Question 1

As the product owner, what would you focus on?

1. Facilitating the retrospectives and planning meetings

2. Acting as servant leader to the team
3. Organizing the development work
4. Maximizing the value of the product

Explanation: The product owner’s primary responsibility is maximizing the value of the
product. It is the team coach or Scrum Master who acts as a servant leader to the
team and is most likely to facilitate the team’s retrospectives and planning meetings.
Agile team members organize their own work.

Review: p. 200; “Agile Team Roles” in chapter 4

Question 2

Process tailoring would be a good option for:

A. A new team that has been formed by the merger of two other agile teams

B. A team that is struggling to get their agile methods to work smoothly

C. A team that is using agile successfully but would like to improve their methods

D. A team that wants to start using agile methods

Explanation: Process tailoring should only be attempted after a team has mastered
agile, and the best reason for doing it is to improve upon methods that are basically
already working well. Process tailoring would not be a good idea in any of the other
scenarios described here.

Review: p. 371; “Process Tailoring” in chapter 7

Question 3

What isn’t one of the practices a team can use to ensure they get feedback about the product being
built?

A. Pair programming

B. Releases

C. Wideband Delphi

D. Stand-up meetings

Explanation: This question will be fairly easy if you know that wideband Delphi is an
estimating tool. But even if you don't, you should be able to think through the other
three options to see that they all provide opportunities for getting feedback. Pair
programming allows two programmers to give each other immediate feedback.
Releases allow the end users to try out the product and provide their feedback.
Stand-up meetings allow the team members to share information about what they
are doing, when their tasks will be done, and whether they are having a problem.
This provides daily feedback about how well the team’s plan is going.

Review: p. 129; “Frequent Verification and Validation” in chapter 2

Question 4

In comparison to traditional projects, the agile approach to contracts doesn’t require:

A. More detailed specifications

B. More customer involvement

C. More trust

D. More feedback

Explanation: Like many questions you will encounter on the PMI-ACP exam, this question
is written in a confusing way. You have to read it carefully to understand that you’re
being asked to identify the option that is more characteristic of traditional contracts
than agile contracts. Although there are many kinds of agile contracts, in general
they typically require less detailed specifications than traditional contracts;
therefore, “more detailed specifications” is the correct answer.

Review: p. 124; “Agile Constraints and Contracts” in chapter 2

Question 5

The team has just discovered that their story point has drifted. What should they do next?

A. Re-estimate the product backlog.

B. Perform Fishbone Analysis to find the root cause.

C. Use affinity estimating to compare all the estimates made so far.

D. Postpone the next sprint and instead perform a spike to resolve the issue.

Explanation: Depending on the circumstances, it’s possible that any of these options
could be a helpful response. However, based on the information provided, the BEST
thing to do next would be to use affinity estimating to compare the estimates that
have been made so far. A team normally wouldn’t re-estimate their entire backlog,
since much of that work might not have been estimated yet. They also probably
wouldn’t stop to analyze the root cause. Over the course of a large project, it’s
perfectly normal for the size of a story point to drift; so it’s more helpful to compare
and adjust the estimates than to figure out what caused the problem. For the same
reason, it’s also unlikely that such a normal occurrence would require postponing the
next sprint to perform a spike.

Review: p. 280; “Affinity Estimating” in chapter 5

Question 6

What would be a step forward in your team’s evolution?

A. From proficient to competent

B. From Forming to Storming

C. From Ha to Shu

D. From self-organized to empowered

Explanation: Although the transition from Forming to Storming might not always feel like
a step in the right direction, this is the only one of the options that would take a team
one step forward in their evolution. The steps “Shu” and “competent” precede the
steps “Ha” and “proficient,” rather than following them. Being self-organized is an
aspect of being empowered, not an evolutionary step forward.

Review: p. 214; “Models of Team Development” in chapter 4

Question 7

As Scrum Master, you assess that the competitive market has shifted and the product the team is
building is no longer viable. What should you do?

A. Request that the product owner immediately re-prioritize the backlog.

B. Cancel the project.

C. Alert the team that they can expect to be assigned to a new project soon.

D. Ask the product owner if the viability of the project has changed.

Explanation: This question tests your understanding of agile team roles. In reading the
scenario, you should have noticed that it implies the ScrumMaster is stepping outside
of their role, since that role isn’t tasked with assessing the value of the project. The
ScrumMaster couldn’t cancel the project because they don’t make those kinds of
decisions. They also wouldn’t direct the product owner what to do when. The only
person on a Scrum team who has the information needed to assess the viability of
the project is the product owner. So the correct answer is “ask the product owner if
the viability of the project has changed.”

