
Kaizen means continuous improvement through small, incremental changes over time.
Question 4: Which metric is most useful for a team trying to improve its predictability over time?
- Lines of code written
- Velocity trend across Sprints (Correct answer)
- Number of meetings held
- Total hours logged
Correct answer: Velocity trend across Sprints
Tracking velocity trends helps a team see stability and improve forecasting predictability.
Question 5: A facilitator notices the same loud voices dominate every retrospective. Which technique best surfaces quieter perspectives?
- Let the loudest person summarize
- Use silent writing or anonymous input first (Correct answer)
- Skip the retrospective entirely
- Have only the Scrum Master speak
Correct answer: Use silent writing or anonymous input first
Silent or anonymous input gathering lets everyone contribute before discussion is dominated.
Question 6: In the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, what happens in the 'Check' phase?
- Implementing the change
- Defining the improvement goal
- Measuring results against expectations (Correct answer)
- Standardizing the new process
Correct answer: Measuring results against expectations
The Check phase evaluates the outcome of the change against the expected result.
Question 7: Why should a team limit the number of improvement actions it commits to per Sprint?
- To reduce documentation
- To ensure actions are realistically completed (Correct answer)
- Because retrospectives are optional
- To avoid talking to stakeholders
Correct answer: To ensure actions are realistically completed
Committing to a few actionable items increases the chance they are actually completed.
Agile Project Management Continuous Improvement Process 2
In a Scrum team, which event is primarily dedicated to inspecting and adapting the team's process for continuous improvement?