PMI PMI-ACP PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) Exam Practice Test

The daily scrum is the appropriate forum for team members to raise and discuss any impediments or blockers they are facing. By addressing the impediments directly in the daily scrum, the team can collaborate and work together to find solutions in real time. This ensures that issues are identified early and are dealt with in a timely manner. Relying solely on emails for communication can lead to missed opportunities for immediate resolution and may cause frustration, as seen in this case. Encouraging the team member to raise the impediments during the daily scrum will help ensure they are addressed quickly and effectively.

Theretrospectiveis the agile ceremony designed for teams toinspect and adapttheir process based on actual performance. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.6: Retrospectives), discussingvelocity issues and delivery concernsduring retrospectives allows the team to collaboratively identify improvement actions.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)also notes thatretrospectives are the best settingto discuss variations in velocity and refine estimation or planning practices based on empirical evidence.

Option Cis correct: the retrospective is where the team adapts based on reality.

Option Amay come later but doesn’t address the root issue.

Option Bgoes against agile principles of stable teams and empirical planning.

Option Dis reactive and may mask underlying process issues.

Agile promotescross-team collaboration and shared understanding of goals, especially when dependencies exist. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.3.1: Team Collaboration and Alignment)recommends usingvision alignment and shared objectivesto reduce silos and improve coordination. Avision-sharing sessionensures that all teams understand thebusiness context and mutual interdependencies, helping build accountability and improve collaboration.

Option Bis correct: shared vision fosters alignment and commitment.

Option Ais punitive and against agile values of collaboration.

Option Cdisrupts team stability and should not be a first step.

Option Daddresses the symptom (delivery delay) but not theroot cause(lack of shared vision/accountability).

In agile methodology, particularly in Scrum, it is essential to focus on delivering value through iterative, incremental development. Rather than planning everything upfront for the entire 2-year duration, the focus should be on delivering small, manageable releases on a regular cadence, allowing for flexibility and adaptability based on feedback from stakeholders. This approach helps to ensure that the team remains responsive to changing requirements and can continually improve the product over time.

Agile teams operate on the principle ofinspect and adapt. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.6 Retrospectives)andPMBOK® Guide 6th Edition (Section 3.7), retrospectives are designed forexperimentation and safe failure. Teams should be encouraged to try new process improvements and assess their impact. If the result is not positive, it’s an opportunity for collective learning—not for blame.

Mike Griffiths states in hisPMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 7: Continuous Improvement)that leaders shouldfoster a culture of experimentation, where teams are praised for trying new approaches, even if they fail. This maintains psychological safety and continuous learning.

Thus,Option Ais correct: Commending the attempt and facilitating a team discussion to explore alternatives is consistent with agile values and promotes team maturity.

The correct answer is D — Discuss the issue with the team at the next project retrospective.

Fatigue and declining productivity are ideal topics for the sprint retrospective. Retrospectives provide a dedicated time for the team to reflect on what's working and what's not, and they promote continuous improvement in a psychologically safe environment.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Retrospectives allow teams to reflect on how they work and to continuously improve their practices, processes, and team dynamics.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths:

“Retrospectives are opportunities to openly discuss issues such as burnout or fatigue and decide as a team what improvements to implement.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Incorrect options:

A (daily standup) is focused on immediate blockers, not deep reflection.

B might help but creates unnecessary ceremony; the retrospective is the correct venue.

C escalates the issue outside the team prematurely.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is C – Low-risk and low-value. Agile teams prioritize features that deliver the highest value earliest while also addressing risk. Features with low business value and low risk can be deferred as they contribute the least to business objectives and present no urgency.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams maximize value by focusing on delivering high-value and high-risk features early. Low-value, low-risk items are often deferred or dropped entirely if they don’t contribute meaningfully to customer outcomes.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Prioritization Techniques)

Mike Griffiths supports this:

“Features should be prioritized by value and risk. Items with low value and low risk are the lowest priority. Delivering high-value features quickly enables feedback and learning.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A should be prioritized early to mitigate risk and deliver value.

B are non-critical and risky—often avoided or discarded.

D delivers value, and therefore should be prioritized above low-value items.

Answer: C

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Analyzing theburndown chart, we see:

Points Planned(gray squares): decreasing steadily from 50 to 0 over 10 days (ideal burn).

Points Completed(gray triangles):plateau between days 3–6, lagging significantly behind planned completion.

This indicates that theteam is behind schedule, and unless they accelerate, they mayfail to complete all committed work.

According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.4: Burndown Charts)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Monitoring Progress), such divergence between the ideal and actual burn lines indicates that the iteration isat risk.

Option Ais correct: the iteration isin jeopardydue to lack of progress mid-sprint.

Option Bis incorrect—scope removal would show a downward shift in planned points.

Option Cis false—the team isbehind, not ahead.

Option Dis misleading—velocity appears inconsistent (e.g., plateau from day 3–6).

The correct answer is A — Capture risks and make them visible, and use a burndown chart to focus on reducing risks early in the project.

Technical uncertainty is a key area of risk in Agile projects. These risks should be clearly communicated, visualized, and prioritized early in the project to allow timely mitigation. Agile teams are empowered to make decisions and highlight blockers rather than delay work or seek hierarchical intervention.

PMI Agile Practice Guide states:

“Agile teams actively manage risk through transparency and continuous feedback. Risks should be made visible on information radiators and addressed early in the project to prevent impact on value delivery.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 7.3 – Risk Management)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Teams facing uncertainty must surface risks openly and early. Using charts such as risk burndown and dashboards helps keep focus on managing these risks iteratively.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 6 – Problem Detection and Resolution)

Incorrect options:

B contradicts the time-boxing principle of sprints.

C raises awareness but lacks proactive risk mitigation.

D introduces a command-and-control dynamic, which is not agile.

Answer: A

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Tounderstand the needs of different user types, agile teams usepersonasandextreme charactersto represent a range of users, including edge cases. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: Requirements and Personas)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning), personas help teams build empathy and ensure that stories reflect actual user roles—not just generic assumptions.

Option Dis correct: personas and extreme characters ensureinclusive and realistic story coverage.

Option AandBfocus on communication and sequencing but not user diversity.

Option C(process flows) is more technical and doesn’t solve the misalignment with user perspectives.

Value stream mapping is a key Lean technique used to visualize the sequence of steps involved in delivering value to customers. It maps out both the value-creating activities and the non-value-creating activities (waste), providing a clear view of the entire process. This helps identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement to optimize the flow of value.

The correct answer is C – The Product Owner, since their vision is the basis for the acceptance criteria.

The Product Owner is responsible for defining the product backlog items, including their acceptance criteria. They represent the customer and stakeholders, and ensure that the backlog items deliver business value. During backlog refinement, the PO provides clarity to the team when questions arise.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The product owner defines and prioritizes the product backlog and is responsible for ensuring user stories and acceptance criteria are clear and understood by the team.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Backlog Refinement)

Mike Griffiths states:

“The product owner is the central point for decisions related to backlog items. Their role is to ensure that requirements and acceptance criteria reflect the desired outcome and stakeholder expectations.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Other options are incorrect:

A (Sponsor) is too high-level and not involved in story-level discussions.

B (Scrum Master) facilitates the process, not the requirements.

D (Developer) implements the story but does not define acceptance.

Answer: C

A spike is a time-boxed research activity used in Agile to explore uncertainties or unknowns, such as dependencies in this case. If the product owner is unsure about the risks related to migrating to a new version of a database, they can request a spike from the team. This will allow the team to investigate the dependencies, assess potential risks, and gather the necessary information to move forward with the user story. This helps reduce uncertainty and makes it easier to make informed decisions about the next steps.

When a feature is too large to fit into a sprint, agile recommendsdecomposing it into smaller user storiesor increments. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: User Stories and MVPs)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning), teams should break down epics or large stories intoMinimum Viable Product (MVP)segments and deliver value incrementally.

Option Ais correct: this enables the team to deliver value sooner and iteratively build on it.

Option Bdelays addressing customer concerns.

Option Csacrifices overall product balance.

Option Dviolates time-boxing principles in Scrum and agile.

The correct answer is D – It helps to quickly resolve issues using the sponsor's influence. A sponsor's presence in Scrum ceremonies (like sprint reviews or retrospectives) helps escalate and resolve high-level issues, remove organizational blockers, and reinforce alignment between the team and the business.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Active sponsor engagement can accelerate issue resolution, remove organizational impediments, and provide vital support to the team. Sponsors are valuable allies in ensuring team success and organizational alignment.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths explains:

“When sponsors are visible and engaged, teams benefit from faster decision-making, quicker escalation of issues, and improved morale. Their influence can break through bureaucratic barriers.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Incorrect options:

A misattributes sprint discipline to sponsor involvement—this is a team responsibility.

B is passive and doesn’t reflect tangible benefits.

C is useful but not the primary advantage of sponsor participation.

Answer: D

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When comparingtotal scope (story points)andvelocity, you can calculate the number of sprints each team expects:

Team A: 420 / 30 = 14 sprints

Team B: 280 / 20 = 14 sprints

Even though the story points are different,both teams estimate the same number of sprints, which means they estimatesimilar effort and durationrelative to their own internal baselines. This aligns with the concept thatstory points are relative and not comparable across teams.

PMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.4: Velocity and Relative Estimation)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)explain that velocity is ateam-specific measureand cannot be directly compared between teams.

Option Dis correct: both teams have estimated thesame project size in their own context.

Options A and Bincorrectly compare velocity between teams.

Option Cis irrelevant; velocity is based on team experience, not technology assumptions.

The Scrum Master should help ensure that stakeholders understand Agile principles and terms correctly to facilitate smooth decision-making. Organizing training sessions is an effective way to address misunderstandings and create awareness around Agile values. By ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page, the team can move forward with a shared understanding, which is critical for successfully implementing Agile methodologies. This approach promotes long-term buy-in and alignment, rather than simply pushing for a decision without proper education or consensus.

