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Quiz Session - Attempts With Random Questions

PMI-ACP Exam Questions

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1.

Janel is a project manager who is currently transitioning into the Agile methodology. She is ready to work with the Scrum development team to plan upcoming work. Amir just joined the team as a new developer planning. During the planning meeting, Janel lists what each developer should focus on in the next sprint. 

Based on Scrum, what is wrong with this approach?  

  • Janel should have let the team self-organize its work.

  • Janel should have developed an Agile project plan first.

  • Amir should have taken the lowest item in the backlog since he is new.

  • Amir should have paired with another programmer before the meeting.

Correct answer: Janel should have let the team self-organize its work.

One of the Agile Manifesto principles states, "Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done." This principle encompasses empowering teams to drive their work, giving them autonomy and space for innovation.

There is no such thing as an Agile project plan. The level or proficiency of a team member has no bearing on the work items they will take.

2.

A Scrum Master observes that for the 7th iteration, the Y-axis value of the burndown chart shows the actual progress value is 10 story points while the projected progress value is 25 story points. What could be one reason for this discrepancy?

  • The team lost three developers during the last iteration.

  • The team is distributed.

  • The team is working aggressively through the assigned tasks.

  • The team has hired interns to help with the work.

Correct answer: The team lost three developers during the last iteration.

Burndown charts show the team’s remaining work to complete over time. They start by showing the total amount of work to do and, as the work progresses, the chart will show how the remaining work decreases. When, for a specific point in time, the burndown chart shows a discrepancy between actual and projected progress, where actual is lower than projected, it means that less work got completed than originally planned. Thus, from the options provided, the only one that makes sense is the one about losing three developers during the last iteration.

The fact that the team is distributed does not affect the discrepancy in work completed. The other two options would probably make the actual progress higher than the projected value, not lower.

3.

A Scrum Master is developing some KPIs for an Agile project. She observes that the team completes about 30 points of work done per week and the backlog currently has about 600 points of work remaining. The average user story has 5 points assigned to it by the development team. What KPI could the Scrum Master produce using this information? 

  • Completion date

  • Cost remaining

  • Completed features

  • Projected spending

Correct answer: Completion date 

The Scrum Master can calculate the project's completion date by dividing 600 points by 30 points/week, which equals 20 weeks. This is the likely completion date of the project at the current speed of work completion.  

We cannot calculate the cost remaining nor projected spending with the information provided. We do not have any information about how many features have been completed. 

4.

Which of the following is not included in a Scrum activity?

  • Refactoring 

  • Planning 

  • Retrospective 

  • Review 

Correct answer: Refactoring

Refactoring is an activity done by the product team in XP, not in a Scrum activity.

Although Agile is based on adapting more than planning, sprint planning for small portions of work is a crucial part of Scrum activities.

Retrospectives are also "inspect and adapt" sessions, forming part of Scrum activities.

Sprint reviews are a part of the scrum activities to the extent that the backlog is managed at the sprint level.

5.

A project sponsor requested that the product owner get the product out as soon as possible. The project sponsor also advised creating teams that work in parallel and focus on specific functionality instead of doing work sequentially. The product owner agrees. 

What should the product owner observe about this approach?

  • Not all requirements are known at this point, so we should be delivering the product incrementally.

  • The Scrum team is self-organizing, so it will decide what to work on next.

  • A minimum viable product should be built to prove the project is viable.

  • A graduated fixed-price contract would be appropriate for the configuration suggested.

Correct answer: Not all requirements are known at this point, so we should be delivering the product incrementally.

Incremental delivery is an Agile concept that proposes delivering value in working increments throughout the project instead of delivering the product at the end of the project. Agile also embraces change at any stage of the project, adapting the work intake in the subsequent iteration accordingly. In this scenario, not all requirements may be known, so producing a product incrementally makes sense as more things are known.

The Scrum team is indeed self-organizing their work and configuration in this scenario. However, what they will work on is defined by value as prioritized in the product backlog. From the statement provided, there is no indication that an MVP needs to be built. Graduated fixed-price contracts share the risk load between the parties, providing incentives for early completion of work. It is common for graduated fixed-price contracts to also punish the vendor if the work is late. There is no indication that this contract should be used in this scenario.

6.

A Scrum Master is working with stakeholders to quantify the business value of items in the product backlog. There are some risk responses also in the backlog. What should the Scrum Master use to calculate the value of the risk?

  • Expected monetary value 

  • Risk probability    

  • Rate of return

  • Total cost of ownership

Correct answer:  Expected monetary value 

Expected monetary value is a financial metric used to calculate the value of risk. It uses risk impact in dollars and multiplies it to risk probability as a percentage.

Risk cannot be quantified using the total cost of ownership since it may not be a materialized risk yet. The rate of return is also not helpful, since there is no investment made in a risk that may or may not occur. Risk probability only measures the likelihood that the risk will emerge.

7.

How do you identify bottlenecks in a cumulative flow diagram (CFD)?