Review: p. 43; “Scrum” in chapter 1; “Agile Team Roles” in chapter 4

Question 8

A new risk has been discovered halfway through the project. What should your team do first?

A. Add it to the top of the backlog.

B. Ask a subject matter expert (SME) to assess its probability and impact.

C. Evaluate its root cause.

D. Schedule a risk-based spike to resolve or minimize it.

Explanation: To assign a new risk to the right place in the backlog, we need to assess its
probability and impact so we can calculate its expected monetary value. Although
the team members might be able to assess some risks themselves, that option isn’t
offered here. Other risks might require the specialized knowledge of a subject matter
expert, such as the customer--so this is the correct answer here. We wouldn’t add
the risk directly to the top of the backlog without analyzing its probability and
impact. Also, in most cases it wouldn’t be worthwhile to stop the project to evaluate
its root cause. Although we could certainly schedule a risk-based spike, before doing
that we would want to know the priority of the risk in comparison to the other work,
based on its expected monetary value.

Review: p. 346-48; “Managing Threats and Issues” in chapter 6

Question 9

Short iterations help to____.

A. Keep the team fully occupied.

B. Keep stakeholders involved in the project.

C. Keep stakeholder communications streamlined.

D. Let the team relax and get acclimated at the start of the project.

Explanation: Short iterations help keep stakeholders actively involved in the project
through frequent iteration planning and review meetings. Short iterations don’t
optimize resource allocation (i.e., keep the team fully occupied) or streamline
communications. And since they mean that agile teams are always working toward
a short-term target, they don’t give team members any time to relax at the start of a
project.

Review: p. 149; “Keeping Stakeholders Engaged” in chapter 3

Question 10

What's the best way for your team to share their progress with the other project stakeholders?

A. Information radiators

B. Scrum of scrums

C. Stand-up meetings

D. Retrospectives

Explanation: The most popular tools agile teams use to share their progress with other
project stakeholders are the large visible displays of information known as
information radiators. A scrum of scrums is a way of coordinating work between two
teams. Stand-up meetings share information within the team. Retrospectives are
primarily for the benefit of the team--and they are focused on improving the team’s
processes, not sharing progress.

Review: p. 169; “Information Radiators” in chapter 3

Question 11

To test how people will respond to the system under real-world conditions, we would perform ____.

A. User factoring

B. Continuous testing

C. Test-driven integration

D. Usability testing

Explanation: As implied by its name, usability testing involves testing how end users will
respond to the system under real-world conditions. All the other terms are made up.
This question provides an example of how the PMI-ACP exam will use made-up terms
that sound real; if you don’t know the real agile terms, you won’t be able to rule out
other terms that sound reasonably similar to them.

Review: p. 131; “Testing and Verification in Software Development” in chapter 2

Question 12

Your lead engineer just came down with the measles in the middle of a sprint. As team coach, what
should you do?

A. Call his functional manager and request a new lead engineer for your team.

B. Ask the team how much of the planned work can be done.

C. Ask everyone else to work overtime.

D. Postpone the release date.

Explanation: This question tests your grasp of the agile principle of timeboxing. The
correct answer is to discuss with the team how much of the planned work they will
be able to complete within the timebox. We wouldn’t request a new lead engineer,
either temporarily or permanently, because swapping people in and out of the
team would be likely to throw the team back to the Storming stage, lowering its
productivity. The option of asking everyone to work overtime isn’t consistent with the
agile principle of sustainable development. Although postponing the release date
might be necessary in some cases, we aren’t given enough information to support
the conclusion that this is the BEST answer.

Review: p. 259; “Timeboxing” in chapter 5; “The Twelve Principles” in chapter 1

Question 13

The contractor on your project doesn’t understand the team’s agile approach. As team coach, what
should you do?

A. Request that the PMO provide a week-long agile workshop for all potential contractors.

B. Ask the product owner whether educating this contractor is a project requirement.

C. Gather the team to discuss the contractor’s role and decide how much they need to

know about agile.

D. You don’t need to do anything, since the contractor isn’t on the delivery team.

Explanation: Although vendors should be selected carefully for an agile project, they
don’t necessarily need to be fully educated about the agile methods that the team
is using. How much education a given vendor will need typically depends on their
role in the project--and it is the team members who are most likely to have the
technical knowledge required to make that decision. Although educating the
vendors could be a project requirement for some projects, that isn’t the BEST answer.