The root cause of the issue seems to be a focus on process and planning meetings, which may be impacting the team's ability to deliver effectively. Implementing Kanban, which emphasizes a pull system and focuses on continuous delivery without overwhelming the team with unnecessary meetings, allows for smoother workflow and can address bottlenecks. It helps the team focus more on value delivery rather than rigid planning and process constraints, thus potentially improving the quality and reducing unnecessary delays.

Kanban is a visual management tool that helps teams improve workflow efficiency. One of its key principles is the use of a pull system, where work is pulled into the process when capacity allows, rather than being pushed into the system. This contrasts with a push system, where work is assigned or forced into the workflow regardless of capacity. This approach helps avoid bottlenecks and ensures work is handled efficiently.

The product owner should work closely with the team to ensure that the most critical features are prioritized and clearly understood. Inviting the customer to the sprint planning meeting helps ensure that the team has a direct understanding of what is most important to the customer and their business needs. This fosters collaboration and ensures the team works on the most valuable features first.

Additionally, refining the product backlog and identifying the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ensures the team knows the minimum set of features required for the product to provide value to the customer. By focusing on the MVP, the team can quickly deliver a product that addresses the core needs, enabling faster feedback and iterations.

The sponsor is looking at the product roadmap, which is a visual representation of the product's planned features and their expected delivery timelines across multiple releases. It typically shows the major milestones, planned releases, and features grouped by their respective release numbers. This aligns with the sponsor's inquiry about when a specific feature will be ready, as the roadmap provides a high-level view of the product's development and release schedule.

The information radiator is a key tool in Agile that provides a real-time, visual display of the project's current status, including progress, completed tasks, blockers, and upcoming work. This is typically made accessible to all stakeholders and is updated regularly to ensure transparency and communication. Instead of relying on emails or meeting invites, the Scrum Master should direct the customer representative to the information radiator, as it provides the most up-to-date and easily accessible information about the project’s progress. This encourages transparency and aligns with Agile principles of open communication and visibility.

The correct answer is D – Add a variety of users, such as business analysts and domain experts, to the team.

When direct access to a true end-user is not possible, Agile teams can maintain strong customer representation by including subject matter experts, business analysts, or domain experts who have a deep understanding of user needs. This helps maintain focus on value delivery and minimizes the risk of developing the wrong product.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“If actual customers are not available to participate, the team may rely on proxies, such as product owners, subject matter experts, or business analysts who can effectively represent the voice of the customer.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths supports this:

“In the absence of true users, teams can engage stakeholders who are closest to the user’s experience—such as domain experts or business analysts—to ensure continuous feedback and guidance.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery / Stakeholder Engagement)

Why the other options fall short:

A increases output speed but doesn’t address misalignment with user value.

B adds technical depth but not business perspective or user empathy.

C changes cadence but doesn’t improve customer representation.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is C – Non-functional requirements should have been added to the definition of done. Non-functional requirements such as performance, security, or usability criteria apply across stories and should be included in the Definition of Done (DoD) to ensure consistent delivery of quality attributes.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The definition of done should incorporate quality standards, including non-functional requirements. This ensures these standards are consistently applied across all deliverables.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Definition of Done)

Mike Griffiths further explains:

“Non-functional requirements are often best represented in the DoD so they’re applied universally. Without this, teams may deliver functionality that lacks necessary quality characteristics.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A would help but isn’t sufficient for global system qualities.

B is suitable for specific stories but doesn’t ensure consistency across the product.

D is helpful but doesn’t guarantee alignment with quality standards.

Answer: C

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In Agile, collaboration is important, but it should not disrupt the team’s ability to focus on sprint goals. The Scrum Master can address this situation by designating a single team member to represent the team in external meetings, which reduces the impact on the rest of the team’s working time. Additionally, establishing a capacity buffer helps ensure that the team has enough time for their tasks while accounting for the time needed for meetings. This solution maintains both collaboration and productivity without overwhelming the development team.

The correct answer is D — Help establish the next sprint's goal.

The sprint goal provides a shared objective and guides the selection and execution of user stories. It is established collaboratively between the product owner and the development team at the start of sprint planning and precedes task decomposition or estimation.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The team collaborates with the product owner during sprint planning to define a sprint goal. The sprint goal gives the team clarity and focus on what it intends to achieve during the sprint.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Iteration Planning)

Mike Griffiths reinforces:

“Effective planning starts with understanding the desired outcome of the sprint. The sprint goal aligns the team and informs prioritization and task breakdown.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 5 – Adaptive Planning)

Incorrect options:

A prematurely assigns tasks, which goes against Agile’s collaborative ethos.

B and C happen later in the sprint planning process after defining the sprint goal.

Answer: D

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The project manager should engage in a constructive conversation with the team member to understand the reasons behind the performance dip. Instead of focusing on blame, it’s important to discuss the specifics of the project deliverables and identify any challenges or factors that may be affecting the team member's performance. Providing constructive feedback helps the team member understand the areas of improvement while maintaining a supportive environment. This approach encourages open communication, identifies potential solutions, and can lead to a positive outcome for both the team member and the project.

Security features are typically considerednon-functional requirements (NFRs), which should be captured in theproduct backlogand prioritized accordingly. As per thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1: Product Backlog)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery), any requested functionality—whether business- or system-level—must beclearly defined as a backlog itemso the team can plan for it.

Option Ais correct: security requirements should beadded to the backlog and prioritizedlike other features.

Option Bmay come later if implementation is unclear, but first, the work must be defined and logged.

Option CandDrepresent clarification steps but don’t directlysupport implementationas backlog management does.

The correct answer is C — Facilitate team brainstorming of the risks resulting from complexity for the risk register.

Technical complexity introduces risks that must be identified and managed early. Agile leaders support teams by facilitating collaborative risk identification, not by dictating solutions. Brainstorming sessions help surface concerns and lead to proactive mitigation strategies.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Risks are best identified through team collaboration. Facilitated risk identification sessions encourage broad participation and lead to better awareness and ownership of potential issues.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 7.3 – Risk Management)

Mike Griffiths:

“In agile projects, technical risks are treated early. Collaborative identification and visibility are key to creating a risk-adjusted delivery plan.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 6 – Problem Detection and Resolution)

Incorrect options:

A is valid long-term, but brainstorming comes first for awareness.

B limits risk planning to a fixed period (Sprint 0), which may not be enough.

D promotes innovation but not structured risk identification.

Answer: C

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The correct answer is D – Brainstorm with the team to identify a solution.

Agile promotes collective ownership and team-based decision-making. When a critical issue such as architectural scalability arises, the team should be involved in brainstorming alternatives, weighing trade-offs, and deciding how best to move forward collaboratively.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile encourages collaborative problem-solving and cross-functional ownership. Teams should collectively analyze challenges and determine the most appropriate course of action.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Collaborative Decision-Making)

Mike Griffiths also affirms:

“When teams face significant technical or architectural risks, they should come together to explore options and make decisions based on consensus, feasibility, and value.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 6 – Problem Detection and Resolution)

Why the other options are inappropriate:

A is authoritarian and ignores team input.

B risks performance degradation without team consensus.

C may be part of the process, but only after the team has evaluated options.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is B — Chair a weekly team retrospective focusing on identifying areas for continuous improvement.

Retrospectives are a core Agile practice used to inspect and adapt the team’s process, foster self-improvement, and enhance performance. If productivity is flat, the best approach is to collaboratively reflect with the team to uncover bottlenecks, identify areas for experimentation, and implement process adjustments.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Retrospectives are a key feedback loop that allow the team to assess their performance and decide how to improve it. The retrospective is a cornerstone for continuous improvement and high-performing teams.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Rather than externally imposed metrics, agile teams should drive performance improvements through retrospectives where they inspect their own work and collectively identify opportunities for efficiency.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Incorrect options:

A is diagnostic but insufficient for process improvement without team involvement.

C introduces hierarchy and undermines team empowerment.

D introduces extrinsic motivation, which may damage team collaboration and intrinsic ownership.

Answer: B

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When issuesrecur across multiple iterations, it’s a strong indication that theroot cause has not been addressed. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.6 Retrospectives)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 7: Continuous Improvement)recommend performingroot cause analysistechniques (e.g., 5 Whys, Fishbone diagram) to ensure that the true source of recurring problems is uncovered and resolved.

Option Bis correct: identifying root causes is essential to sustainable improvements.

Option Amay help but doesn’t address the underlying team-level process.

Option Cis usefulaftera solution is implemented but not the priority when the cause is unknown.

Option Dis helpful for tracking, but again, ineffective if the root cause is unidentified.

In Agile, flexibility and adaptability are key, especially when dealing with uncertain or changing requirements like evolving government regulations. The agile coach should ensure that the team is building the product incrementally, allowing for adjustments as needed. This way, when the regulatory changes occur, the team can adapt quickly without disrupting the entire release process. By focusing on delivering small, workable increments, the team can respond to changes more efficiently.

The correct answer is C – Seek regular input from project stakeholders, and reflect this input in the backlog’s priorities. Agile is a stakeholder-driven process, and backlog refinement should be informed by continuous feedback. The product owner maximizes value by regularly reviewing stakeholder needs and reprioritizing accordingly.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The product owner is responsible for maintaining the backlog and ensuring it reflects stakeholder priorities. Ongoing engagement with stakeholders ensures the product delivers maximum value.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Product Backlog Management)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Agile product owners engage stakeholders continuously to update priorities and deliver value incrementally.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A is good practice but doesn’t address the stakeholder engagement challenge.

B confuses story size with business value.

D lacks the agility required in a fast-moving project.

