APMG-International AgilePM-Foundation Agile Project Management (AgilePM v3) Foundation Exam v3 update Exam Practice Test

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (concise, policy-compliant):

Scrum is built on five explicit values that guide behavior and decisions: Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect, and Courage. These values support Scrum’s empirical foundations—transparency, inspection, and adaptation—by fostering trust, candor, and accountability within the team and with stakeholders. “Commitment” underscores owning goals and the Definition of Done; “Focus” directs effort toward Sprint and Product Goals; “Openness” encourages visibility of work and issues; “Respect” sustains a collaborative, professional environment; and “Courage” enables tackling hard problems and being transparent about progress and impediments. “Drive” is not one of the five Scrum values. While individual motivation matters, Scrum emphasizes collective commitment and sustainable pace over generic notions of “drive.” Therefore, among the options provided, Drive is the one that is not a Scrum value.

AgilePM emphasizes lightweight but effective planning that maintains control without bureaucracy. Core planning concepts include timeboxing (fixed-duration delivery windows), MoSCoW prioritization (flexing scope to protect time/cost/quality), incremental and iterative delivery (frequent demonstrations and review), and rolling-wave planning (planning at multiple horizons). Together these techniques ensure transparency, predictable cadence, and early value while avoiding heavyweight documentation or rigid stage gates. Plans are living forecasts refined through continuous feedback and empirical evidence from delivered increments. Governance focuses on outcomes and fitness for purpose rather than exhaustive upfront detail. This is why the guidance often summarizes that AgilePM planning “keeps projects on track,” enabling teams to respond to change, surface risks early, and align stakeholders around real progress. Options A, C, and D capture fragments of agile practice, but they understate the project-level intent. The correct completion is “projects on track.”

Statement 1: Correct. Actively responding to contributions fosters a sense of inclusion and appreciation, which is crucial for engagement and trust during change.

Statement 2: Incorrect. Decisions during change often involve emotional as well as rational considerations, as people’s behaviors and attitudes are not purely logical.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Engaging Stakeholders Emotionally: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 4, Section 4.3.

The Pre-Project phase is the stage where it is decided which projects are started, based on a clearly defined objective1. This phase ensures that only the right projects are initiated and that they are set up correctly, aligning with the DSDM philosophy that the best business value emerges when projects are aligned to clear business goals1.

The purpose of the Consolidation phase in a structured Timebox is to tie up any loose ends related to Evolutionary Development. This phase involves finalizing all outstanding work, ensuring that the deliverables meet the required quality standards, and preparing the product for acceptance and deployment. It is a critical phase for addressing any minor issues that may have arisen during development and ensuring that the Timebox objectives have been fully achieved.

The role that should ideally be independent of the outcome to be achieved in a Facilitated Workshop is the Workshop Facilitator4. This role manages the processes and dynamics of the workshop and should remain neutral and impartial4.

 Quality during Evolutionary Development is ensured by continuous verification2. This involves iterative development, where all development processes, including testing, are repeated to ensure the output is complete and able to generate useful feedback2.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150–300 words Explanation (paraphrased from AgilePM/DSDM guidance):

In AgilePM, the Business Sponsor is the project’s ultimate decision-maker and the role accountable for ensuring continued business justification. This includes owning the investment decision, securing and sustaining funding, and maintaining senior-level commitment to the business opportunity. A lack of commitment represents a threat to the viability of the Business Case; managing and mitigating that risk sits squarely with the Sponsor. The Sponsor establishes clear objectives, champions the initiative across the organization, removes high-level impediments, and ensures that governance supports timely decisions. While the Business Visionary articulates and safeguards the solution vision and value outcomes, that role does not control organizational commitment or funding at the enterprise level. Similarly, Business Advisors provide specialist input but do not own commitment or investment risk. Therefore, where commitment to the business opportunity is wavering or unclear, the Business Sponsor is responsible for intervening—reconfirming the Business Case, rallying stakeholder support, and aligning investment, scope and timescales—so the project remains justified and deliverable.

Qualitative Measures: These provide insight into the underlying reasons, motivations, and emotions behind behaviors. Examples include interviews, open-ended surveys, and focus groups.

Other Options:

B: Quantitative measures focus on numerical data but lack context.

C: Leading indicators predict future performance but don’t explain behavior.

D: Lagging indicators reflect past performance, not the reasons behind it.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Measurement and Analysis: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 7, Section 7.5.

