Which of the following roles would fall under that of a "specialist" on a Disciplined Agile Delivery Team?
- A . Business Analyst
- B . Product Owner
- C . Project Manager
- D . Stakeholder
A
Explanation:
In the context of the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, a "specialist" on a Disciplined Agile Delivery Team is someone with a specific, specialized skill set or domain expertise that contributes to the overall development and delivery process. While the DA framework promotes cross-functional team members, it acknowledges that certain roles require specialized knowledge.
A Business Analyst (BA) is considered a specialist role because they bring specific expertise in requirements gathering, process analysis, stakeholder communication, and translating business needs into actionable tasks for the development team. According to PMI’s Disciplined Agile guidelines, BAs provide value by ensuring that the requirements are well-understood and clearly defined, which is crucial in aligning the team’s efforts with stakeholder needs.
On the other hand, the roles of Product Owner (B) and Project Manager (C) are more related to leadership, decision-making, and coordination, rather than specialized technical or analytical expertise. Stakeholders (D) are external to the delivery team and are not considered specialists within the team itself.
What is the Disciplined Agile principle of being pragmatic characterized by?
- A . Adapting lean methodologies when necessary
- B . Tailoring the organizational structure to the context
- C . Identifying when to be agile
- D . Being as effective as you can and continuously improving
D
Explanation:
The Disciplined Agile (DA) principle of being pragmatic is characterized by the focus on "being as effective as you can and continuously improving." According to PMI’s Disciplined Agile Toolkit, being pragmatic means applying an agile mindset that is not constrained by a rigid set of rules or practices. Instead, it emphasizes being practical and outcome-focused, aiming for the best results in each unique context while continually seeking opportunities for improvement.
Disciplined Agile promotes pragmatic decision-making by suggesting that teams should balance their approach by being both goal-driven and situation-aware. This means that instead of strictly adhering to a single agile framework or methodology, teams should assess their situation, leverage their experience, and apply the most suitable tools and techniques available. Furthermore, continuous improvement (Kaizen) is a fundamental aspect, meaning teams should regularly reflect on their practices and make iterative enhancements to achieve effectiveness.
This principle also aligns with DA’s guidance to "Optimize Flow" and "Be Awesome," as it encourages teams to deliver value while recognizing that every situation might require different tools, techniques, and practices. Thus, "D. Being as effective as you can and continuously improving" best captures the essence of DA’s pragmatic approach.
Reference: PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which details the core principles of Disciplined Agile, including being pragmatic by focusing on effectiveness and continuous improvement.
PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which explains how being pragmatic involves choosing the best approach for your specific context rather than adhering to a strict methodology.
A team is about to begin work on a project that will lace rapidly changing requirements with releases only every six months or so. The team does not have an agile mindset and does not want to release often.
Which lifecycle should the scrum master select?
- A . Program
- B . Lean
- C . Traditional
- D . Agile
C
Explanation:
In the context of the Disciplined Agile framework, when a team is dealing with rapidly changing requirements but is resistant to frequent releases and does not have an Agile mindset, the Traditional lifecycle is appropriate. This lifecycle aligns with teams that prefer a more plan-driven, less iterative approach, which typically includes longer release cycles and detailed upfront planning. The Traditional lifecycle in Disciplined Agile follows a waterfall-like approach, which is suitable when the team is not yet prepared to adopt Agile principles such as frequent delivery and adaptive planning.
The other options do not match this scenario:
What is the purpose of an iteration retrospective?
- A . To showcase what the team accomplished in an iteration.
- B . To transfer knowledge and improvements to the next iteration.
- C . To prioritize stories and concrete tasks for the next iteration.
- D . To identity progress and to note encountered impediments.
B
Explanation:
The purpose of an iteration retrospective in the Disciplined Agile framework is to reflect on the team’s process and performance during the previous iteration to identify what went well and what can be improved. The primary goal is to continuously improve by transferring the lessons learned, knowledge, and potential improvements to the next iteration. This aligns with Disciplined Agile’s emphasis on continuous improvement and learning, which is critical to the team’s effectiveness and efficiency.
The other options are not the primary focus of an iteration retrospective:
What are the three phases common across project life cycles? (Choose three)
- A . Inspiration
- B . Modulation
- C . Construction
- D . Inception
- E . Transition
C, D, E
Explanation:
In Disciplined Agile (DA), the three common phases across project life cycles are Inception, Construction, and Transition. These phases reflect the iterative and incremental approach of agile methodologies tailored to suit varying contexts.
Inception: This phase is about getting things started properly. It includes initial planning activities such as defining the vision, developing a preliminary project plan, identifying stakeholders, securing funding, and setting up the initial environment.
Construction: This phase focuses on developing a consumable solution in a series of iterations. The team builds, enhances, and evolves the solution to ensure that it meets stakeholders’ needs while remaining aligned with the overarching vision and goals.