Answer: C

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In Agile, building increments and ensuring early feedback are key to delivering value quickly and meeting tight deadlines. By focusing on delivering a minimum viable product (MVP), the team can provide the customer with a version of the product that delivers essential functionality early, which allows for feedback and adjustments before the final version is released. This approach helps the team stay within the limited budget and timeline while ensuring that they are delivering the most important features first. Additionally, early customer feedback ensures that the team is on track to meet the project goals and allows for the rapid adaptation of the product.

The correct answer is D — By advising the team to remain committed and focused on project goals.

Agile teams should remain focused on the sprint or iteration goals once committed. Outside demands, even from senior stakeholders, can distract the team and cause scope creep or reduced quality. The agile coach plays a vital role in protecting the team from such disruptions and reinforcing their commitment.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile leaders help teams focus on delivering committed work. Coaches work to eliminate distractions and protect the team from external interferences.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 6.2 – Coaching the Agile Team)

Mike Griffiths:

“One of the coach’s roles is to guard the team’s focus. When unrelated demands arise, the coach should guide the team to stay aligned with the current sprint goals.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A encourages unsustainable practices.

B implies hierarchy not present in Scrum or Agile.

C misuses estimation and undermines trust.

Answer: D

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When the team isuncertain about a technical solution, aspike—a timeboxed research task—is used to explore possible approaches. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: Spikes)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)recommend spikes as aformal way to explore unknowns and reduce riskin the backlog.

Option Bis correct: spikes provide structure for resolving uncertainty.

Option Aignores the technical risk.

Option Cdisrupts team structure and ownership.

Option Ddefers the problem without seeking resolution.

Gold-plating—adding extra features not requested or prioritized—is ananti-patternin agile. Agile emphasizesdelivering the highest-priority features first, and product changes should always go through theProduct Ownerfor prioritization and validation.

According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1: Backlog and Value Delivery)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery), when capacity is available, the team should pull more storiesfrom the prioritized backlog, ensuring that all work aligns with stakeholder-defined value.

Option Dis correct: confirm backlog priority and use time to delivercustomer-prioritized value.

Option Asupports scope creep.

Option Bis partially correct but doesn’t optimize the time to deliver value.

Option Cperpetuates gold-plating and undermines value alignment.

DevOps is a methodology that focuses on enhancing collaboration between development and operations teams to create a continuous feedback loop and speed up the delivery process. The key to enabling and sustaining a fast workflow is the establishment of a culture of collaboration, supported by the right tools and processes that allow for continuous delivery. This culture helps break down silos between teams, leading to faster and more efficient workflows that can continuously deliver value to customers.

In Kanban, lead time is a key performance indicator (KPI) that should be regularly monitored. Lead time measures the amount of time it takes for a work item to move from the start of the process to its completion. By monitoring lead time, the team lead can assess how efficiently work is flowing through the system and identify areas where bottlenecks or delays may be occurring. Reducing lead time is one of the primary goals in Kanban to improve overall process efficiency and delivery speed.

In the scenario described, the team is discussing the root causes of the technical problems that led to delayed deliverables, which indicates they are being proactive. One of the agile principles is to deliver working software frequently and adapt to change, and this situation shows the team is reflecting on their issues to improve future performance by identifying ways to balance the demands placed on the team (workload, deadlines, etc.) with their available capacity and necessary competencies.

Agile promotescross-functional teamsandreducing bottlenecksthrough knowledge sharing and skill development. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.3.3: Cross-functional Teams)recommends that team members developT-shaped skillsto handle more types of work. Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance)advocates forskill broadeningto improve team throughput and resilience.

Option Ais correct: cross-training removes dependencies and improves flow.

Option Bdelays action and prolongs the issue.

Option Creduces delivery capacity rather than addressing the root cause.

Option Darbitrarily limits scope and doesn’t resolve the underlying skill gap.

Velocity is a team-specific, relative measureof work done in a sprint and should not be used to compare teams. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.4: Estimation and Velocity)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)highlight that aconsistent and predictable velocityis more valuable than simply trying to exceed estimates, which can lead toovercommitment or burnout.

Option Cis correct: predictability and consistency are hallmarks of agile maturity.

Option AandBfalsely equate velocity across teams.

Option Dvalues overperformance, which may underminesustainable pace.

The Scrum Master should facilitate open discussions between the product owner and the development team to help them align on the initial features and the first stages of implementation. By encouraging dialogue, the Scrum Master can ensure that both parties understand each other’s perspectives and collaborate to find a solution that meets the goals of the project. This approach fosters a collaborative environment and ensures that everyone is aligned on what needs to be delivered, promoting shared ownership of the product’s success.

The correct answer is A because an Agile leader, such as a Scrum Master, is a servant-leader and facilitator. The Scrum Master supports the development team by helping remove impediments and facilitating healthy team dynamics. When there is misalignment or interpersonal conflict, the Scrum Master should help the team explore the root causes and encourage self-directed resolution.

From PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile coaches facilitate conflict resolution by helping individuals understand each other’s perspectives and guiding them to collaborative solutions. The goal is to promote team ownership of outcomes and reinforce healthy communication.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 6.3 – Facilitating Agile Practices)

From Mike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book:

“The role of the Scrum Master is not to direct or micromanage the team, but to facilitate communication and remove barriers that prevent team members from collaborating effectively. In conflict scenarios, the Scrum Master should help the team uncover the root issue, then allow them to resolve it constructively.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Option B is slightly less effective than A because it escalates to the whole team before trying a focused resolution.

Option C abdicates responsibility and may allow conflict to worsen.

Option D contradicts agile’s emphasis on self-organizing teams.

Answer: A

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In a newly formed team, especially in a regulated environment like pharmaceuticals, guiding the team to collaborate effectively and share knowledge is essential. As the team lacks subject matter expertise, fostering an environment of continuous learning and collaboration will help them quickly build knowledge and improve their performance.

It is crucial to organize a meeting to clarify roles and responsibilities. This ensures everyone understands their individual contributions and how they relate to the team’s goals. Clear role definitions are particularly important in a cross-functional team to avoid confusion and ensure smooth collaboration.

The correct answer is D – The Product Owner is responsible for both the budget and the release plans.

In Scrum and Agile frameworks, the Product Owner acts as the voice of the customer and is responsible for maximizing the value of the product. This includes managing the product backlog, prioritization, and release planning. Additionally, in Agile environments, budget management—especially in terms of what value is delivered with what investment—is a key aspect of the Product Owner’s role.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The Product Owner manages the backlog and prioritizes work based on value delivery. The Product Owner is also typically responsible for budgeting and release planning, often in collaboration with stakeholders.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Roles and Responsibilities)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Release planning and value-based budget decisions fall under the Product Owner’s responsibilities, as they are closest to business stakeholders and value prioritization.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Why other options are incorrect:

A is partially correct but misplaces budget responsibility.

B is traditional and does not reflect Agile delegation to the team and Product Owner.

C promotes team ownership but budget and release planning specifically lie with the Product Owner.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is D – Stop updating the documentation and initiate an analysis to identify its value and act on the findings.

Agile promotes the creation of “just enough” documentation. If a document isn’t being used and adds no value, the team should reflect on whether to discontinue or improve it. Retrospectives are the appropriate venue to identify such inefficiencies and implement continuous improvement.

From the Agile Manifesto (referenced in PMI Agile Practice Guide):

“Working software over comprehensive documentation.”

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams minimize non-value-added work. If documentation is not being used or reviewed, teams should examine whether it is necessary, and if not, discontinue or replace it.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 7.1 – Continuous Improvement)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Documentation should serve a purpose. If stakeholders do not find value in it, the team should discontinue or refactor it to meet actual needs.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Why the other options fall short:

A prolongs the wasteful practice unnecessarily.

B lacks the analysis needed before eliminating documentation.

C enforces process over value, which contradicts Agile principles.

Answer: D

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Creating apsychologically safe environmentis a key agile principle. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.3.2 Team Environment), leaders should build trust and inclusion, especially for new or hesitant team members. Demonstrating that input isrespected and acted uponhelps new members gain confidence.

Mike Griffiths in hisPMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance)emphasizes thatinclusive collaborationand modeling desired behaviors in team settings are more effective than handling everything in private or through hierarchy.

Option Bis correct because it combines assurance and public demonstration of team values.

Option Amay violate psychological safety.

Option Cimplies isolation and reduces integration.

Option Dis helpful but lacks the team visibility that builds mutual trust.

Servant leadership is about supporting the team, empowering them, and ensuring they have what they need to succeed. The team leader should focus on removing impediments that block the team's progress. By doing so, the leader enables the team to work more efficiently and effectively, without being obstructed by recurring issues. This aligns with the servant leadership mindset of putting the team's needs first and helping them reach their goals.

In an Agile environment, fostering a culture of collaboration and effective communication is key to success, especially when working with a diverse team. By creating a shared vision, the project manager aligns the team towards common goals, which helps reduce misunderstandings. Using techniques to increase empathy and positive interaction ensures that team members understand and respect each other's different perspectives. This approach promotes a collaborative environment where diverse ideas can be valued and conflicts can be addressed constructively.

The correct answer is D – Ask the team to estimate the amount of rework needed so that adjustments can be made to both the project and release plan.

Agile planning is adaptive and iterative. New information, including required rework, must be integrated into updated estimates and plans. Agile teams frequently replan based on the realities of work-in-progress.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

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The agile lead should evaluate the team's capacity and help them select user stories that align with around 80% of their available capacity for the iteration. This approach takes into account potential issues or interruptions and helps ensure the team is not overcommitting. By selecting user stories based on a realistic understanding of the team’s capacity, the team is more likely to meet their commitments and avoid incomplete work. This method promotes sustainable work practices and helps the team maintain a predictable velocity over time.