Review: p. 123; “Agile Contracting” in chapter 2

Question 14

If it isn't possible to locate all your team members in the same room, they are likely to experience:

A. Higher levels of conflict

B. More privacy

C. Less difficulty reaching convergence

D. More communication challenges

Explanation: Team members who aren’t co-located aren’t likely to have higher levels of
conflict since distance can make it easier to ignore disagreements (making it more
difficult to complete the Storming stage). And since shared agreement
(convergence) requires the team to first fully debate the various options
(divergence), true convergence is also more difficult to achieve when the team isn’t
co-located, rather than less. If team members don’t work in the same room, it
doesn’t necessarily mean they will have more privacy; it just means they won’t all be
together. The most likely outcome of this scenario is more communication
challenges.

Review: p. 223; “Creating Collaborative Team Spaces” and “Characteristics of High-

Performing Teams” in chapter 4
Question 15

The team is slicing their user stories. What are they doing?

A. Sizing stories for the next iteration

B. Gathering user requirements

C. Estimating how much they can get done in the next iteration

D. Dividing stories into pieces that can be completed in one iteration

Explanation: Slicing user stories is the process of dividing stories into pieces that can be
completed in one iteration. The other options are incorrect.

Review: pp. 301-2; “Sizing, Estimating, and Planning” and “Release and Iteration
Planning” in chapter 5
Question 16

Your team is developing an online game that will have three beta (test) releases before launch. Which
feature would not be included in the first beta release?

A. Beta player sign-up and log in interface

B. Password authentication

C. Refer-a-friend marketing campaign

D. Options for giving feedback to developers

Explanation: This question tests your understanding of the agile concept of a minimal
viable product. We would want the beta test players to be able to sign up, log in,
use their passwords, and give feedback to developers about any bugs they find.
What we don’t need at this point is a program to convince more people to try the
game, since it is still under development.

Review: pp. 108-9; “Minimal Viable Product (MVP)” in chapter 2

Question 17

What is most important for your agile team to continuously focus on?

A. Getting the right answers

B. Understanding their tasks

C. Defining their tasks

D. Measuring their performance

Explanation: This question tests your high-level understanding of knowledge work versus
industrial work. Getting the right answers, defining tasks, and measuring performance
are emphasized more in industrial work than knowledge work. Knowledge workers
focus instead on understanding their tasks. Although all of these activities are
performed on an agile project, notice that the question asks what the team should
“continuously focus on.” This is a clue that the question is looking at the team’s high-
level process, not specific parts of their work.

Review: p. 21; “Why Use Agile?” in chapter 1

Question 18

Two team members are having a difference of opinion about how to build the next user story. What
should be done?

A. The team coach should assess the level of conflict and intervene appropriately.

B. The ScrumMaster should decide the issue, since it is becoming an impediment to progress.

C. The product owner should be consulted.

D. The team should gather to discuss the issue and come up with a collective solution.

Explanation: On an empowered agile team, it is up to the team members to resolve

their technical disputes collectively. The coach, ScrumMaster, or product owner is
unlikely to have the knowledge required to make such decisions.

Review: p. 206; “Characteristics of High-Performing Teams” in chapter 4; also see

“Participatory Decision Making” in chapter 3 and “Solving Problems” in chapter 6
Question 19

An agile team is refactoring their code. Why are they doing this?

A. To check the unit tests for errors

B. To make sure the tests are ready before the code is written

C. To make the code easier to update and maintain

D. To get a consistent level of technical debt that will make it easier to forecast velocity

Explanation: This question tests whether you know that refactoring is the process of
streamlining and standardizing the code to make it easier to update and maintain.
The unit tests don’t need to be checked for errors since they are themselves error-
checking tools. Agile software teams do write the tests before the code, but that
isn’t why they refactor their code; refactoring is simply the last step in that process.
The remaining option that refers to technical debt is made-up nonsense.

Review: p. 134; “Testing and Verification in Software Development” in chapter 2;

“Technical Debt” in chapter 6
Question 20

A series of project pre-mortems would be most useful on:

A. A long-term, risky project

B. A short project with a hard deadline

C. A proposed project with well-defined technology and requirements

D. A project that will require process tailoring

Explanation: Some of the questions on the PMI-ACP exam will be relatively

straightforward and can be figured out logically. Here is an example. To answer this
question, ask yourself when a series of dedicated workshops for identifying potential
risks would be most worthwhile. On a short, time-sensitive project we probably
wouldn’t have the time for such an effort. On a project with well-defined technology
and requirements, the risks might not be significant enough to justify gathering the
stakeholders for multiple pre-mortems. And “a project that will require process
tailoring” is a distractor, since the decision whether to tailor the team’s process is
generally up to the team members, not a requirement for the project. Also, that
description doesn’t really tell us anything about the project concerned, which
means that it can’t be the BEST answer to the question. This process of elimination
leaves “a long-term, risky project” as the correct answer.