Feedback and Coaching: Sponsors play a critical role in change, and change managers support them by providing feedback and coaching to help them lead effectively. This builds their confidence and ensures alignment with the change vision.

Other Options:

A: Sponsors should prepare the vision themselves.

B: Sponsors themselves lead commitment-building efforts.

D: Protecting sponsors isn’t an effective strategy; engaging them is key.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Sponsor Engagement: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 6, Section 6.2.

The DSMD (Dynamic Systems Development Method) principle of “Build incrementally from firm foundations” emphasizes the importance of having a solid understanding of the project’s foundation before proceeding with incremental development. This principle ensures that each increment is built upon a stable base, which supports the overall project integrity and success.

The Foundations phase is when it is established how quality will be assured4. This phase builds upon the preliminary investigation from the Feasibility phase to establish a fundamental understanding of the business rationale for the project and how the development and delivery of the solution will be managed, including quality assurance measures4.

A Facilitated Workshop provides an interactive environment where all key players can contribute to the outcome3. It is a practice within Agile and DSDM that encourages collaboration and active participation from all stakeholders to shape the project’s direction and solutions.

Emotional Process: Transition, as per Bridges’ model, refers to the psychological adjustment individuals go through when adapting to change. It’s not about the change itself but how people internally process the transition.

Other Options:

A and D: These relate to the external processes of implementing change.

C: This overlaps with transition but is incomplete as a definition.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Bridges’ Transition Model: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 6, Section 6.3.

Principle 8 - Demonstrate Control requires the transparency of all work being performed by the team5. This principle ensures that plans and progress are visible to all and that progress is measured through the delivery of products rather than completed activities5.

The Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ) is a diagnostic tool in AgilePM used to surface approach-based risks early and throughout the project. It examines dimensions such as organizational culture, leadership behaviors, stakeholder engagement, governance expectations, team empowerment, and technical/environmental readiness against AgilePM principles and practices. By assessing these areas, the PAQ highlights misalignments (e.g., low business involvement, decision latency, rigid change control, insufficient empowerment) that could undermine agile delivery. The output informs targeted mitigations—coaching needs, governance adjustments, facilitation plans, risk responses, and communications—embedded into the project approach. It is not a one-off retrospective instrument (contra option C); it is used iteratively to steer the approach. Nor does it “ensure agreement” and “eliminate the need” for other controls (contra option B); instead, it supports informed governance and continuous improvement. Finally, it does not focus solely on technical risks (contra option D); it explicitly covers culture and leadership alongside process and technical considerations.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (concise, policy-compliant):

Scrum defines four events within the Sprint: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. When multiple teams collaborate on a common outcome, coordination frequently benefits from an additional, project-level planning event layered around (not replacing) Scrum’s core events. In Agile project environments, a lightweight project planning event brings Product Owner(s), key stakeholders, and representatives from each team together to align intentions, dependencies, and release objectives across teams before teams finalize their own Sprint Plans. This complements, rather than duplicates, each team’s Sprint Planning by creating a shared understanding of priorities and cross-team impacts, enabling teams to enter Sprint Planning with clearer constraints and collaboration points. The Sprint Retrospective focuses on improvement, not forward planning. Hence, the add-on that facilitates cross-team planning is a Project planning event.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150 to 300 words Explanation From Exact Extract of Agile Project Management (paraphrased):

AgilePM’s MoSCoW prioritization is always applied within a defined timeframe (e.g., a release or timebox). A requirement can be a Must Have for a specific delivery window while being a Should/Could when viewed across the whole product roadmap. Timeboxing, dependency considerations, and the need to deliver a coherent, usable increment by a certain date mean that priority is inherently time-contextual. While budget and resources influence overall planning, AgilePM fixes time and cost to provide predictability and flexes scope to protect quality; thus, the most legitimate driver for a requirement’s priority to change is the timeframe to which MoSCoW is applied. As delivery horizons shift (e.g., near-term release vs. later release), the same requirement’s priority may be re-appraised to ensure the Business Case and Product/Release Goals are met. Therefore, Different timeframe is the correct reason that explains variations in backlog priority.

Statement 1: Incorrect. Diverse teams tend to take longer to make decisions due to differing perspectives and approaches. However, this trade-off leads to more thorough and creative decision-making, which is a recognized strength of diverse teams.

Statement 2: Incorrect. Members of diverse teams often require time to align on communication styles, goals, and processes. Effective collaboration in diverse teams is developed through trust-building and active engagement, as outlined in Agile team practices.