When calculating cycle time, it's important to consider delays and bottlenecks in the process. Cycle time refers to the total time taken for a single unit of work to go through the entire process from start to finish. By identifying and understanding delays or bottlenecks, the team can gain insights into where improvements can be made to optimize the flow and reduce overall cycle time. This approach helps in identifying inefficiencies and improving the team's ability to deliver value more effectively.

The correct answer is D – Features should be prioritized and then teams should be organized around those priorities. In agile scaling and reorganization, forming feature teams allows for the creation of cross-functional, end-to-end value delivery units. This reduces dependencies and promotes customer-focused outcomes.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Teams are best organized around delivering customer value. When scaling or merging efforts, restructuring around features or customer priorities improves flow, minimizes handoffs, and supports agility at scale.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Agile Scaling Considerations)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Agile scaling favors organizing teams around features and capabilities rather than components. Feature teams are cross-functional and able to deliver end-to-end slices of functionality with minimal dependencies.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Scaling Agile and Team Formation)

Incorrect options:

A can lead to chaos without structure.

B reinforces siloed, component-based teams which increase integration risk.

C recreates functional silos rather than cross-functional teams.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is A – The Agile team should engage stakeholders regarding the proposed designs and ensure that sufficient engagement occurs throughout the project in an adaptive way.

Agile thrives on continuous stakeholder engagement. Ignoring feedback or rigidly sticking to past decisions defeats Agile's principle of responding to change over following a plan. Even if designs have been created, collaboration must continue.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Engaging stakeholders early and often helps ensure alignment and mitigates late surprises. Adaptive planning allows for feedback and refinement throughout the lifecycle.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths emphasizes:

“Stakeholder collaboration and frequent inspection are cornerstones of Agile. Late feedback is better than no feedback. Teams must adapt.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Other options:

B discourages collaboration.

C emphasizes documentation over interaction.

D is drastic and unnecessary.

Answer: A

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The correct answer is A – Explore options for increasing knowledge in the next iteration's backlog.

One of the key principles of Agile is continuous learning and improvement. When the team identifies a skills gap during a retrospective, the appropriate response is to turn that learning need into actionable items in the upcoming backlog. This can include training, pairing, spikes, or experimenting in a time-boxed way during the next iteration.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Teams should regularly inspect their tools, practices, and outcomes and incorporate improvement actions into their backlog. Continuous learning is a shared responsibility.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.5 – Retrospectives & Section 6.2 – Coaching the Agile Team)

Mike Griffiths also supports this:

“Improvement actions should be planned, prioritized, and implemented like any other work. Skills development should be addressed through backlog items such as training, spikes, or pairing.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Why the other options fall short:

B adds scope mid-sprint, which violates Agile principles (sprint backlog should remain stable).

C may be viable long-term, but doesn’t address the team's agreed goal of learning the tool.

D brings in an external expert rather than empowering the team to grow their capabilities.

Answer: A

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Predictable flow in agile is achieved byreducing variabilityin story size and complexity. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.7: Flow-based Agile and Kanban), working withsmall, similarly sized user storiesincreases throughput predictability and improves cycle time.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery)supports breaking large stories into smaller, testable chunks as a way tostabilize delivery and forecasting.

Option Ais correct:small user storiesreduce variability and support predictable flow.

Option Bsupports testability but doesn’t directly improve flow.

Option CandDare too broad or conceptual to specifically improve predictability.

After the product vision is communicated, the product owner should ensure thatthe product backlog is prioritizedso the team canfocus on delivering the most valuable features first. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1 Product Backlog and Vision Alignment), prioritizing the backlog helps teams understand the product roadmap and plan their efforts accordingly.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)reinforces that the product owner’s key responsibility isbacklog prioritization, not task management or detailed design.

Option Cis correct: prioritizing the backlog enables the team to understand and plan the roadmap.

Option AandBare too detailed for the product owner and move into the team's domain.

Option Dis ateam responsibility, not the product owner’s.

The correct answer is C — Use retrospective techniques such as silent writing, clustering, and dot voting to field feedback prior to discussion by the team.

Agile retrospectives should foster psychological safety and equal participation. Techniques such as silent brainstorming or writing on sticky notes (physical or digital), followed by clustering similar themes and dot voting, help balance group dynamics and encourage input from all team members—including those who are less vocal.

PMI Agile Practice Guide explains:

“Effective retrospectives use facilitation techniques such as silent brainstorming, dot voting, and clustering to gather inputs from all participants. These techniques level the playing field, reduce groupthink, and support diverse communication styles.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths also emphasizes:

“Using structured techniques allows quieter team members to contribute equally, and minimizes the dominance of more outspoken participants. The Scrum Master plays a key role in facilitating inclusive discussions.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A and D are passive methods that reduce the collaborative and iterative nature of retrospectives.

B may help, but does not address dominant voices or structure participation equitably.

Answer: C

—

The correct answer is B – Facilitate an open and focused team discussion that reinforces team agreements. Agile teams are built on collaboration, mutual respect, and self-organization. When conflict arises about role expectations or task assignments, the Scrum Master should create a safe space for open discussion to reinforce working agreements and promote shared accountability.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile leaders support team collaboration by encouraging open conversations. When team dynamics are strained, the Scrum Master facilitates discussions to reinforce team norms, self-organization, and equality of contribution.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Team Performance and Working Agreements)

Mike Griffiths further states:

“Agile teams succeed when responsibilities are shared and roles are not rigidly defined. The Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion that encourages shared ownership and mutual respect for all tasks.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A imposes action without addressing the root issue or respecting roles.

C brings external authority into a team matter, weakening self-organization.

D is partially correct but doesn’t resolve the immediate team conflict.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is D — A list of questions for the team and customer representative.

In Agile, creating a shared product vision is a collaborative effort that begins with open dialogue. The team should prepare insightful, value-driven questions to understand the customer’s needs, pain points, desired outcomes, and business drivers. This supports co-creation of the vision rather than relying on rigid documentation.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“A shared product vision aligns the team and stakeholders. Early collaboration and asking the right questions help establish understanding and purpose.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 2.2 – Agile Mindset)

Mike Griffiths:

“Visioning meetings are facilitated conversations where teams and stakeholders explore product goals and user needs. Questions—not documents—drive clarity.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 1 – Agile Principles and Mindset)

Incorrect options:

A implies a rigid, document-driven mindset—contrary to Agile.

B assumes the backlog exists before visioning.

C is too early for acceptance criteria before vision alignment.

Answer: D

—

The correct answer is C – Request that the Product Owner include a spike in the next iteration's backlog so they can perform an initial investigation.

A spike is a time-boxed activity that allows teams to research or experiment to gain knowledge about technical or functional aspects of an upcoming feature or integration. Since the team lacks experience with the new component, using a spike will allow them to explore and reduce uncertainty before actual development begins.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Spikes are research activities that help teams gain the knowledge needed to reduce uncertainty and risk in upcoming stories.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.3 – Backlog Refinement)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“Spikes are used when the team is not confident about how to implement a story due to technical or domain uncertainty. Spikes help mitigate risk and inform estimation.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 5 – Adaptive Planning)

Other options are suboptimal:

A involves team extension, which contradicts Agile's preference for stable, cross-functional teams.

B is misaligned—technical investigation is a team responsibility, not the Product Owner's.

D avoids learning and may compromise solution quality.

Answer: C

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Frequent feedback is key to agile success. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.3: Sprint Review and Feedback)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 4: Stakeholder Engagement), thesprint review (demo)is the primary event designed to obtain feedback from stakeholders. If stakeholders are unresponsive,increasing the opportunities for engagement, such as byscheduling more demos or review checkpoints, encourages their involvement.

Option Dis correct: demos provide structured opportunities to collect feedback.

Option Amight increase delivery cadence but doesn't guarantee feedback.

Option Bis inappropriate—daily stand-ups are for the team.

Option Cviolates role responsibilities—estimation is owned by the team, not stakeholders.

The correct answer is A – Be transparent with all the stakeholders and make them aware of the issues encountered and the current project's status.

Agile encourages transparency and regular stakeholder engagement to ensure alignment and avoid surprises. Even if a stakeholder prefers minimal involvement, it is the team’s responsibility to raise issues that could impact delivery, especially if they introduce risk or require input.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile promotes transparency and ongoing stakeholder engagement. Teams should proactively communicate risks and emerging issues to build trust and enable timely decision-making.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Transparency is one of the pillars of Agile. Teams must keep stakeholders informed—even those who prefer limited involvement—to ensure that value is continuously delivered.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Other options explained:

B is a secondary action; transparency should come first.

C risks late discovery and undermines agile values.

D removes responsibility from the team, which contradicts self-management.

Answer: A

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The correct answer is C – Work with the stakeholder directly rather than go through different layers of people. Agile emphasizes direct communication and collaboration with stakeholders to reduce miscommunication and ensure clarity. When requirements differ depending on who is asked, the agile practitioner must go directly to the source for clarification and alignment.

From PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Face-to-face conversation is the most effective method of conveying information to and within a development team. Agile encourages working directly with stakeholders and product owners to minimize miscommunication.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement; Agile Manifesto Principle #6)

From Mike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book:

“To reduce noise and confusion, agile practitioners are encouraged to engage stakeholders directly rather than relying on intermediaries or second-hand interpretations.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 1 – Agile Principles and Mindset)

Option A contradicts agile’s value of responding to change. Option B is an indirect solution that does not eliminate confusion. Option D is internal to the team and doesn’t resolve inconsistencies from stakeholder communication.

Answer: C

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Social awareness—a key element ofemotional intelligence (EI)—is the ability to understand and respect others' feelings, perspectives, and dynamics, especially indiverse teams. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.3.2: Emotional Intelligence and Team Collaboration)highlights that social awareness is essential when planning inclusive team-building activities, as it helps the leader consider cultural and personal differences.