Review: p. 383; “Project Pre-Mortems” in chapter 7

Question 21

As an agile team leader, you want to avoid:

A. Prioritizing team goals over individual goals

B. Providing rewards for expected behavior

C. Finding out what motivates the team members individually

D. Rewarding individual goals at the expense of project goals

Explanation: As an agile team leader, it might be helpful to focus on any of the

activities listed here except for rewarding individual goals at the expense of project
goals. An effective team leader understands the team members’ individual goals
and leverages them for the good of the project, rather than the other way around.

Review: p. 219; “Team Motivation” in chapter 4

Question 22

What isn’t a key focus of the agile approach?

A. Increasing return on investment

B. Expecting change and uncertainty

C. Measuring progress

D. Working incrementally

Explanation: The best way to approach this question is by a process of elimination. You
should be able to recognize that three of the options are essential elements of the
agile mindset: increasing return on investment, expecting change and uncertainty,
and working incrementally. Once you have eliminated those three options, then the
remaining option (measuring performance) must be the correct answer. Although
agile teams certainly measure their progress, this isn’t one of the basic tenets of
agile.

Review: pp. 22-23; “The Agile Mindset” in chapter 1

Question 23

We can say that an iteration demo is successful if ____.

A. The product got shipped and the team would work the same way again.

B. The customer accepts the minimal viable product that has been built.

C. A gulf of evaluation is cleared up.

D. The product owner says the product increment is “done.”

Explanation: This question requires you to think through the options carefully, since each
of them is applicable to some aspect of an agile project. “The product got shipped
and the team would work the same way again” describes methodology success
criteria--these are signs that our methodology is working well. However, these criteria
don’t apply to iteration demos since only one increment is built in an iteration, not
the entire product. We can also rule out “The customer accepts the minimal viable
product that has been built” because the minimal viable product isn’t built in one
iteration. Although we do want to identify and clear up any gulfs of evaluation that
may exist during the iteration demo, that isn’t what determines if the meeting was
successful. The success of the demo is based on whether the product owner
accepts the product increment built in the iteration as “done.”

Review: pp. 46, 165; “Scrum” in chapter 1; “Knowledge Sharing” in chapter 3; “Release
and Iteration Planning” in chapter 5
Question 24

The PMO wants to have a copy of your project plan. What will you send them?

A. A copy of your product roadmap

B. The team’s requirements hierarchy

C. A photo of the team’s Kanban board

D. Your user story backlog

Explanation: Agile’s closest equivalent to a traditional project plan is the product

roadmap. The team’s requirements hierarchy isn’t a plan; it simply outlines how they
will break down the requirements into progressively smaller pieces. Their Kanban
board isn’t a plan, either--it just shows the work moving through the development
process at the moment. Finally, the user story backlog is a prioritized master list of the
work that still needs to be done; it doesn’t include the planned release dates or the
features that will be included in the releases, the way a product roadmap does.

Review: pp. 286-87; “Story Maps” and “Product Roadmap” in chapter 5

Question 25

You hear that another team is using an agile-traditional hybrid approach. What is this most likely to
involve?

A. They are using agile methods to plan the project and traditional methods to track and measure

performance.

B. They are using agile methods for project accounting and traditional methods for the other

elements of the project

C. They are using traditional methods to estimate the work and agile methods to plan the work.

D. They are using agile methods to build the product and traditional methods for the

procurement workflow.

Explanation: The options for this question provide four possible scenarios for using an
agile-traditional hybrid approach. Three of the options would be unlikely in the real
world since they describe an awkward mixture that would be hard to use effectively.
Only one of these scenarios would be a common type of real-world hybrid--using an
agile approach for incremental development along with a traditional approach for
procurement. With a good grasp of agile, this answer should stand out as the most
likely approach. However, this question may still be tricky because you have to stop
and think through the implications of each option.

Review: p. 372; “Process Tailoring” (“Hybrid Models”) in chapter 7

Question 26

The sponsor wants to know if the product you’re building will be ready to demo at a trade show. What
do you tell her?

