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Quiz Session - Attempts With Random Questions

PMI-ACP Exam Questions

Page 5 of 25

81.

What is the best way to measure work completion on an Agile project?

  • Use current completion data for the project since it includes the real rate of progress

  • Use projected completion data based on estimation

  • Use comparable completion data based on similar projects in the organization

  • Use averaged completion data using other comparable projects in the industry

Correct answer: Use current completion data for the project since it includes the real rate of progress

Plans and projections should be based on current completion data for the project since they include the real rate of progress and other variables such as defect remediation, distractions, and non-productive time that are likely to occur in the future again.

Projected completion data based on estimation is not based on real work progress for the team. It is just an estimation.

Comparable completion data based on similar projects in the organization can be used as benchmarking initially, but it does not reflect the actual rate of progress for the project.

Averaged completion data using other comparable projects in the industry could be used initially when no historical real data exists yet. However, it is not representative of how the current Agile project team is performing or will perform.

82.

PDCA in continuous improvement stands for?

  • Plan, Do, Check, Act

  • Perform, Do, Categorize, Approve

  • Plan, Do, Check, Approve

  • Perform, Do, Create, Act

Correct answer: Plan, Do, Check, Act

At the core of continuous improvement, based on the Japanese quality initiatives created by Edward W. Deming, is the PDCA cycle, which stands for Plan, Do, Check, and Act.

83.

A project manager wants to calculate at what point the project will return its investment. What metric is she is trying to determine?

  • Payback period

  • Net present value

  • Schedule variance

  • WIP limit

Correct answer: Payback period

Payback period represents how long it will take the project or venture to return the investment. The payback period is also affected by changes in inflation and interest rates.

Net present value (NPV) calculates the future amount of the benefit by today’s measure. WIP limits is a Kanban concept that limits the amount of work in progress to minimize bottlenecks in the workflow. The schedule variance (SV) indicates how the project is performing as compared to the planned schedule.

84.

Considering two-way communication within an Agile team, what is an example of a collaborative model?

  • Developing a user story in a workshop

  • Receiving a message from management

  • Listening to the company’s quarterly earnings call

  • Receiving an e-mail from HR on upcoming workplace changes

Correct answer: Developing a user story in a workshop

In two-way communication, there are two models to consider:

  • Dispatching model: Also called top-down communication, where an authority figure dictates orders to subordinates
  • Collaborative model: Interactive communication between the parties based on collaboration

In this scenario, developing a user story in a workshop with other stakeholders provides an interactive and collaborative approach to the work.

All other options use the dispatching model in which project tasks and work are assigned in a more traditional top-down approach. 

85.

Frank needs to find a scalable way of measuring progress on his project. He decides that establishing KPIs is the best way to track week-over-week progress. 

What is not something KPIs track?

  • Team satisfaction

  • Likely completion date

  • Likely costs remaining

  • Rate of progress

Correct answer: Team satisfaction

KPIs are not used to measure team satisfaction. KPIs are mainly used to measure key data points for the executive team and stakeholders.

Likely completion date, likely costs remaining, and rate of progress are KPIs commonly used in Agile projects. KPIs are useful for measuring quantifiable data points.

86.

The product owner has selected the items with the highest value from the product backlog to be worked on in the next iteration. She proposes which developers should lead each user story during the next sprint planning meeting. 

What is wrong with this scenario, per the Agile approach?

  • The team needs to decide who is going to do what in the upcoming iteration.

  • The Scrum master should be allocating work.

  • The project sponsor should be dictating who works on what.

  • The product owner needs to discuss assignments with the functional managers first.

Correct answer: The team needs to decide who is going to do what in the upcoming iteration.

In Agile, the delivery team is self-organized and self-directed. That means that the team decides who will do what in each iteration. The Scrum master, the product owner, and the project sponsor do not decide who should work on what.

87.

What is not a characteristic of high-performing Agile teams?

  • Agile teams determine the value a feature brings to the customer.

  • Agile teams are self-organizing.

  • Agile teams have the mindset that they can solve any problem.

  • Agile team members trust one another.

Correct answer: Agile teams determine the value a feature brings to the customer.

There are eight characteristics of high-performing Agile teams:

  1. Agile teams are self-organizing.
  2. Agile teams are empowered to make their own decisions.
  3. Agile teams own their decisions.
  4. Agile teams have the mindset that they can solve any problem.
  5. Agile teams have a team identity to be committed to success.
  6. Agile team members trust one another.
  7. Agile teams communicate and aim for group consensus.
  8. Agile teams know that conflict is natural, but constructive feedback is needed.

Thus, Agile teams do not determine the value a user story or feature brings to the customer. This is work the Product Owner performs continually by providing a prioritization of user stories in the product backlog based on the value the stories provide to the customer.

88.

During a product demonstration, the Development team showed a button in the product to automatically send customer information to a centralized server. The business lead questioned the team afterwards regarding this feature, indicating that he had envisioned a pop-up asking the user whether he or she wanted their information shared with the company. The developer leading the demo explained that this information was needed in order to serve the user with their own statistics. This is why the Development team had made the call to not ask the user for this permission. This scenario represents an example of which of the following? 