Mike Griffiths also discussesEQ (Emotional Quotient)in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance)as vital to managingdiverse, high-performing teams.

Option Bis correct: social awareness allows the leader to design inclusive and engaging team activities.

Option A(networking) is more external-facing.

Option C(communication) is important but not specific to diversity sensitivity.

Option Dis broad and not specific to the interpersonal nuance required here.

The correct answer is C – Encourage all feedback then work with the customer to prioritize work for future sprints. Agile welcomes continuous feedback and values customer collaboration. All feedback should be collected and considered, but the product backlog is reprioritized to align with capacity and business goals.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile promotes constant feedback to refine product direction. Feedback is incorporated into the backlog, prioritized based on value, and delivered incrementally according to capacity.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Value-Driven Delivery and Continuous Customer Collaboration)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Stakeholder feedback is essential in agile. Not all feedback can be implemented immediately, but it should be welcomed, evaluated, and prioritized transparently in collaboration with the product owner and stakeholders.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A implies a heavy process not aligned with agile.

B prematurely limits feedback before collaborative prioritization.

D ignores the product owner’s prioritization role.

Answer: C

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In Agile, ensuring that the product works without bugs or missing features can be achieved through continuous testing and validation of the product. Test-driven development (TDD) is an approach where tests are written before the code is developed. This helps ensure that each feature is fully tested as it is built, focusing on customer requirements from the start and preventing issues from accumulating. By using TDD, the product owner ensures the product is being tested incrementally, which reduces the risk of defects and aligns with customer expectations for a high-quality product upon release.

Planning Pokeris a well-known estimation technique where team members use numbered cards (usually Fibonacci series) to estimatestory point valuesbased on relative size. It’s aconsensus-based estimation method, as described in thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: Estimation Techniques)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Estimating Techniques).

Option Dis correct:Planning Pokeris explicitly designed for estimating stories in terms of points.

Option A (Parametric)is more common in traditional (predictive) planning.

Option B (One-to-one comparison)refers to relative sizing without collaboration.

Option C (Affinity)is another agile technique but typically used forgrouping stories into size buckets, not direct story point consensus estimation.

Once scope and acceptance criteria are known, the next step is toestimate the size and effort of backlog items, which enables planning. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: Backlog Estimation)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)recommend using estimation techniques (e.g., story points, T-shirt sizing) to determine therelative effort of each backlog itembefore performing release or sprint planning.

Option Dis correct: backlog estimation enables velocity-based forecasting.

Option AandBcome after estimation is complete.

Option Cis too narrow—iteration planning comes later.

As a scrum master, the goal is to foster a collaborative and self-organizing environment. When conflicts arise, it is essential to guide the team in resolving the issue on their own rather than making unilateral decisions. The scrum master should:

Coach the team individually to understand the root causes of the conflict and ensure each team member feels heard.

Then, bring the team together in a more structured environment, such as the Sprint review, to discuss the disagreement openly and constructively. This helps the team resolve conflicts and learn how to handle similar situations in the future.

The correct answer is B – Align with stakeholder expectations and releasable product increments.

In Agile, sprint or iteration reviews provide an opportunity for the team to present completed work and validate it against stakeholder expectations. Demonstrations should showcase working, potentially shippable increments that align with business goals and value delivery.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The purpose of iteration reviews is to showcase a working product increment. The review should focus on what was completed and how it aligns with stakeholder expectations and business objectives.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.5 – Iteration Review)

PMBOK® Guide further reinforces this point:

“The team should deliver functional product increments that are valuable to stakeholders. These should be validated for alignment with scope and business value.”

(PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, Section 5.5 – Validate Scope)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Product demonstrations should confirm stakeholder needs are being met. The team’s focus should be on verifying value delivery, product completeness, and stakeholder alignment.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery / Stakeholder Feedback)

Why other options fall short:

A is valuable context, but doesn’t directly ensure demonstration success.

C reflects team improvement but is not the purpose of a product demo.

D speaks to collaboration, not validation of stakeholder alignment.

Answer: B

Pair programmingis aproven agile techniquefor improving quality, sharing knowledge, and ramping up less experienced developers. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.5: Quality and Engineering Practices)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance)recommend using pair programming to improve team cohesion and performance when skill gaps are affecting velocity.

Option Ais correct: pair programming supports learning and improves delivery quality.

Option Bmisuses the retrospective—it’s not for backlog prioritization.

Option Cmay be helpful, butestimation changesdon’t directly address the skill gap.

Option Dmay reduce risk short-term but doesn’t help the team improve or grow.

In Scrum, the goal is to have open discussions during estimation, where all team members, including junior developers, can express their thoughts and assumptions. The Scrum Master should encourage the junior developers to keep their estimations because these can highlight different perspectives, constraints, or assumptions that others may not have considered. This helps create a more comprehensive understanding of the work and fosters a collaborative environment. It also builds confidence in junior team members, allowing them to contribute more effectively and learn from their peers in the process.

The correct answer is A — Coordinate a collaboration session so all the team members are involved in the solution process.

Agile encourages cross-functional collaboration and collective problem-solving. When technical uncertainty arises, the best course of action is to leverage the team’s combined knowledge through collaboration rather than working in isolation.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams rely on collaboration, especially when solving complex problems. A diversity of input and joint ownership leads to better and faster decisions.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Communications and Collaboration)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Agile practitioners should encourage collaborative decision-making. Technical decisions made in isolation can result in integration issues and delay. Collaboration unlocks shared ownership.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Other options:

B shifts focus away from current challenges.

C is long-term and not immediately actionable.

D may help, but it introduces external dependency instead of leveraging team knowledge.

Answer: A

—

In agile, theProduct Owner is the ultimate decision-makerregarding backlog prioritization and scope changes. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1: Backlog Prioritization), any changes thataffect value delivery, schedule, or scopeshould be discussed with the Product Owner, who evaluates the business impact.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery)reinforces that product direction and scope decisions must be handled through collaboration between the team and the Product Owner.

Option Dis correct: seeking Product Owner input ensures value-based decision-making and customer alignment.

Option A(re-estimating the entire project) is unnecessary and burdensome.

Option Brejects valuable input and ignores iterative flexibility.

Option Cgoes against agile principles of focus and sustainable pace.

The Walking Skeleton approach involves developing a minimal, end-to-end working system with just enough functionality to demonstrate how the product works in its simplest form. This is often used in Agile to ensure the core structure of the product is in place, and it allows stakeholders to see how basic features are implemented and how the product will evolve. By highlighting this approach, the project manager can help the sponsor understand the essential features and the incremental development process, making it clear what will be developed and when, without overwhelming them with detailed planning at this stage.

The best approach for the agile coach would be to address the root cause of the concern immediately and help the team reflect on their current processes to identify ways to improve. This can be achieved by engaging the team in a discussion that focuses on understanding the issues related to the technical design and the definition of done (DoD).

This will allow the team to openly discuss and identify specific areas of the technical designs that do not meet the DoD. By understanding the underlying issues, the coach can help the team find solutions and ensure that future work aligns with the agreed-upon quality standards and expectations.

The correct answer is D – Meet with project stakeholders to review the backlog and determine if the scope should be adjusted. Agile emphasizes continuous stakeholder collaboration and delivering maximum value. If the remaining backlog may not contribute significant value, it’s prudent for the Product Owner to reassess scope and validate changes with stakeholders.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Engage stakeholders continuously to review priorities and business value. If the product delivers sufficient value earlier than anticipated, the scope may be reduced or the project closed.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Early delivery of value allows teams to stop work that no longer serves business objectives. This requires transparent communication with stakeholders to validate scope adjustments.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A assumes authority without consulting stakeholders.

B doesn’t address the possible need for scope reduction.

C skips stakeholder validation before deployment decisions.

Answer: D

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A well-defined, mature Definition of Done (DoD) ensures that all aspects of a user story are completed, tested, reviewed, and integrated into the codebase. This sequence includes all necessary steps:

Unit testing ensures the code works as expected.

Meeting the acceptance criteria ensures that the business needs are met.

Business testing and functional testing confirm the product works from both the business and technical perspectives.

Code merging ensures that the feature is integrated into the main branch.

Updating documentation ensures that the product is well-documented for future reference and use.

The correct answer is A — To better listen, serve, and help the team grow their strengths individually and as a team.

An agile coach is a servant-leader whose role is to guide the team by modeling agile values, being present, actively listening, and helping teams grow. Coaching in agile is about enabling—not controlling—the team. A coach’s mindfulness, authenticity, and presence inspire the same behaviors in the team.

PMI Agile Practice Guide notes:

“The agile coach models the agile mindset, including being present, self-aware, and aligned with agile principles. This helps the team build trust, foster collaboration, and grow capabilities organically.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 6.2 – Coaching the Agile Team)

Mike Griffiths emphasizes:

“Effective coaches guide by example. By modeling agile values and demonstrating presence, emotional intelligence, and listening, coaches help teams unlock their full potential.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

B suggests control rather than collaboration.

C is anti-agile and contrary to the servant-leader model.

D is valid but lacks the depth of A, which captures the coach’s mindset and actions.

Answer: A

—

The correct answer is C – Work with the team to create a solution for disseminating team knowledge throughout the company.

Agile values shared learning and continuous improvement. A lack of accessible organizational knowledge is a systemic issue. The agile practitioner should help the team implement lightweight, repeatable knowledge-sharing practices—such as wikis, communities of practice, or internal retrospectives.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Organizational learning is an essential part of agile culture. Sharing information across teams enables continuous improvement and avoids repeated mistakes.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 7.1 – Organizational Learning)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Coaching agile teams includes promoting knowledge sharing mechanisms across the organization. Practices like open reviews, documentation wikis, or retrospective reports can help teams learn from each other.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Why the other options are incorrect:

A suggests reporting but may become overhead without solving the core issue.