A. It will be ready when it’s ready.

B. We’ll get your top-priority functionality done by then.

C. We’ll let you know as soon as our velocity has stabilized.

D. That depends on your budget.

Explanation: Like many questions you will encounter on the PMI-ACP exam, this question
tests your grasp of agile concepts in an indirect way. In this case, you need to know
that agile teams will typically fix time and cost and allow scope to vary, as reflected
in the agile triangle. When balancing constraints, the agile approach is to get the
highest-priority product functionality done by the customer’s deadline.

Review: p. 26; “The Agile Mindset” in chapter 1; “Timeboxing” in chapter 5

Question 27

Ideally, who will catch and fix a coding error?

A. The customer will spot it in the demo.

B. The developers will find it during unit testing.

C. The reviewer will catch it during pair programming.

D. The testers will find it in testing.

Explanation: Although this question uses the word “who,” it is actually asking for the
IDEAL way to catch and fix an error. Because of the cost of change curve, the
sooner an error can be found, the better. So we are looking for the fastest way to
identify an error, not who will do it--and the quickest way to find a coding error is to
catch it in pair programming.

Review: p. 129; “Delivering Incrementally” and “Frequent Verification and Validation” in

chapter 2; “The Cost of Change” chapter 6
Question 28

Ideally, what does a team want to see on the top line of their risk burndown graph?

A. A steady, consistent upward trend

B. A sharp upward trend as early as possible in the project

C. A steady, consistent downward trend

D. A sharp downward trend as early as possible in the project

Explanation: A risk burndown graph is a stacked area chart that shows the project’s
cumulative risk severity. When the top line of this graph moves downward, it means
that the project’s cumulative risk is being reduced. So we ideally want to see a sharp
downward trend as early as possible in the project, to show that the project risks are
being quickly resolved. Minimizing risk early is one of the ways that agile teams
maximize value, as reflected in the agile value proposition.

Review: pp. 351-52; “Risk Burndown Graphs” in chapter 6; “What Is Value-Driven

Delivery?” and “Managing Risk” in chapter 2
Question 29

The sponsor wants to use earned value metrics to measure the team’s progress. You remind her that:

A. The team prefers to use information radiators.

B. The project plan isn’t finalized yet.

C. We need to establish a stable velocity first.

D. Earned value metrics won’t reveal whether the product is meeting the users’ needs.

Explanation: This question requires you to understand the drawbacks of using earned
value metrics on an agile project. Three of the questions are distractors that aren’t
related to EVM. EVM charts can be displayed as an information radiator, so that is
irrelevant. Agile plans aren’t “finalized” until the project is done, so that can’t be
right, either. A stable velocity isn’t necessary for EVM to work well. The correct answer
is that earned value metrics don’t reveal whether the deliverable being built is a
good product that will meet the users’ needs.

Review: p. 93; “Earned Value Management” in chapter 2

Question 30

What would a member of an agile delivery team focus on the most?

A. Selecting which user stories to include in the product

B. Building the product increment

C. Communicating the project vision

D. Testing the product increment to determine if it is done

Explanation: The best option here is “building the product increment.” Selecting which
features to include in the product is done by the product owner, not the team.
(Although the team does decide which user stories can be completed in a given
iteration, the question doesn’t mention iteration planning.) Also, although the team
tests the product increment, they can’t decide if it’s “done,” since that’s up to the
customer. Finally, the team members are responsible for implementing the project
vision, not for communicating it.

Review: p. 200; “Agile Team Roles” in chapter 4

Question 31

Everyone on the team seems to have a different opinion about how to build the next product
increment. What could help them resolve this debate and move forward?

A. Fishbone Analysis

B. Shared communication

C. Emotional intelligence

D. Fist-of-five voting

Explanation: The answer to this question can be found logically by thinking through the
four options. Fishbone Analysis helps us get to the root cause of an issue; although
this might be helpful, it isn’t a tool for reaching consensus. Shared communication is
a made-up term that doesn’t really mean anything. Emotional intelligence is an
interpersonal skill that helps us understand and influence emotions; again, although
this might be helpful, it isn’t the best answer. The correct answer is fist-of-five voting,
which is a tool for collective decision making.

Review: p. 187; “Participatory Decision Making” in chapter 3

Question 32

You’ve been asked to recommend how a team should transition to using agile. How would you reply?

A. Try out some agile practices first to see if they are helpful in your situation.

B. Hire the best ScrumMaster you can afford and make that person accountable for the transition.

C. Identify a successful agile team and copy what they are doing.

D. Learn agile values and principles and use them to guide which practices to adopt in

your situation.