Why Diverse Teams Matter in Agile:

Agile emphasizes collaboration and innovation, which are enhanced by diverse teams. However, the process of building trust and understanding takes time. AgilePM recommends fostering inclusivity and addressing conflicts constructively to harness the strengths of diverse teams.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Building Effective Teams: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 5, Section 5.3.

Trust and Transparency in Teams: Chapter 4, Section 4.6.

Agile principles assert that the most efficient and effective method of conveying information within a development team is face-to-face conversation. This emphasizes rich, synchronous communication—co-location where possible, or high-fidelity remote collaboration (video, whiteboarding, pair/mob work) when not. Face-to-face dialog accelerates shared understanding, reduces rework caused by misinterpretation, and shortens feedback loops so issues are surfaced and resolved quickly. While transparency, collaboration, and continuity are vital cultural qualities, the principle specifically calls out face-to-face as the preferred communication mode. AgilePM operationalizes this through facilitated workshops, daily coordination, frequent reviews/demos, and visible artifacts that support immediate discussion. Even in distributed teams, the intent is preserved by using communication tools and practices that approximate face-to-face bandwidth, ensuring decisions are grounded in common understanding and enabling rapid inspection and adaptation.

Agile Project Management places a premium on collaboration—the act of different roles (business, product, and technical) working together toward a shared goal. While communication is the exchange of information, collaboration goes further: it is joint problem-solving and decision-making that aligns perspectives to deliver value. AgilePM/DSDM principles explicitly promote active business involvement and empowered teams, creating an environment where collaboration is the default for refining requirements, planning increments, resolving trade-offs, and assuring quality. Ceremonies such as backlog refinement, Sprint Planning, daily coordination, and reviews exist to reinforce collaborative behavior, shorten feedback loops, and surface constraints early. Scrum itself (option C) is a framework that enables collaboration, but the definition given—“working together towards a shared goal”—is the definition of collaboration, not the framework or governance mechanisms. Governance (option D) concerns oversight and control structures rather than the cooperative behaviors that produce outcomes. Consequently, the statement most accurately and directly defines Collaboration.

Certainty in Neuroscience: The brain seeks predictability and stability, which is supported by delivering change in small, incremental stages. This approach aligns with Agile's iterative and incremental delivery, providing clarity and reducing stress for individuals undergoing change.

Other Options:

B: Delegated decision-making relates to empowerment but does not directly address certainty.

C: Group social events foster connection, not certainty.

D: Public praise boosts morale but doesn’t satisfy the need for predictability.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Iterative and Incremental Delivery: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 3, Section 3.6.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (concise, policy-compliant):

Scrum rests on empiricism and lean thinking. Empiricism means knowledge comes from experience and evidence, and decisions are made based on what is observed. Scrum implements empiricism through iterative and incremental delivery: short Sprints create frequent opportunities to inspect a usable Increment and adapt the plan based on real results rather than speculation. Iteration reduces risk by enabling rapid learning, early validation of assumptions, and continuous refinement of the Product Backlog. Evidence-based decision-making is reinforced by transparent artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment), a clear Definition of Done, and regular inspection points (Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective). Together, these ensure that planning and prioritization are continuously informed by what has actually been delivered and learned. Therefore, both statements—Scrum is iterative and decisions are evidence-based—are true.

In an agile context, the Scrum Master embodies servant leadership, coaching the team and the organization to apply Scrum effectively. Their accountability is to establish and uphold Scrum’s empirical approach—transparency, inspection, and adaptation—by ensuring events, artifacts, and values are understood and used as intended. They remove impediments that hinder flow, facilitate collaboration with stakeholders, and help the team focus on outcomes guided by the Sprint and Product Goals. Crucially, the Scrum Master does not manage scope, schedule, or approve the technical solution; those duties lie with product ownership and technical leadership. Nor do they “maximize value” directly—that accountability belongs to the Product Owner. Instead, the Scrum Master improves the system of work so the team can deliver value predictably and sustainably, fostering continuous improvement and adherence to agreed quality standards (e.g., Definition of Done). This aligns with option A and distinguishes it from the governance or authority-centric responsibilities implied by the other options.

DSDM recognizes two styles of Timebox: a structured Timebox and a free format Timebox1. The structured Timebox is the original DSDM-style Timebox, which provides a standard, repeatable internal structure to a Timebox. The free format Timebox allows more flexibility

Statement 1: Correct. Identifying stakeholders involves analyzing who will be impacted by the change and their level of influence.