  • Gulf of evaluation

  • Simple schemes

  • Refactoring

  • Continuous integration

Correct answer: Gulf of evaluation

The “gulf of evaluation” refers to a semantic gap between what the customer expects and what the team delivers. This is an inherent problem in knowledge projects where we are dealing with intangible goods most of the time. This gap in the product often leads to rework. In this scenario, the demo showed that the Development team had produced something different from what the customer had envisioned. This will certainly cause rework to fix.

Refactoring is an XP practice where developers improve the code design without changing or adding new functionality. 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. The simple scheme is a prioritization model that uses simple labels to categorize buckets of priority work—for example, high, medium, and low.

89.

Two developers are part of an Agile project related to delivering an app for sending money internationally. They are in the elevator discussing what each thinks should be included in the MVP. Mark argues that the MVP should include the capability for adding recipient and sender information along with verifying bank account information. Daniel thinks that the MVP should include the capability for sending one dollar between two existing bank accounts without a user interface to enter sender and recipient details. The Scrum Master overheard the conversation and ponders an answer. What should be the Scrum Master’s suggestion regarding the scope of the MVP?

  • Add the capability for sending one dollar between existing accounts without a user interface to enter sender and recipient details

  • Add the capability for bank verification

  • Add the capability for entering sender and recipient information

  • Add the capability to see what the cost of the transaction will be to the user 

Correct answer: Add the capability for sending one dollar between existing accounts without a user interface to enter sender and recipient details

An MVP is a basic product configuration that allows the team to collect customer learnings and adapt the next iteration to improve the product. It is small enough that it does not implement the whole project's requirements, and it is useful to the user. If no collected customer learnings are possible because the product is not functional, then it is not an MVP. The idea here is that by developing the smallest solution that brings value to the customer, the project team is able to get buy-in from stakeholders early on in the project. 

Adding the capability for entering sender and recipient information is not useful to the user. It is just text entered in the app. The capability for bank verification may be useful, but it is not something that showcases the potential of the project, so it may not bring much buy-in from stakeholders. Seeing the cost of the transaction would be useful to the customer, but it is not valuable if we cannot actually send the money in the first place.

90.

Coaching differs from mentoring in that it is:

  • a facilitated process to develop and improve performance rather than a professional relationship to bounce ideas off or ask for advice

  • a professional relationship to bounce ideas off or ask for advice rather than a facilitated process to develop and improve performance

  • the teaching of knowledge through practice and instruction rather than a professional relationship to bounce ideas off or ask for advice

  • a professional relationship where an advocate is obtained rather than a dedicated session to seek advice

Correct answer:  a facilitated process to develop and improve performance rather than a professional relationship to bounce ideas off or ask for advice

Coaching is a facilitated process to develop and improve an individual’s performance. It is scheduled in advance for this purpose. It starts with an initial topic that is expanded over time.

Mentoring is a professional relationship that is built between an individual and a higher-level person such as an executive or Project Sponsor to bounce ideas off or ask for advice.

Training is the teaching of knowledge through practice and instruction.

Sponsorship is a professional relationship where an advocate is obtained.

91.

Ryan is a Scrum master facilitating a sprint review with other stakeholders and the development team. A product demo has been completed. How does the team know the build satisfies the needs of the customer for the sprint increment?

  • By using the definition of "done"

  • By using inspection

  • By reviewing the sprint backlog

  • By using process adherence

Correct answer: By using the definition of "done"

During the sprint review, the product owner reviews the increment built during the sprint and decides if the definition of done relevant to the user stories is complete or if something is missing. 

Inspection is part of the pillars and values of Scrum, but it is not a set Scrum activity per se.

Reviewing the sprint backlog won't provide insight into the success or failure of the sprint increment. 

Process adherence is more relevant to the ability of the team to follow the Scrum methodology.

92.

All of the following take place during iteration planning, except:

  • Create high-level relative estimates for the user stories

  • Select the user stories for the upcoming iteration

  • Break down the user stories into tasks

  • Define the acceptance criteria for the stories

Correct answer: Create high-level relative estimates for the user stories

Iteration planning is the period where the Agile project team prepares for the upcoming iteration and decides what they will be working on. 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

The only item that is not part of iteration planning of the options is creating a high-level relative estimate for the user stories. Such an activity involves creating coarsed-grained level estimates of the user stories, which is done early in the project for all the user stories. This typically occurs during high-level project planning or visioning.

93.

What does the social-awareness quadrant in the emotional intelligence model mean?

  • I can understand where others are coming from

  • I understand why I am feeling a certain way

  • I can manage my interaction with others based on my awareness of their feelings

  • I can manage my emotions

Correct answer: I can understand where others are coming from

Emotional intelligence is the ability to assess, identify, and influence both our emotions and those of others around us. The emotional intelligence model is divided into the vertical axis (regulate/recognize) and the horizontal axis (self/others). This leads to four quadrants: self-management, self-awareness, social skills, and social awareness.