Explanation: This question tests your understanding of “being agile” versus “doing agile.”
We need to first understand and integrate the mindset behind agile practices
before we can use them effectively. Therefore the best way to transition to using
agile is to learn agile values and principles and use them to guide which agile
practices to adopt in your situation.

Review: p. 24; “The Agile Mindset” in chapter 1

Question 33

The product owner has told the team how much work will need to be completed in the next iteration. In
this scenario:

A. The iteration planning process is proceeding smoothly.

B. The product owner is overstepping their role.

C. The product owner is taking over the ScrumMaster’s responsibilities for planning.

D. The team should claim more responsibility for planning in their next retrospective.

Explanation: During iteration planning, the product owner’s role is to prioritize the
backlog items. The team then decides how many of the top-priority items in the
backlog can be completed in the next iteration timebox. So this product owner is
overstepping their role, since the amount of work that can be completed in the next
iteration is decided by the team, not the product owner or the ScrumMaster. While
it’s true that in this scenario the team isn’t doing their own planning, based on the
information provided, it isn’t clear that there is a problem on their side that should be
addressed in a retrospective. The product owner probably just needs to be
educated about agile and encouraged to allow the team do their own planning.

Review: p. 303; “Iteration Planning” and “User Story Backlog (Product Backlog)” in
chapter 5
Question 34

If the team leader is effective, we would expect to see an agile team:

A. Collaborate smoothly and harmoniously without disagreements

B. Disagree with each other frequently when they are first learning to work together

C. Learn to suppress their disagreements for the good of the project

D. Develop stronger opinions and disagree more as the project progresses

Explanation: When agile team members are first learning to work together, we expect
to see them move through the Storming stage, where they will disagree with each
other frequently. Notice that the reference to the team leader’s effectiveness is
something of a distractor. Only one of these options would be expected to occur on
an agile project--and that is a natural process of team formation, not based on the
team leader’s effectiveness.

Review: p. 216; “Adaptive Leadership” in chapter 4

Question 35

If your total cycle time has remained the same but your value-added time has gone up, what does this
mean?

A. Your nonvalue-added time has increased.

B. Your value-added time now equals your nonvalue-added time.

C. The efficiency of your process has decreased.

D. The efficiency of your process has improved.

Explanation: In value stream mapping, total cycle time is the sum of value-added time
and nonvalue-added time, and the efficiency of a process is its value-added time
divided by its total cycle time. Based on these formulas, if the value-added time of a
process has increased while its total cycle time has remained the same, that means
its efficiency has improved.

Review: p. 379; “Value Stream Mapping” in chapter 7

Question 36

Your team has high levels of WIP, and you are explaining to them why that is a problem. What isn’t
one of the issues you mention?

A. WIP hides efficiency and throughput issues.

B. WIP confuses the team members’ roles.

C. WIP doesn’t deliver any return.

D. WIP increases risk and potential rework.

Explanation: To answer this question, we have to understand how work in progress

impacts an agile project. If we have a lot of partially done work, how can we
effectively measure efficiency and throughput? Also, all that work “on hold” is just
sitting there, not delivering any return (value). Incomplete work also increases risk,
since we might have to redo it if something changes before it is finished and
accepted by the customer. The only problem listed here that isn’t a result of high
levels of WIP is confusing the team’s roles—so that is the correct answer.

Review: p. 115; “Work in Progress (WIP)” and “WIP Limits” in chapter 2

Question 37

What is the ScrumMaster responsible for?

A. Directing and organizing the team

B. Guiding the team’s agile processes

C. Prioritizing the user stories

D. Managing the project

Explanation: Agile teams direct and organize themselves. It is the product owner who
prioritizes the user stories, and “managing the project” isn’t one of the responsibilities
of the ScrumMaster. That rules out all the options except for “guiding the team’s
agile processes,” which is one of the ScrumMaster’s key responsibilities.

Review: p. 200; “Agile Team Roles” in chapter 4

Question 38

The best way to improve the efficiency of a process is to:

A. Do more detailed planning.

B. Remove waste and bottlenecks.

C. Minimize common cause variation.

D. Add more stringent process controls.

Explanation: Although this question is framed in the terminology of value stream

mapping, to identify the correct answer you really just need to understand the
importance of removing waste and bottlenecks, which is a key principle of
agile/lean approaches. While more detailed planning, reduced common cause
variation, and more stringent process controls might also improve the efficiency of a
process, they typically aren’t the best or most cost-effective ways to do that on an
agile project.