Statement 2: Correct. Stakeholder mapping is a tool used to visualize and prioritize stakeholders based on their influence and interest.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Stakeholder Mapping and Identification: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 5, Section 5.5.

Business roles are critical in a DSDM project as they guide the evolution of the solution at a detailed level6. They provide day-to-day business direction and ensure that the solution being developed aligns with the business needs and objectives.

Principle 1 – Focus on the Business Need suggests that every decision taken during a project should be viewed in light of the overriding project goal. This principle ensures that all decisions align with the main objective of delivering what the business needs, thus maintaining a clear focus on achieving the project’s goals.

When information changes frequently, agile favors high-bandwidth, synchronous communication (e.g., video/teleconferences, facilitated sessions) that enables rapid clarification, shared understanding, and immediate adjustment. Static written documents become quickly outdated, encourage lag between change and consumption, and invite misinterpretation without fast feedback loops. Even email, while asynchronous, can be used for rapid, lightweight updates—but it still lacks the immediacy and richness of dialogue. AgilePM stresses visible progress, collaborative workshops, and frequent reviews to keep everyone aligned as facts evolve. Therefore, in a high-change context, a written document is typically the least effective mechanism to keep stakeholders synchronized, whereas live conversations and demonstrations better support timely inspection and adaptation.

Statement 1: Incorrect. While accountability is important, it should be addressed constructively, not by drawing attention to failures in a punitive way.

Statement 2: Incorrect. Constructive conflict is essential for innovation and problem-solving. Avoiding conflict entirely can lead to unresolved issues and reduced performance.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Team Dynamics and Conflict Management: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 5, Section 5.5.

The Product Owner is value steward and single ordering voice for the product backlog. Their accountability is to maximize value from the team’s work by clarifying outcomes, ordering backlog items, and ensuring transparency of goals, acceptance criteria, and readiness. They continuously engage customers and stakeholders, translate learning into backlog adjustments, and make scope trade-offs that protect time, cost, and quality. The Product Owner does not approve technical fitness (that sits with technical leadership and agreed quality criteria) nor manage a baselined delivery plan in a command-and-control sense; plans are living forecasts shaped by empirical evidence. Team effectiveness coaching belongs to the Scrum Master. By holding outcome accountability while collaborating closely with delivery and business roles, the Product Owner ensures increments align to strategy, benefits, and the evolving Business Case—precisely what option B states.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (paraphrased from Agile Project Management guidance):

Agile thinking emphasizes customer value, empirical evidence, collaboration, and transparency. Option A reflects progressive elaboration and just-in-time refinement—good agile practice. Option B suggests a typical, lightweight cadence for readiness (often the Sprint prior), which is acceptable when driven by context and team capacity rather than rigid rule. Option C captures the essence of flow through small, frequent, validated increments. Option D, however, bypasses value-based prioritization, team forecasting, and collaborative decision-making by selecting the next Sprint’s work purely on sponsor preference. Agile approaches (e.g., MoSCoW prioritization, product goals, acceptance criteria) rely on shared, objective value measures, not unilateral authority, to maximize outcomes. Therefore, D does not demonstrate agile thinking.

AgilePM is designed for environments where change and learning are expected. First, assumptions are often flawed; short, empirical cycles expose errors quickly, reducing waste and rework. Second, flexibility—via timeboxing, MoSCoW prioritization, and incremental delivery—enables organizations to pivot faster than competitors as market and stakeholder insights emerge, creating competitive advantage. Third, the statement “uncertainty leads to reduced ambiguity” is incorrect—uncertainty increases ambiguity; agile practices counter this by making work and progress visible and by validating value early. Fourth, deferring decisions to the last responsible moment is advantageous when it avoids premature commitment and keeps options open until better information is available. That balance preserves adaptability without causing decision paralysis. Together, (1), (2), and (4) capture why agility consistently helps organizations navigate complexity and volatility while safeguarding time, cost, and quality through scope flexibility.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150–300 words Explanation (paraphrased from Agile Manifesto principles; exact long extracts cannot be provided due to content limits):