Thus, social awareness relates to the ability to understand where others are coming from.

The other quadrants are: 

  • I can manage my emotions  
  • I understand why I am feeling a certain way 
  • I can manage my interaction with others based on my awareness of their feelings 

94.

Agile methods recommend keeping the delivery team small. What is the optimal size of the development team?

  • 12 members or fewer

  • 8 members or fewer

  • 10 members or fewer

  • 10 members or more

Correct answer: 12 members or fewer

In an Agile project, the development or delivery team is a group in charge of building and testing the increment after each Sprint. It could be composed of designers, testers, developers, analysts, technical writers, etc. The development or delivery team size should be kept small, typically at 12 or fewer members.

95.

A Scrum master needs to communicate project progress to the project sponsor and other stakeholders. What tools could be used for this purpose?

  • Velocity and burndown charts

  • Gantt chart

  • Kanban board

  • Personas and user stories

Correct answer: Velocity and burndown charts

From the list, the only charts that show project-level progress over time are the velocity and burndown charts.

Gantt charts are not typically used in Agile projects. Personas and user stories do not measure project performance. They capture the end user’s profile and feature needs only.

A Kanban board shows how work flows from to-do to done at a particular time. It is not a good way to show project-level performance.

96.

An Agile project team produces 5 computers per day. On average, they work on 100 computers at any given time. The team’s Kanban board shows that the team finished 50 computers in the last day. What is the team’s cycle time to complete a computer?

  • 20 days

  • 10 days

  • 2 days

  • 15 days

Correct answer: 20 days

Cycle time is a function of work in progress (WIP) and throughput and can be represented by the formula below:

Cycle time = WIP / Throughput

Throughput is defined as the amount of work a team can get done in a given cycle (iteration, day, etc).  

In this scenario, the amount of work in progress (WIP) is 100 computers. Throughput would be equal to 5 computers per day. Then, applying the formula above:

Cycle time = 100 / 5 = 20 days

97.

The Scrum Master sends various meeting invites to hold the first user story workshop for the Agile project. Mario, who is a major stakeholder, responds to the Scrum Master’s invitation mentioning that someone in his team, a recent hire, will attend instead of him. What should the Scrum Master do in this situation?

  • Educate Mario on the collaborative nature of Agile projects with stakeholders

  • Meet with the recent hire ahead of the meeting

  • Send Mario a survey ahead of the meeting to get his inputs

  • Cancel the meeting until Mario can attend

Correct answer: Educate the stakeholder on the collaborative nature of Agile projects with stakeholders

It is very important for Agile projects to identify and engage project stakeholders early on. Agile also calls for close collaboration with stakeholders, keeping them involved in the sprints, frequent reviews, and product demos. Mario, being a key stakeholder for the project, was invited to the meeting. It is unlikely the recent hire will have much input on the project since they are new. It looks like Mario does not understand the importance of stakeholder involvement in Agile projects. He will need to be educated on how Agile works and in that process the Scrum Master can also learn if there are any objections or concerns he has to attempt to build project synergies with him.

98.

A Project Sponsor is very concerned about the product that an Agile team is building due to a high-impact risk identified in the last month. The Project Sponsor is considering canceling the project due to this risk. What is one way the team can deal with this concern?

  • Implement the stories with the high-impact risk identified in the next iteration to remove concerns and prove a viable solution

  • Remove the user story involving the high-impact risk from the product backlog

  • Create a risk management plan that addresses the high-impact risk directly

  • Perform a qualitative risk analysis for the high-impact risk

Correct answer: Implement the stories with the high impact risk identified in the next iteration to remove concerns and prove a viable solution

One way to deal with high-impact risks in a project is to have the Agile team implement them in an upcoming iteration. This will help prove to the stakeholder that the risk can be dealt with. If it is found that the project cannot deal with the risk, this is also valuable information to know sooner, rather than later.

Removing the story with the high-impact risk from the backlog does not remove the risk to the project. A risk management plan is more appropriate in predictive-type projects. End-to-end documentation does not add value to Agile projects. It looks like some sort of risk analysis has already been done for the identified risk because we know it is categorized as high-impact.

99.

The concept of firm foundations is described in which of the following Agile methods?

  • DSDM

  • Scrum    

  • FDD

  • XP

Correct answer: DSDM

DSDM has an initial phase, called "Foundations," where a high-level plan is built by the project team. Any increments built after that phase rely on the firm foundations built during the Foundations phase.

100.

Jessica sends an email to Bob, attaching the latest quarterly report. She is connected to the network using the company’s VPN through the internet. Because the file is large, she will need to compress it for attachment. 

What part of collaborative communication does the email represent??

  • Message

  • Sender

  • Receiver

  • Feedback

Correct answer: Message

In a collaborative communication mode, communication is simplified, and team leads communicate directly with team leads and project managers. Jessica sending an email to Bob is an example of a message in this mode of communication.

All other components (sender, receiver, and feedback) are also part of the collaborative model, but these have nothing to do with sending an email.

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