Review: p. 379; “Value Stream Mapping” in chapter 7; “Lean Product Development” in

chapter 1; “Minimize Waste” in chapter 2
Question 39

Two team members have different opinions about what needs to be built to meet the customer’s
requirements. This is probably an example of ____.

A. The definition of done

B. Divergence

C. The gulf of evaluation

D. Pair programming

Explanation: If team members have different ideas about what needs to be built, it
means they have different interpretations of the customer’s description of the
product--which is the definition of a gulf of evaluation. Although the team members
might be disagreeing about the definition of done, their disagreement itself is not an
example of that concept. If the question had stated that the team members had
different opinions about HOW to build the product, then that could be an example
of divergence (healthy debate that allows the team to converge on the best
approach)--but that isn’t what the question says. Pair programming involves writing
and reviewing the code, not debating what to code.

Review: p. 128; “Verifying and Validating Value” in chapter 2

Question 40

Your team is tasked with developing a breakthrough medical device, and they don’t know what the final
product will look like. How would you advise them to proceed?

A. Try the most promising approaches in short iterations and learn as you go.

B. Perform a risk-based spike.

C. Ask the customer for more detailed information about the product.

D. Follow the project charter as closely as possible.

Explanation: In the uncertain environment of knowledge work projects, the agile

method is to try the most promising approaches in short iterations and learn as we
go. (This is a key agile theme that is emphasized throughout the book.) A risk-based
spike and gathering more information might be good ideas, but they aren’t the BEST
answer. Agile charters usually don’t provide much detail or technical guidance for
the team.

Review: p. 22; “Why Use Agile?” in chapter 1

Question 41

Your team needs to keep the product owner and other stakeholders informed about how the project is
progressing. What tools will you use for this?

A. Velocity chart and risk burndown graph

B. Project roadmap and story maps

C. The team’s task board with WIP limits

D. Prototypes, personas, and wireframes

Explanation: Although all the tools listed can be used to communicate project
information to stakeholders, only velocity charts and risk burndown graphs track
progress over time. Velocity charts show how much work the team has completed in
each iteration, and risk burndown graphs show how well the team is managing the
project risks.

Review: pp. 232, 351; “Tracking Team Performance” in chapter 4; “Managing Threats
and Issues” in chapter 6
Question 42

What would be most helpful for improving a team’s problem-solving proficiency?

A. Focus on keeping arguments and disagreements to a minimum.

B. Encourage them to share their mistakes and problems with each other.

C. Ask more experienced team members to mentor their peers.

D. Score their suggestions and post a leaderboard in the team space to encourage competition.

Explanation: The best answer here is to create an environment in which people are
encouraged to openly share their mistakes and problems with each other. This will
not only allow problems to be solved more quickly, it will also lead to better solutions
by drawing upon a wider range of viewpoints. Minimizing arguments and
disagreements stifles the healthy debate that is necessary for finding the best
solution to a problem. Asking senior team members to mentor their peers would
probably be misinterpreted and lead to problems--also, on an agile team,
mentoring is done by the team coach or ScrumMaster, not the team members (who
have their own work to do). Posting scores on a leaderboard to encourage
competition wouldn’t be consistent with the agile principles of respect and team
empowerment.

Review: p. 327; “Create a Safe and Open Environment” in chapter 6

Question 43

Which of these interpersonal skills is most important for an agile practitioner?

A. Understand and influence the emotions of others.

B. Work independently without asking others for help.

C. Resolve stress and conflict between other people.

D. Help others manage change and challenges.

Explanation: In weighing the options for this question, you need to apply your
understanding of the agile mindset as well as common sense about how people
work together. You should recognize that “understand and influence the emotions
of others” is one aspect of emotional intelligence. Since emotional intelligence is an
important skill on agile teams, then all you need to do is rule out the other answers to
make sure this is the BEST answer--and as it turns out, it is. Agile puts a big emphasis
on working collectively rather than independently. In agile, conflicts are ideally
resolved by those directly involved, not by outside parties. And helping others
“manage change and challenges” describes the role of a therapist, not an agile
team member.

Review: p. 179; “Emotional Intelligence” in chapter 3

Question 44

The team is estimating their tasks. What process are they engaged in?

A. Release planning

B. Progressive elaboration

C. Iteration planning

D. High-level visioning

Explanation: Agile work units are progressively broken down from large to small and
estimated at the last responsible moment. Since tasks are the smallest agile unit of
work, we can deduce logically that these work items wouldn’t be estimated until the
last planning step just before the work is done, which is iteration planning. Although
it’s true that all agile estimating is progressively elaborated over time, that isn’t the
BEST answer to this question, since it is too general.