B avoids organizational improvement by isolating the team.

D brings in external help when the issue can be resolved internally.

Answer: C

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The correct answer is B – Lack of shared knowledge of user stories.

Distributed teams face challenges in collaboration, knowledge sharing, and communication. Without regular interaction, team members may not fully understand user stories, acceptance criteria, or customer needs. This leads to misalignment and potentially lower-quality outputs.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Distributed teams face barriers to communication and knowledge sharing. Agile teams must use collaboration tools and practices to ensure that all members share an understanding of the user stories and priorities.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 2.3 – Agile Team Communication)

Mike Griffiths explains:

“Remote Agile teams must work harder to ensure clarity in user stories and maintain shared understanding. Without this, misunderstandings increase.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Other options:

A (frequent integration) is a benefit, not a risk.

C is irrelevant to Agile effectiveness.

D is less common with Agile roles clearly defined (PO, SM, Dev Team).

Answer: B

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The correct answer is C — The team should have conducted more demonstrations with the product owner during the iteration.

Continuous feedback is essential in Agile. Regular product demos or interim check-ins during the sprint (not just at the end) allow the product owner to validate progress and course-correct early. This ensures that expectations are aligned and surprises are avoided at the sprint review.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Stakeholder feedback should be gathered continuously throughout the sprint. Regular engagement and interim demos reduce the risk of misalignment at iteration end.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.7 – Reviews and Demos)

Mike Griffiths:

“Waiting until the sprint review to validate features with the product owner increases risk. Frequent collaboration and demonstrations ensure the work remains on target.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A is helpful but doesn't guarantee alignment.

B is testing-focused and misses early collaboration.

D places all responsibility on the product owner, ignoring shared ownership.

Answer: C

The correct answer is D – Write tests that will be used to know when a story has been correctly developed. This practice aligns with Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD), which are common in agile environments. Agile promotes defining “done” through clear acceptance criteria and tests before coding begins.

From PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams use test-first practices, such as TDD or ATDD, where acceptance tests are written before development begins. This ensures that functionality is built to meet agreed expectations.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Agile Testing and Quality Strategies)

From Mike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book:

“Defining acceptance criteria or tests before development is a core agile practice. It ensures the team understands what success looks like and builds quality in from the start.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 6 – Problem Detection and Resolution)

Option A may be useful but is unrelated to the new requirements.

Option B is not standard—customers help define acceptance criteria but rarely write tests.

Option C skips an important quality control step and doesn’t align with test-first practices.

Answer: D

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To address declining morale, mistrust, and isolation within the team, the agile project manager should focus on fostering collaboration, trust, and team cohesion. Cross-training and mentoring provide opportunities for team members to learn from one another, share knowledge, and build stronger interpersonal relationships. This not only enhances productivity but also helps break down silos, encourages mutual support, and increases trust across the team.

The correct answer is C — Ask the team to determine how to adapt to this increase in the next retrospective.

The retrospective is the ideal agile forum to inspect and adapt. It allows the team to identify root causes of issues (such as rising defects), reflect on their quality practices, and collaboratively propose solutions like adding more testing, refining definitions of done, or changing working agreements.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Teams should use retrospectives to analyze quality issues, adapt processes, and commit to continuous improvement.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths:

“Quality issues like increasing defect rates should be addressed through team introspection and adaptation in retrospectives, not by command-style fixes.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Incorrect options:

A is reactive and bypasses team collaboration.

B encourages unsustainable practices.

D disrupts the team’s current sprint focus and contradicts agile flow.

Answer: C

—

The correct answer is B — Prioritize the most valuable product features in the backlog first.

Agile prioritization focuses on delivering value early and frequently. Coaching the product owner to understand value-based prioritization ensures that the most critical features are built and validated first.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams focus on delivering the highest value items first. The product owner prioritizes the backlog based on business value, risk, and stakeholder input.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.3 – Backlog Management)

Mike Griffiths:

“Product backlog prioritization is value-driven. The product owner should assess each item’s value and prioritize those that deliver the greatest return or strategic impact.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A misinterprets story points as a priority metric—story points measure effort, not value.

C addresses risk but not value.

D refers to Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which is a release planning technique, not a backlog sorting method.

Answer: B

—

In an agile environment, the product backlog should be continuously refined based on input from all relevant stakeholders, including the customer, business, and team members. It's essential for the whole team to collaborate when discussing and prioritizing the backlog to ensure that stakeholder needs and feedback are incorporated throughout the process. The backlog should reflect the team's understanding of what is most valuable to the stakeholders and the product, allowing the team to focus on delivering the highest priority features that align with the stakeholders' goals.

The correct answer is B – Invite the team to evaluate the suggestion and measure the effectiveness of the implementation.

In Agile, continuous improvement is a shared responsibility, and retrospectives are meant to be collaborative sessions where all team members—regardless of experience—can contribute. Ideas that could enhance performance should be discussed by the team as a whole and, when deemed valuable, tested and evaluated in upcoming sprints.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The team owns the process and should inspect and adapt at regular intervals. During retrospectives, the team identifies potential improvements and experiments with them in subsequent iterations.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Continuous Improvement)

Mike Griffiths states:

“Retrospectives empower teams to improve. All suggestions, regardless of origin, should be treated with respect. Teams test ideas and inspect outcomes to improve incrementally.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Why other options fall short:

A delays action and discourages innovation.

C makes the product owner responsible for a team process decision, which is outside their role.

D promotes hierarchy, which undermines team collaboration and Agile values.

Answer: B

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In agile,teams are empowered to identify and solve problems collaboratively. When a technical concern arises, such as a limitation in the current technology stack, it is common practice to initiate aspikeor research activity to explore alternative solutions. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: Spikes and Technical Investigation)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 7: Problem Detection and Resolution), the best approach is to encourage theteam to investigate the issuecollaboratively.

Option Ais correct: engaging the team in research fosters ownership and solution-based thinking.

Option Bcircumvents team decision-making and undermines self-organization.

Option Cis premature—this is a technical issue, not a user requirement.

Option Dmay be helpful, but action should start with the team exploring options.

The first step for the Scrum Master should be to identify the key stakeholders as early as possible. Understanding who the key stakeholders are, such as internal or external individuals or groups that have an interest in the project, allows the team to prioritize communication and engagement with them from the outset. Identifying stakeholders early ensures that their needs and expectations can be taken into account when planning and executing the project. This helps avoid misunderstandings or misaligned goals later in the project.

The correct answer is B — Communicate this to the product owner, and offer to help facilitate discussions with the team.

Agile promotes collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. The agile practitioner (e.g., Scrum Master) should first address challenges at the team level. Facilitating better communication and helping the product owner articulate requirements clearly is part of fostering a high-performing team environment.

PMI Agile Practice Guide states:

“Agile practitioners serve the team by removing impediments and improving communication. When conflicts or misunderstandings occur, the practitioner should engage with team members to resolve issues collaboratively before escalating externally.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 6.2 — Coaching the Agile Team)

Mike Griffiths further explains:

“Scrum Masters or Agile Coaches are servant-leaders. Their role includes helping product owners improve interactions and serve the development team more effectively.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 — Team Performance)

Other options:

A and D involve escalation without first attempting resolution.

C avoids direct action and leaves responsibility to someone else.

Answer: B

—

The correct answer is B – Ask the team for suggestions. Agile teams are self-organizing. The Scrum Master should facilitate problem-solving by enabling the team to collaboratively decide how to handle bottlenecks. This approach respects the team's autonomy and encourages shared ownership.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Scrum Masters facilitate team collaboration and self-organization. When problems arise, they engage the team in identifying and implementing solutions, rather than solving issues unilaterally.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Servant Leadership and Team Empowerment)

Mike Griffiths explains:

“The Scrum Master’s role is to facilitate rather than direct. If a team member falls behind, the team should collectively explore options for support, ensuring accountability and transparency.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A undermines team autonomy and assigns tasks, which the Scrum Master should not do.

C may help, but addressing issues privately doesn’t promote transparency.

D involves the Product Owner unnecessarily in team internal issues.

Answer: B

The correct answer is A – Educate the QA manager that in agile, quality is integrated from the beginning to the end of the project. Agile emphasizes “built-in” quality through test-first approaches, continuous integration, and Definition of Done. Addressing resistance through education helps clarify that quality is a core part of Agile—not an afterthought.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile does not remove quality controls; rather, it integrates them throughout the development process. Quality is everyone’s responsibility and is embedded through practices such as TDD, automated testing, and continuous feedback.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.5 – Quality and Agile)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“In Agile, quality is not sacrificed. It is a fundamental principle. Teams ensure quality by defining acceptance criteria, using continuous integration, and practicing test-first development.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

B may be helpful tactically, but doesn’t address the underlying concern.

C misrepresents technical debt.

D places too much QA responsibility on the product owner.

Answer: A

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In Scrum, responsibilities are distributed among the product owner, scrum master, and development team to ensure clear accountability and efficient value delivery.

The product owner manages the product backlog, ensures alignment with business goals, and defines the priorities for the team.

The scrum master facilitates the Scrum process, removes impediments, and ensures adherence to Agile principles.

The development team owns the sprint backlog and is responsible for incremental delivery toward the sprint goal.

This division of responsibilities ensures that each role focuses on their core areas, fostering transparency, collaboration, and value-driven development.

To prevent the issue of the customer declining to accept the final deliverable after the demo, the project manager should prioritize frequent releases and feedback loops. By releasing new features or updates frequently, customers have the opportunity to provide feedback earlier in the process, which allows for adjustments to be made during development rather than at the end. This iterative process ensures that the final product better aligns with the customer's expectations and requirements.

