ACP Agile Estimation and Sizing 3

Question 1

Which technique involves subject-matter experts independently submitting estimates, sharing rationale anonymously, and iterating until consensus is reached?

Accepted Answer

Wideband Delphi

Answer

Planning Poker

Answer

Dot Voting

Answer

MoSCoW Prioritization

Question 2

A product owner wants to split a large epic into smaller stories. Which split strategy ensures each resulting story still delivers independent business value?

Accepted Answer

Split by workflow step or user journey segment

Answer

Split by technical layer (UI, API, database)

Answer

Split by team member assignment

Answer

Split by sprint calendar date

Question 3

During backlog refinement, a team consistently over-estimates complex stories. What agile practice would most help calibrate these estimates?

Accepted Answer

Reviewing actuals vs. estimates each sprint retrospective

Answer

Assigning estimates solely to senior developers

Answer

Removing complex stories from the backlog

Answer

Using only hour-based estimates for complex work

Question 4

What does it mean when a team's velocity is highly variable (e.g., 15, 40, 22, 38 points across sprints)?

Accepted Answer

There may be inconsistent story sizing, scope changes, or external interruptions affecting the team

Answer

The team is performing at peak efficiency

Answer

Velocity variability is the expected norm and requires no action

Answer

The product backlog has too many epics

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a 'spike' in agile, and how does it relate to estimation?

Accepted Answer

A spike is a time-boxed research task used to reduce uncertainty before estimating a story

Answer

A spike is a defect discovered during testing

Answer

A spike is an unplanned story added to the sprint

Answer

A spike is a velocity outlier that must be excluded from averages

Question 6

How does the INVEST acronym guide teams when writing and sizing user stories? What does the 'E' stand for?

Accepted Answer

Estimable

Answer

Essential

Answer

Executable

Answer

Expandable

Question 7

A new agile team just formed and has no historical velocity. Which approach is recommended to set an initial sprint capacity?

Accepted Answer

Select a few stories, break them into tasks, and estimate hours to derive an initial capacity

Answer

Use the velocity of a similar team from a previous project

Answer

Estimate based on a gut-feel commitment from the product owner

Answer

Skip estimation for the first three sprints entirely