The Agile Manifesto values “customer collaboration over contract negotiation.” This does not reject contracts, nor does it insist they be minimized or standardized; it emphasizes that collaboration is usually a more effective driver of value than rigid reliance on contractual terms. In many environments—regulated sectors, outsourced development, or vendor relationships—contracts are necessary and useful. Agile guidance encourages shaping agreements to enable adaptability: focusing on outcomes, shared goals, transparency, and mechanisms for change, rather than locking down detailed scope up front. By recognizing the value of contractual agreements—while prioritizing collaborative behaviors, frequent inspection, and incremental delivery—organizations can balance governance with agility. The practical implication is to design contracts that support iterative delivery, evolving requirements (e.g., via prioritized backlogs), and joint decision-making, rather than treating the contract as the sole arbiter of success. Hence, the statement that most accurately reflects Agile’s stance is that contractual agreements should be considered for their value (option C), with collaboration taking precedence in day-to-day delivery and problem-solving.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150 to 300 words Explanation From Exact Extract of Agile Project Management (paraphrased with Scrum alignment):

Scrum defines a small set of events within the Sprint to implement empiricism: Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. Additionally, the Sprint itself is the overarching event—a fixed-length container that sets the cadence for inspection and adaptation, culminating in a usable Increment. By contrast, Sprint Goal is a commitment associated with the Sprint, guiding focus and coherence; Sprint Backlog is an artifact representing the plan for the Sprint; and Product Increment is an artifact representing the latest integrated outcome meeting the Definition of Done. Therefore, among the options, only Sprint is a Scrum Event.

Productivity Dip: A temporary drop in productivity is common when employees are being trained on new processes or systems. This cost is critical to account for in planning and managing change effectively.

Other Options:

Safety & Wellbeing: Relates to physical and emotional health, not productivity.

Reputational: Refers to external perception of the organization.

Opportunity: Refers to lost potential from alternative courses of action.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Assessing Change Impact: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 7, Section 7.3.

Statement 1: Correct. Diverse teams leverage different perspectives, leading to higher creativity and innovation, as Agile encourages collaborative solutions.

Statement 2: Incorrect. Diverse teams typically take longer to reach consensus due to varying viewpoints and styles of communication, though the decisions they make are often more robust.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Team Collaboration and Creativity: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 5, Section 5.3.

DSDM acknowledges that change is inevitable and that projects operate within a changing world5. The methodology is designed to embrace change and harness its benefits, rather than resist it.

The missing word in the sentence is “Champion”. The Business Sponsor is known as the project Champion because they are committed to the solution and the delivery approach34. This role is crucial as it provides the strategic direction and controls the funding/budget for the project1.

In DSDM, it is true that one DSDM role does not necessarily mean one person. This allows for flexibility in assigning roles based on the project’s needs and the individuals’ skills and capacities. It is possible for one person to hold multiple roles or for a role to be shared among several people, depending on what is most effective for the project.

Fairness: The SCARF model highlights the importance of perceived fairness in fostering trust and collaboration. Change managers must ensure that processes and decisions are perceived as just and equitable.

Other Options:

B: Faith is not a part of the SCARF model.

C and D: Fear and fight are reactions to stress, not SCARF elements.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

SCARF Model Application in Change: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 5, Section 5.2.

The DSDM process can indeed be configured and calibrated to cater for a range of projects, from those requiring light governance to those needing stronger governance1. This flexibility allows the DSDM process to be tailored to the specific needs of the project, ensuring that the right balance between control and agility is achieved1.

Financial: A measurable increase in sales reflects improved financial performance, making it a financial metric. Financial views in a change delivery scorecard often include profitability, revenue growth, and ROI—all of which are influenced by sales increases.

Customer, Internal, Learning & Growth: These are equally important views but do not directly relate to sales performance. For instance:

Customer View: Focuses on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Internal View: Addresses process efficiency.

Learning & Growth View: Pertains to employee development and organizational innovation.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Scorecard and Value Metrics: AgilePM Handbook, Section 2.5.3.

Statement 1: Incorrect. Having more data doesn’t guarantee better results; quality and relevance of data matter more.

Statement 2: Correct. External data can provide fresh perspectives and reduce internal biases.

Key AgilePM Concepts Referenced:

Using Data for Insights: AgilePM Handbook, Chapter 7, Section 7.6.

Both statements about the Technical Coordinator role in AgilePM are true. The Technical Coordinator provides the same function from a technical perspective as the Business Ambassador does from a business perspective, ensuring that the technical aspects of the project align with the overall business objectives. Additionally, the Technical Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the solution conforms to the requested technical standards, overseeing the technical integrity and quality of the product throughout the development process.