The correct answer is B – Meet face to face at regular intervals to enhance shared understanding.

While Agile favors colocation, it acknowledges that distributed teams are common. The Agile approach encourages face-to-face communication as the most effective means of information sharing. When colocation isn’t possible, periodic in-person meetings help establish team trust and understanding.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Even with distributed teams, periodic face-to-face interactions are recommended to foster team cohesion and alignment. This is especially important during team formation and key planning activities.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 2.3 – Communication and Collaboration)

Mike Griffiths also advises:

“Remote teams benefit significantly from occasional in-person meetings. This improves relationships, shared understanding, and effectiveness in virtual collaboration.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Why other options fall short:

A is about external support and not core to working agreements.

C undermines team transparency and agile principles of shared communication.

D could encourage fragmentation instead of collaboration.

Answer: B

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Transparency is key in agile. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 7.1 Communications)emphasizes the use ofinformation radiators—visual displays such as task boards, burndown charts, or Kanban boards thatimmediately communicate project status. These tools make progress visible to all stakeholders without needing detailed documentation.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 4: Stakeholder Engagement)reinforces thatcollocated displays or shared online boardsreduce misunderstandings and keep stakeholders aligned.

Option Dis correct: a public project board offersreal-time visibilityand promotes transparency.

Option Acontradicts agile by emphasizing documentation over working software.

Option Blimits visibility to a subset of stakeholders and is passive.

Option Cdisrupts the team’s daily focus—stand-ups are not intended for stakeholder participation.

The correct answer is C – Work with product owners and turn product backlog items into potentially shippable product increments.

Agile is grounded in the principle of delivering value early and often. Agile teams deliver value by continuously converting high-priority product backlog items into working software or product increments. These increments are potentially shippable, meaning they meet the Definition of Done and could be released at any point if the business chooses. Collaboration with the product owner ensures that the most valuable features are prioritized and refined before development begins.

From PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams focus on delivering small, valuable, and potentially shippable increments of working product on a regular basis. This allows for frequent feedback and ensures that teams are always working on the most valuable features.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Value-Driven Delivery)

From Mike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book:

“Working software is the primary measure of progress in agile projects. Agile teams collaborate with product owners to break down backlog items into increments that can be developed, tested, and delivered within a single iteration.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Option A contradicts agile principles, which emphasize cross-functional teams capable of analysis, development, and testing.

Option B is a supporting activity but does not directly increase value delivery.

Option D reflects traditional project management thinking and does not align with the iterative, adaptive nature of agile.

Answer: C

Technical debtrefers to the accumulated cost of suboptimal design or code, often due to shortcuts or lack of refactoring. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.5 Quality and Technical Debt)recommends treating technical debt as animpedimentthat should be logged, tracked, and discussed openly so it can be prioritized and addressed.

Mike Griffiths in hisPMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 7: Problem Detection and Resolution)advises teams to be transparent about technical debt and elevate its visibility so that product owners and stakeholders can make informed decisions.

Option Cis correct: logging technical debt as animpedimentbrings visibility and ensures discussion.

Option Amay indicate a problem, but it’s indirect.

Option Bdistorts estimation metrics and is not advised.

Option Dcould help but does not communicate impact explicitly.

The correct answer is B – Ensured the early engagement of key stakeholders. Agile emphasizes early and continuous stakeholder involvement. In this case, engaging enterprise architects and standards stakeholders early in the design process would have helped detect conflicts before sprint execution.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Key stakeholders should be engaged early in the development cycle to ensure alignment with organizational policies, standards, and expectations.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Involving stakeholders early helps mitigate the risk of late surprises and rework. Enterprise architects should be consulted during backlog grooming or prior to sprint planning.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Incorrect options:

A is reactive and escalatory.

C presumes the standards are flawed without analysis.

D ignores necessary compliance and does not solve the issue proactively.

Answer: B

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The team lead should facilitate a constructive discussion by restating both perspectives clearly, which can help ensure that all team members understand each other's viewpoints. Asking for more details about both approaches allows the team to analyze each method's pros and cons, fostering a collaborative, solution-focused discussion. Creating a chart of similarities and differences can provide a visual representation that helps the team make an informed decision, highlighting which elements from both approaches might be beneficial. This approach encourages open communication, avoids escalation, and leads to a productive exploration of options without dismissing either side.

The project lead should focus on creating a safe environment where all team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions without fear of judgment or repercussions. This can be achieved by encouraging open communication, showing appreciation for diverse perspectives, and actively ensuring that everyone's voice is heard. A safe environment fosters trust and collaboration, which is essential for the team's success. While other options may help in certain contexts, building a culture of safety and trust is the most effective long-term strategy to encourage team members to speak up.

The correct answer is D – Estimating the relative size of stories by using story points.

Planning poker is a consensus-based estimation technique used in Agile to assign relative size (often using story points) to product backlog items. Each team member selects a card to indicate their estimate, and the group discusses discrepancies to reach agreement.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Planning poker is a consensus-based estimation technique that helps teams estimate the size of user stories using story points. It supports collaboration and shared understanding.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.3 – Estimation Techniques)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“Planning poker helps teams perform relative sizing using a modified Fibonacci sequence. The goal is not precision, but shared understanding and relative complexity comparison.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 5 – Adaptive Planning)

Why other options are incorrect:

A describes analogy-based estimation, not planning poker.

B refers to “bucket system” estimation, a separate technique.

C refers to dot voting, which is a prioritization—not estimation—tool.

Answer: D

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Agile valuesactive stakeholder collaboration and transparency. The best way to address stakeholder concerns is toengage them directlyin the feedback loop. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 7.2: Stakeholder Engagement)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 4: Stakeholder Engagement)both recommend inviting stakeholders toiteration reviewsor demos to provide updates and gather feedback.

Option Cis correct: inviting the regional sales manager to the review fosters transparency and collaboration.

Option AandBdismiss valid stakeholder input, which goes against agile principles.

Option Dis overly cautious and does not proactively resolve the issue.

Agile teams areself-organizingand should strive forconsensus-based decision making. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.3.1 Team Empowerment)supports facilitative leadership where leadersguide decision-making, not override it. Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance)emphasizes that leaders shouldfoster collaboration and respectdiverse views to prevent disengagement.

Option Ais correct: encouraging consensus builds ownership, trust, and engagement.

Option BandCstill place control with the leader, reducing team empowerment.

Option Dis too passive; agile leaders participate actively as facilitators.

The Scrum Master should facilitate a conversation between the team and the senior manager to understand the purpose and expectations behind the request for real-time updates to the burndown chart. By aligning on the reporting requirements and discussing potential impacts on team productivity, the Scrum Master can ensure that the metrics are meaningful and do not interfere with the team's ability to deliver value. It's important to find a balance between transparency and efficiency, ensuring that the team’s workflow isn’t disrupted by unnecessary administrative tasks.

To estimate the project's conclusion using velocity, we use the formula:

Given:

Velocity = 40 story points per sprint

Remaining Work = 240 story points

Sprint Duration = 2 weeks

Since each sprint is 2 weeks, the total duration will be:

6 × 2 weeks = 12 weeks = 3 months

In agile environments, planning should be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Just-in-time (JIT) refinement refers to the practice of refining the backlog and details of the product features as they become more relevant, rather than attempting to plan everything upfront. This allows the team to respond to changes and new information as they emerge, which aligns with agile principles of iterative development and adaptability.

The correct answer is B – Discuss the situation with the functional manager. The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator and servant leader, helping resolve impediments that interfere with the team’s ability to deliver. When conflicting assignments arise, the Scrum Master should facilitate communication with functional managers to clarify priorities and reinforce team commitments.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The Scrum Master removes impediments and facilitates collaboration with stakeholders, including functional managers, to ensure the team can focus on sprint goals.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Agile Leadership and Stakeholder Collaboration)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“When external interference affects team performance, the Scrum Master should engage in dialogue with stakeholders to clarify roles and commitments, promoting alignment and removing blockers.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A is extreme and not within the Scrum Master's authority.

C is unnecessarily escalatory.

D is confrontational and undermines collaboration.

Answer: B

Reducing test automation in agileundermines quality and slows down feedback loops, contradicting agile principles. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.5 Quality Management in Agile Projects)andPMBOK® Guide (6th Edition, Section 8.1), agile projects aim forbuilt-in quality, and test automation is critical in achieving that.

Mike Griffiths (PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery) strongly advocates fortest automation to support sustainable developmentand improve predictability, quality, and speed. Rather than comply blindly with the product owner’s request, the agile practitioner shouldengage stakeholdersand clarify the long-term trade-offs of reducing quality practices.

Option Ais correct: consulting stakeholders ensures transparency, alignment, and helps prevent short-sighted compromises that could undermine the product.

When the organization transitions from longer to shorter iterations, it’s crucial to provide the team with the right support and ensure they have the resources to adapt. Requesting support from the enterprise coach and HR can help the team manage this change effectively, providing them with necessary training or assistance. Additionally, assessing the impact of the change and brainstorming solutions with the team helps address concerns about testing and ceremonies, while allowing the team to provide input on how they can adapt to the new iteration length without compromising quality or efficiency.

The correct answer is C — Update current user stories.

Acceptance criteria are part of a user story’s definition and describe the specific conditions under which the story is considered complete. As user stories evolve and more clarity is gained, acceptance criteria must be updated within the user story itself to ensure mutual understanding of scope and expectations between the product owner and the development team.

According to PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Acceptance criteria are detailed during backlog refinement and are commonly added to user stories to define the done conditions. These are updated throughout the lifecycle of the story as more details emerge.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 — Backlog Refinement)

Mike Griffiths reinforces this:

“Acceptance criteria serve as the test conditions for confirming user stories. They are not fixed and can be elaborated collaboratively during grooming or development, and are updated directly in the user story.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 — Value-Driven Delivery)

Other options:

A refers to adding more stories, not updating existing ones.

