Agile Fundamentals Flashcards

What is the purpose of a Kanban board in Agile development?

Answer: To visualize workflow, limit work in progress, and identify bottlenecks

A Kanban board makes work visible, enforces WIP limits, and helps teams spot flow problems and bottlenecks in real time.

In Agile estimation, what is 'Planning Poker' used for?

Answer: Collaborative relative estimation using cards to reach team consensus

Planning Poker uses simultaneous card reveals to prevent anchoring bias and encourage open discussion until the team converges on an estimate.

What distinguishes a 'user story' from a traditional requirement specification?

Answer: User stories describe value from the user's perspective and invite conversation

User stories follow the format 'As a [user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]' and are lightweight placeholders for conversation, not rigid specs.

Which Agile scaling framework uses the concept of 'Agile Release Trains' (ARTs)?

Answer: SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)

SAFe organizes multiple Agile teams into Agile Release Trains that plan and deliver together on a common cadence.

A stakeholder requests a significant scope change mid-Sprint. What is the recommended Agile response?

Answer: Capture it in the Product Backlog and prioritize it for a future Sprint

Changes mid-Sprint are captured in the backlog to be prioritized; the current Sprint scope is protected to maintain team focus and predictability.

What is 'technical debt' in Agile development?

Answer: The future rework cost incurred by choosing quick, suboptimal solutions now

Technical debt is the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing fast, easy solutions over better, more complete approaches.

What is the primary goal of a Sprint Retrospective?

Answer: To identify what went well, what didn't, and define process improvements for the next Sprint

The Retrospective focuses on continuous team improvement by inspecting collaboration, processes, and tools — not the product itself.