Review: pp. 307-8; “Agile versus Non-Agile Planning,” “Progressive Elaboration,”

“Decomposing Requirements,” and “Iteration Planning” in chapter 5
Question 45

In a retrospective, what technique could we use to ensure that we really understand a problem we
have identified?

A. Five Whys

B. Dot voting

C. Kano analysis

D. MoSCoW

Explanation: The PMI-ACP exam is unlikely to pose detailed questions about the
retrospective process; however, you should have a basic understanding of the four
techniques listed in this question. Dot voting is a method for participatory decision
making. Kano analysis is a tool that can be helpful for prioritizing product features
from the user’s perspective. MoSCoW is a commonly used prioritization method. That
leaves Five Whys, which is a team exercise used to get to the root cause of a given
problem--and therefore the correct answer to this question.

Review: p. 399; “Retrospectives” (“The Retrospective Process”) in chapter 7

Question 46

In the daily stand-ups, the team coach should:

A. Schedule and facilitate the meeting.

B. Let the team members resolve their own conflicts.

C. Listen and note any problems for immediate follow-up.

D. Ask questions to determine the root cause of any problems that are raised.

Explanation: In a daily stand-up, the role of the ScrumMaster or team coach is to listen
and note any impediments to the team’s progress for quick follow-up. This meeting is
generally held at the same time and place every day, so scheduling usually isn’t
required--and because the discussion is run by the team members, no facilitation is
necessary either. Since daily stand-ups are strictly limited to answering three
questions, team conflicts shouldn’t be an issue in these meetings. Root cause
analysis of the problems would be done in a separate meeting, rather than during
the stand-up itself.

Review: pp. 309-10; “Daily Stand-Ups” in chapter 5

Question 47

As the coach of an agile team, you expect the team members to:

A. Come to you whenever they encounter a problem

B. Report all their problems in the daily stand-up meeting

C. Solve most problems collectively as the work proceeds

D. Figure out the best solution on their own

Explanation: Agile team members are expected to solve most of their technical
problems collectively as the work proceeds. They don’t try to figure out solutions on
their own or bring their problems to their coach, since those approaches wouldn’t
draw upon the team’s collective technical expertise and diverse viewpoints. They
also don’t report all their problems in the daily stand-up meeting; the issues
mentioned in that meeting are those that the team members can’t resolve
themselves and that pose impediments to their further progress.

Review: p. 327; “Create a Safe and Open Environment” in chapter 6

Question 48

Your team has decided they need an Iteration 0 before starting the development work. Why?

A. To set up the build server for the project

B. To practice working together and get through the Storming stage before the real work starts

C. To hold planning poker sessions to estimate the user stories

D. To minimize as many of the project risks as possible before development begins

Explanation: Iteration 0 is an optional iteration that the team can use to set the stage for
their development efforts. It isn’t used for estimating or for working together, since
those activities are done in the development iterations. Although agile teams do try
to minimize risk early in the project, they usually do this by prioritizing risk mitigation
stories or by scheduling a risk-based spike. So although risk mitigation could
theoretically be part of Iteration 0, the answer that BEST fits the definition of Iteration
0 is “to set up the build server for the project.”

Review: p. 292; “Release and Iteration Planning” in chapter 5

Question 49

What would your developers need to code first?

A. Release 2.2 user stories

B. Release 2.1 acceptance tests

C. Release 2.3 unit tests

D. Release 2.1 user stories

Explanation: This question checks your understanding of test-driven development.

Based on the release numbers, you should be able to tell that the correct choice
must be either the acceptance tests or the user stories for release 2.1, since that
release will be built before releases 2.2 and 2.3. The correct answer is the
acceptance tests, since agile software developers follow a test-driven development
process in which the tests are created BEFORE the user stories that they are designed
to test.

Review: pp. 134-35; “Verifying and Validating Value” in chapter 2

Question 50

What would your developers need to code first?

A. Release 2.2 user stories

B. Release 2.1 acceptance tests

C. Release 2.3 unit tests

D. Release 2.1 user stories

Explanation: This question checks your understanding of test-driven development.

Based on the release numbers, you should be able to tell that the correct choice
must be either the acceptance tests or the user stories for release 2.1, since that
release will be built before releases 2.2 and 2.3. The correct answer is the
acceptance tests, since agile software developers follow a test-driven development
process in which the tests are created BEFORE the user stories that they are designed
to test.

Review: pp. 134-35; “Verifying and Validating Value” in chapter 2