  • Find the activity that lies below the widening band

  • Find the activity corresponding to the widening band

  • Find the activity that lies above the widening band

  • Find the activity that lies between the widening band and the bottom-most activity

Correct answer: Find the activity that lies below the widening band

Cumulative flow diagrams (CFD) are a visual representation of the status of work features. We identify the bottleneck activity in a detailed CFD by first identifying the activity that appears to be widening. The bottleneck activity will lie right below the widening band.

8.

The Scrum Master wants to calculate how many more iterations it will take to complete the project. What is the best way for him to go about this?

  • Divide remaining work by the team’s average velocity

  • Divide the team’s average velocity by the total story points in the product backlog

  • Divide the total story points in the product backlog by the team’s average velocity

  • Divide the project end date by the team’s average velocity

Correct answer: Divide remaining work by the team’s average velocity

By measuring the team’s capacity per iteration over time, you can get the average velocity. Then, if you take the remaining work on the project which can be extracted from what remains in the product backlog, you can divide this by the team’s average velocity. This will give you an estimate of the number of iterations left to complete.

9.

A team is producing polarized glasses in a factory. You notice that there are a few glasses with deformed plastic casings. You also note that there are only 2% of glasses with this defect. You ask the team for input and they mention that because it is summer, the temperature in the plastic molding cases tends to rise and cause these defects. What can be said about the defects found?

  • They are caused by common cause variations.

  • They are caused by special cause variations.

  • They are caused by unstable defect rates.

  • They are caused by high temperature variances.

Correct answer: They are caused by common cause variations.

Variance analysis measures how much things vary from each other. In Agile, the things measured could be the product increment or processes. The reasons for the variability are attributed to either:

  • Common cause variation: Day-to-day differences that occur as part of doing typical work.
  • Special cause variation: Unique differences that occur due to new factors.

In this scenario, the elevated temperatures in the summer impact the plastic molding of the glass. It looks like the team has accepted the fact that these issues occur during the summer. The number of this type of defect is also only at 2%, which is pretty low. This defect is caused by common cause variation.

10.

Which of the following is not a digital tool used by distributed teams?

  • Printed burndown charts

  • Interactive whiteboards

  • Smart boards

  • CASE tools

Correct answer: Printed burndown charts

Distributed teams face difficult challenges due to their lack of physical proximity to working as a team. To overcome such challenges, they have to have enhanced coordination and communication capabilities. Digital tools help bridge the gap when face-to-face communication is not possible.

A printed burndown chart would be used only if team members were co-located.

Some examples of digital tools are interactive whiteboards where team members can look at diagrams, text, and whiteboard sessions in real time for decentralized teams or smart boards that capture design session inputs.

CASE tools are reverse engineering solutions from existing code or database models. Teams do not invest time in writing/reviewing documentation but rather in reviewing existing code and systems.

11.

Alex plans to use a collaboration game with the Agile team this afternoon in which the group will identify threats and opportunities for the project. What collaboration game will Alex use?

  • Sailboat or Speedboat

  • Buy a Feature

  • Prune the Product Tree

  • Remember the Future

Correct answer: Sailboat or Speedboat

Collaboration or innovation games are facilitated workshops used with Agile teams to explore topics looking for consensus. Some examples of collaboration games are:

  • Remember the Future: A vision setting exercise to identify the definition of success from stakeholders
  • Sailboat or Speedboat: Helps identify threats and opportunities for the project
  • Buy a Feature: A prioritization exercise
  • Prune the Product Tree: Helps stakeholders gather and refine requirements

Based on the descriptions above, Alex is planning to use the Sailboat or Speedboat collaboration game.

12.

A Scrum Master is attempting to calculate the risk severity of a risk response listed in the risk-adjusted backlog. He observes that the team has assigned a medium level of impact and a high level of probability. What is the risk severity for this risk?

  • 6

  • 9

  • 5

  • 3

Correct answer: 6

Risk severity is used to calculate the level of issues the risk is creating. It is calculated by multiplying risk probability and risk impact. It is a rating or level that is assigned to the risk for comparison with other types of risk.

In this example, risk probability is equal to high (3) and risk impact is equal to medium (2), as specified by the Agile team. Then, the risk severity will be the multiplication of the risk probability and risk impact, which will equal 6.

13.

A Scrum Master observed that there was conflict among team members. Using the conflict resolution framework developed by Speed B. Leas, the project manager determined a Level 5: World War conflict. What should he do then, using this framework?

  • Separate the team members so that they do not harm each other.

  • Give the team a chance to fix the conflict themselves.

  • Help each party to compromise to reach a consensus.

  • Report it to your immediate manager to force the team to fix it.

Correct answer: Separate the team members so that they do not harm each other.

Using the conflict resolution framework developed by Speed B. Leas, conflict identified at Levels 1 through 3 should be left to the team to fix directly. At Level 5 (World War), the conflict has reached its pinnacle and may actually be unresolvable. One approach is to separate the parties so that they do not harm each other.

14.

Fatima is the Agile project manager tasked to deliver a new line of products based on an existing prototype. The stakeholders do not want to wait until the end of the project to start reaping the benefits. The stakeholders also want to have room for changing their minds about requirements as they go along. What project life cycle should Fatima look to in order to meet these requirements? 