Transition: The transition phase ensures that the solution is ready for delivery to the end-users or stakeholders. This includes final validation and verification activities, user training, deployment, and addressing any remaining issues.
These phases are common in the DA life cycles, reflecting the disciplined approach to managing
complexity in various types of projects, from straightforward to highly complex, while supporting
adaptability and continuous improvement.
Reference: PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which outlines the DA life cycles, including Inception, Construction, and Transition phases. PMI’s Disciplined Agile Toolkit, which describes these phases in detail and their relevance across different types of project life cycles.
What is the architecture owner responsible for?
- A . Mitigating key technical risks
- B . Working cross-functionally to deliver the solution
- C . Removing impediments
- D . Determining the priorities for the solution
A
Explanation:
In Disciplined Agile, the Architecture Owner is responsible for mitigating key technical risks. This role focuses on overseeing the architectural integrity of the solution being developed, ensuring that the team makes sound technical decisions that align with the desired architecture and quality attributes of the project. The Architecture Owner helps in identifying and addressing potential technical risks early in the project life cycle, collaborating with the team to adapt the architecture as necessary to mitigate these risks.
This individual works closely with the team to guide architectural considerations, ensures compliance with the chosen architectural strategies, and maintains the overall technical direction of the project. Although they are involved in other cross-functional activities, their primary responsibility is to foresee and address technical challenges that could jeopardize the success of the project.
Reference: PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which details the responsibilities of the Architecture Owner, including mitigating technical risks.
PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities within DA, particularly the Architecture Owner’s role in managing technical risks.
Why is the coordination meeting important for a project team?
- A . It provides a demo of the product to keep everyone up to date.
- B . It provides an opportunity for the team to help itself stay m sync.
- C . It allows the stakeholders to see how well the team is working together.
- D . If allows the team to reassess the backlog to meet their needs.
B
Explanation:
The coordination meeting (often referred to as the daily stand-up or daily coordination meeting in Agile practices) is crucial for a project team because it provides an opportunity for the team to help itself stay in sync. This meeting is typically held daily and allows team members to communicate their progress, discuss any challenges or impediments, and align their activities with the project’s goals.
In Disciplined Agile, such meetings are vital for fostering collaboration and ensuring that everyone on the team is aware of what others are doing, which helps avoid misunderstandings, duplicate work, and potential blockers. The purpose is not to report to a manager but for the team to coordinate, plan, and adjust their work dynamically to ensure continuous alignment and effective progress towards the team’s objectives.
Reference: PMI Disciplined Agile Toolkit, which emphasizes the importance of coordination meetings (or daily stand-ups) in maintaining team alignment and promoting self-organization.
PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which describes the value of regular team coordination to ensure synchronicity and continuous alignment within agile teams.
What arc the three categories of process blades, according to Disciplined Agile (DA)? (Choose three)
- A . Disciplined DevOps
- B . Disciplined Protect Management Office (PMO)
- C . Disciplined Agile IT
- D . Disciplined Kanban
- E . Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
A, B, E
Explanation:
In PMI’s Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, process blades refer to modular, process decision-making tools that help organizations optimize their way of working (WoW).
They are categorized into three primary areas:
Disciplined DevOps (A) – This blade focuses on streamlining and integrating development and operations activities, with a focus on continuous delivery and automation practices. It encompasses activities such as IT operations, quality assurance, data management, and release management to improve flow and operational efficiency.
Disciplined Project Management Office (PMO) (B) – The Disciplined Agile PMO is designed to oversee and provide governance to an organization’s project and product delivery processes. It facilitates strategic alignment and value delivery across teams, ensuring that agile principles are applied at a broader organizational level, and that governance and funding models are adaptable.
Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) (E) – Disciplined Agile Delivery is a hybrid agile approach focused on the delivery of software-based solutions. It combines strategies from Agile, Lean, Scrum, and other methodologies to create a flexible and scalable approach to delivery. DAD provides guidance across all stages of solution delivery, from concept to deployment.
These three categories help organizations leverage Disciplined Agile principles by enabling flexible, scalable solutions that can be customized based on their specific context and needs.
What arc Disciplined Agile milestones based on?
- A . Continuous integration
- B . Documentation
- C . Lean governance
- D . Lifecycle
C
Explanation:
Disciplined Agile (DA) milestones are based on the concept of Lean governance, which is focused on ensuring that agile practices are aligned with the organization’s overall objectives while minimizing bureaucracy. In the DA framework, milestones provide lightweight checkpoints throughout the lifecycle to ensure that the team is on track to meet its objectives and deliver value. These milestones are not about documentation or merely following a predefined lifecycle but are instead focused on achieving business value in a lean and efficient manner.