  • Incremental 

  • Predictive 

  • Iterative 

  • Spike 

Correct answer: Incremental 

Incremental project life cycles are optimized for speed, frequently delivering increments of the final solution. This allows for the end user to receive value early on and to deviate from the original vision if something new is discovered. 

15.

Which of the following is not a collaboration game used in an Agile project?

  • Free-for-All

  • Remember the Future

  • Speedboat or Sailboat

  • Buy a Feature

Correct answer: Free-for-All

Collaboration or innovation games are facilitated workshops used with Agile teams to explore topics looking for consensus. Some examples of collaboration games are:

  • Remember the Future: A vision-setting exercise to identify the definition of success from stakeholders
  • Speedboat or Sailboat: Helps identify threats and opportunities for the project
  • Buy a Feature: A prioritization exercise

Free-for-all is a brainstorming method where stakeholders shout out their ideas to the group, allowing others to build their own opinions further. However, quieter stakeholders may have an issue delivering their opinions openly.

16.

An Agile team discusses the retrospective itself, to identify what they should be doing more of and what should change in the next session. What is the name of this activity?

  • Plus/Delta

  • Appreciation

  • Return on time invested

  • Helped, Hindered, Hypothesis

Correct answer: Plus/Delta

Agile retrospectives or intraspectives are facilitated meetings to inspect and identify areas of improvement within an iteration or project. An Agile retrospective has the following five stages:

  • Set the stage
  • Gather data
  • Generate insights
  • Decide what to do
  • Close the retrospective

Activities that can help gather data during a retrospective include:

  • Appreciation: Team members show their appreciation for each other’s efforts.
  • Return on time invested (ROTI): Team members grade the effectiveness of the retrospective event based on an agreed scale system.
  • Plus/Delta: Team members identify what they would like to do more of (plus) and what they would like to change in the future (delta).
  • Helped, Hindered, Hypothesis: Team members look back on the retrospective to identify what helped, what hindered progress, and to develop ideas or hypotheses for improving future retrospectives.

In this scenario, this team is using the Plus/Delta activity during the close the retrospective phase.

17.

You are a member of a product development team working on an adaptive project. What activity would you participate in during iteration planning?

  • Write the acceptance tests for the subset of user stories under discussion

  • Develop a release goal focused on customer value

  • Develop coarse-grained relative estimates for each user story

  • Agree on a target date for the release

Correct answer: Write the acceptance tests for the subset of user stories under discussion

Iteration planning is the period where the Agile project team prepares for the upcoming iteration. The following are the main processes involved in iteration planning:

  • Discuss the user stories in the backlog
  • Select the user stories for the iteration
  • Define the acceptance criteria
  • Write the acceptance tests for the stories
  • Break down the user stories into tasks
  • Estimate the tasks

During the high-level planning or visioning, we do the initial identification and sizing of user stories to be included in the project. The following are the activities that take place during high-level planning:

  • Develop a prioritized backlog of user stories and risk response actions
  • Develop coarse-grained relative estimates for each user story
  • Develop a release goal focused on customer value
  • Agree on a target date for the release

All the options are activities that take place in the high-level planning stage of the Agile project except for writing acceptance tests for the subset of user stories under discussion. This one belongs in the iteration planning stage where we have a subset of user stories we have selected, and we are beginning to define what success means for these in the upcoming iteration.

18.

What is the best way to reduce the or eliminate the impact of the Gulf of Evaluation in an Agile project?

  • Frequent verification and validation

  • Continuous integration

  • Test-driven development

  • Collaboration games

Correct answer: Frequent verification and validation

Frequent verification and validation is an Agile practice that uses regular checkpoints and reviews to make sure that what is being built is continuing as expected. This process also involves checking that expectations are the same between the people building the product, and the users.

In continuous integration, software is tested against the overall product code as it is being built. Unit testing allows for more granular testing of the code being built so that, as the code expands, it will continue to catch any issues. In test-driven development, the tests are written before the code even exists. This is because as the developer writes the new functionality, the test will fail and will only pass when the functionality is complete. Collaboration games are workshop-style sessions that aim to help the team gain consensus on complex issues in the project.

19.

The amount of work an Agile team can get done through an iteration can be defined as:

  • Throughput

  • Work in Progress (WIP)

  • Cycle time

  • Lead time

Correct answer: Throughput

Throughput is defined as the amount of work a team can get done through an iteration.

Lead time measures how long an activity takes to go through the end-to-end process.

Cycle time is a subset of lead time that measures how long an activity takes as part of the process. For example, the time it would take for work to complete for design and development.

Work in Progress (WIP) is the queue of work that is not done but in progress of getting done. Kanban advocates keeping a small WIP at all times. According to Little’s Law, if the WIP queue is too long, the team will take a long time to complete the work.

20.

Agile projects are characterized by:

  • a combination of management and leadership.

  • a management approach.

  • a leadership approach.

  • a coaching approach.

Correct answer: a combination of management and leadership.

Agile projects need a combination of the mechanics of management and a people-oriented approach to leadership to be successful. This means that management needs to get things done without interfering in individuals' ability to innovate and feel empowered to do their work as best they can.

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