Why is the retrospective an important agile ceremony?
- A . It allows the team time to focus on hew they can better work together moving forward.
- B . It allows the team to organize the product backlog into categories which are meaningful to them.
- C . It prohibits stakeholders who attended the demo from giving additional requests to the team.
- D . If provides the product owner with the opportunity to see how well the team works together.
A
Explanation:
In Agile, and specifically within the Disciplined Agile framework, the retrospective is a crucial ceremony where the team reflects on their past iteration to identify areas of improvement. The main purpose is to foster continuous improvement by focusing on how the team can better work together moving forward. It encourages open communication, self-reflection, and team accountability, aligning with the agile principles of continuous learning and adaptation.
The other options are incorrect because:
B. Organizing the product backlog is typically done during backlog refinement sessions, not retrospectives.
C. Prohibiting stakeholders from making requests is not the purpose of a retrospective; stakeholder feedback is valuable and is usually gathered during review sessions.
D. Providing the product owner with insights into team dynamics may occur, but it is not the primary goal of the retrospective.
Therefore, the correct answer is
Which phase of the project life cycle develops a consumable solution in a collaborative and incremental manner?
- A . Execution
- B . Construction
- C . Inception
- D . Transition
B
Explanation:
In Disciplined Agile, the Construction phase of the project life cycle is responsible for developing a consumable solution in a collaborative and incremental manner. During this phase, the team iteratively builds the solution, working closely with stakeholders to ensure that the product or service being developed meets their needs and expectations. The Construction phase emphasizes agility, collaboration, and incremental development, where the solution evolves through repeated iterations, incorporating feedback and improvements at each step. This approach helps to minimize risks, adapt to changes, and deliver value more frequently.
Reference: PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which describes the Construction phase as the iterative process where the solution is developed incrementally and collaboratively.
PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which outlines the phases of the DA life cycle, including the collaborative nature of the Construction phase.
Which approach is described as an agnostic hybrid technique that draws upon many different ideas?
- A . Agile
- B . Lean
- C . Disciplined Agile
- D . Iterative
C
Explanation:
Disciplined Agile is described as an agnostic hybrid technique that draws upon many different ideas from multiple agile and lean frameworks. Unlike other agile methodologies that prescribe a specific set of practices, Disciplined Agile provides a toolkit that allows teams to choose and tailor their way of working based on their unique context, goals, and constraints. It integrates strategies from Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP (Extreme Programming), SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), and other approaches, providing a more flexible and adaptive approach to project management.
Reference: PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which describes Disciplined Agile as a hybrid approach that is framework-agnostic and adaptable to different situations.
PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which discusses the agnostic and hybrid nature of DA and its ability to draw upon multiple methodologies.
The concept of Lean was developed around eliminating the three types of deviations that shows inefficient allocation of?
- A . meetings
- B . resources
- C . deadlines
- D . data
B
Explanation:
The concept of Lean was developed around eliminating the three types of deviations that show inefficient allocation of resources: Muda (waste), Mura (unevenness), and Muri (overburden). Lean principles focus on maximizing value by minimizing waste and optimizing the use of resources, such as time, effort, and materials. By identifying and eliminating these inefficiencies, organizations can ensure that resources are allocated effectively, reducing costs, improving quality, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Reference: PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which outlines Lean principles and their focus on optimizing resource allocation by eliminating waste, unevenness, and overburden.
Lean methodology concepts, which emphasize the elimination of Muda, Mura, and Muri to optimize resource allocation and efficiency.
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and?
- A . Provide feedback for future product development.
- B . Is used for demonstration only.
- C . Will be the last iteration of development.
- D . Is not yet ready to be sold.
A
Explanation:
A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. The MVP approach allows organizations to test their product hypothesis with minimal effort and investment, gather valuable user feedback, and make informed decisions about further development. By delivering a basic version of the product quickly, teams can learn from real-world use, validate assumptions, and iterate on the product to better meet customer needs in subsequent versions.
Reference: PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) Toolkit, which discusses the concept of an MVP as a tool for early market entry, user feedback, and iterative development.
PMI, "Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)," which outlines the role of an MVP in enabling rapid feedback loops and continuous improvement.
Which method extends the Kaizen loop strategy to help teams identify techniques that are likely to work in their context?
- A . Explicit workflow policies
- B . Guided continuous improvement
- C . Communities of practice
- D . Cross-team learning
B
Explanation:
The method that extends the Kaizen loop strategy to help teams identify techniques likely to work in their context is Guided continuous improvement. In the Disciplined Agile (DA) toolkit, guided continuous improvement refers to using a structured approach to learning and adaptation, where teams are provided with guidance and options based on proven practices. This helps teams apply Kaizen principles effectively in their unique environments by selecting and tailoring techniques that are most likely to yield positive results.