B (retrospectives) are used for process improvement, not for editing user stories.

D (project plan) reflects a traditional mindset and not applicable in Agile.

Answer: C

—

The correct answer is D — Get the product owner and team to meet to prioritize the work.

Agile teams prioritize collaboratively with the product owner, who represents the business value perspective. Technical tasks (sometimes called “chores”) may not deliver immediate business functionality but are important for sustaining delivery capacity. It’s essential to balance technical work with feature delivery through backlog prioritization.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams work with the product owner to prioritize backlog items, including technical debt or tasks that improve efficiency. Prioritization is a shared activity.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Backlog Refinement)

Mike Griffiths:

“Product owners collaborate with teams to ensure technical tasks that improve delivery capacity are balanced with business features.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

A dismisses tasks that could improve long-term velocity.

B ignores team ownership.

C escalates prematurely rather than promoting collaboration.

Answer: D

—

In this case, the risk description for "Incomplete requirements specification" has been identified as a high likelihood and high impact risk. To mitigate this, the most appropriate strategy would be to conduct thorough requirements analysis and validation. This ensures that the integration of the new tool with the customer relationship management system aligns with the business objectives and avoids misunderstandings or gaps in the product requirements, which could cause delays or rework later in the project. This step addresses the core challenge of ensuring the product meets the business needs and integrates smoothly with existing systems.

Agile emphasizesjust enough detailto start work and adapt through ongoing conversation. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2 Requirements and User Stories), stories should beclear enough for estimation and discussion, but not over-specified. The INVEST model (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable) supports this.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)reiterates that stories should not contain exhaustive detail up front; rather, they evolve throughcollaborative dialoguewith the product owner.

Option Cis correct because it supports collaboration and adaptive planning.

Option AandBlead to over-specification and undermine agility.

Option Daddresses testing but doesn’t resolve confusion about appropriate story detail.

The correct answer is C – Create an environment of continued learning by providing opportunities for team members to develop their skills as generalized specialists.

Agile encourages the concept of “T-shaped” team members—individuals who have deep expertise in one area and broad skills across multiple areas. Promoting cross-skilling and continued learning reduces risk, increases collaboration, and helps build a resilient, self-sustaining team.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Teams should strive to become cross-functional and develop generalized specialists who can collaborate effectively across domains.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Building High-Performing Teams)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Agile promotes team learning. Encouraging members to grow as generalized specialists reduces reliance on single individuals and improves flexibility.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Other options:

A helps but is not sufficient on its own.

B is a solid practice but doesn't directly promote skills growth.

D goes against Agile values of team development and empowerment.

Answer: C

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The correct answer is D — Facilitate a team retrospective.

A drop in team morale and performance signals the need for a structured conversation where the team can reflect, diagnose root causes, and propose changes. Retrospectives are the Agile mechanism for identifying and addressing performance issues in a collaborative, non-blaming environment.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Retrospectives allow teams to reflect on their performance, discuss what's working or not, and commit to improvement actions. This is the key mechanism for continuous team development.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths affirms:

“Team disengagement often stems from unresolved issues or lack of empowerment. Retrospectives are critical for rebuilding engagement, trust, and improving team dynamics.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A skips team-level resolution and risks undermining trust.

B manipulates metrics without solving the root problem.

C is useful for daily progress updates but not for deep reflection.

Answer: D

—

—

The correct answer is A – Cross-train some members in the automation framework to broaden their capacity with that skill. Agile teams are cross-functional and self-organizing. Cross-training helps build resilience, reduce skill bottlenecks, and ensure continuous delivery without unnecessary delays or dependence.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Cross-training improves team performance and flexibility. Agile encourages developing T-shaped skills—broad knowledge across functions and deep knowledge in one.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Team Performance and Cross-Functionality)

Mike Griffiths explains:

“High-performing agile teams actively cross-train to address skill gaps and reduce dependencies. This enhances velocity and self-sufficiency.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

B undermines team self-management and is not the PO’s responsibility.

C delays the needed skill improvement.

D sacrifices quality and value.

Answer: A

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One of the pillars of agile isearly and continuous customer feedbackto ensure that the product being delivered meets stakeholder expectations. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.3: Reviews and Feedback Loops)andMike Griffiths' PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 4: Stakeholder Engagement),frequent customer reviews (e.g., sprint reviews)ensure alignment and early identification of quality or value issues.

Option Dis correct: regular customer engagement during reviews ensures delivery effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

Option Ais inappropriate—daily stand-ups are for internal team coordination.

Option Breflects a waterfall approach.

Option Cmisplaces the responsibility—requirements evolve and are refined throughout, not fixed up front.

To prevent the prioritization meeting from turning into a brainstorming session, the product owner should ensure that user stories are well-defined before they are added to the backlog. By reviewing the items with the product owner’s teammates (or stakeholders) beforehand, the product owner can clarify the details of the stories and ensure they are properly defined. This allows the team to focus on prioritization during the meeting, rather than spending time clarifying vague requests. This proactive approach improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the prioritization process.

In Agile, the Definition of Done (DoD) typically requires that the feature be both developed and fully integrated into the release package before it is considered complete. Even though the feature was successfully tested and demonstrated by QA, if it is not included in the release package, it is not technically completed according to the DoD. Therefore, its story points should not be added to the burndown chart until it is actually part of the release. This ensures that the team’s progress is accurately tracked based on completed, released work.

The correct answer is D – Reestimate all stories including values for A, B, and C. Agile promotes empirical process control, meaning teams adapt based on what they learn. When significant deviations are found in actual effort vs. story point estimates, the team should revisit and refine their estimation process, including reestimating stories to better align with reality.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Estimates are revisited based on experience. Teams inspect and adapt during retrospectives, using data to improve future estimation accuracy.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.3 – Estimation and Planning)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“When estimates prove inaccurate, teams should reestimate affected stories. Estimating is a collaborative process, and learning from past deviations is a key part of adaptive planning.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 5 – Adaptive Planning)

Incorrect options:

A may distort estimation by comparison and not correct the root issue.

B manipulates velocity data and violates agile principles of transparency.

C attempts to “force fit” effort rather than inspect and adapt.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is A – Create a user story for this new improvement and put it in the product backlog for prioritization and validation by the customer. Agile is iterative and feedback-driven. New requirements or enhancements identified during reviews are treated like any other backlog item: they are created as user stories, evaluated, and prioritized collaboratively.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Feedback during review meetings may lead to new stories. These are added to the product backlog and prioritized based on value, risk, and customer need.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Product Review and Feedback)

Mike Griffiths explains:

“Agile welcomes change—even late in development. New feedback should be captured as stories, then reviewed and prioritized by the Product Owner in alignment with business goals.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

B assumes premature prioritization.

C implies scope creep, which contradicts agile’s flexibility.

D contradicts team empowerment and planning integrity.

Answer: A

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The correct answer is D — Ensure that planning and prioritizing includes consideration of security requirements.

Non-functional requirements (such as security, performance, or compliance) must be included in backlog prioritization and planning sessions. Agile teams must incorporate these concerns into their definition of done and acceptance criteria to ensure continuous compliance and product integrity.

PMI Agile Practice Guide emphasizes:

“Non-functional requirements (NFRs) must be prioritized and planned for alongside functional user stories. They are not optional, and failure to include them early often leads to system failure or technical debt.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.3 — Planning Considerations)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“Agile teams should treat NFRs as constraints that are baked into every sprint. Rather than isolating them, they should be considered in backlog refinement and story definition.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 5 – Adaptive Planning)

Other options:

A may help, but meeting agendas alone are not sufficient for managing NFRs.

B may assist with knowledge, but it doesn’t guarantee prioritization.

C implies treating the NFR as a risk rather than a core requirement.

Answer: D

The ideal way to resolve the conflict is to encourage the team to brainstorm and propose an alternative solution that meets the intent of the architect’s request (error logging) but with a solution that fits within the current release timeline. By implementing error logging at the client level, the team can still address the monitoring and logging needs without significantly delaying the release. This approach fosters collaboration, balances priorities, and focuses on delivering value within the agreed timeline.

The correct answer is A — Stakeholders should have regularly been engaged to obtain feedback and reduce the functionality risk.

In Agile, stakeholder engagement and iterative feedback loops ensure that the solution being built is aligned with business value. Simply meeting documented requirements is insufficient. Agile practices such as demos and user feedback sessions minimize the risk of building features that fail to deliver value.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile emphasizes ongoing stakeholder engagement. Demonstrating working software at the end of each iteration and gathering feedback ensures that the product is delivering business value.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths states:

“Value-driven delivery is achieved not just by delivering what was asked for, but by ensuring it actually meets customer needs. Regular feedback from stakeholders is critical to avoid building low-value features.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

B refers to the lean principle of “decide as late as possible,” but feedback, not delay, would have addressed the issue.

C is unrelated to this context.

D lacks the collaborative engagement approach emphasized in Agile.

Answer: A

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In Agile and user-centered design, creating user personas is a valuable way to represent the different types of users who will interact with the application. By identifying these personas, the project manager can ensure that the development team better understands the varying needs, behaviors, and goals of different user groups. This approach helps create a more effective and tailored user experience for the application. It also provides clear guidance to the team on how to prioritize features and functionality for diverse user groups.

The scrum master should first remind the team of the purpose and goals of each scrum event (such as the daily standup, sprint planning, sprint review, and retrospective) to ensure that they remain focused on their intended outcomes. The scrum master can then implement a policy that ensures discussions that deviate from the scope of the event are stopped. This approach keeps the team on track, prevents time-wasting conversations, and helps maintain the efficiency of the events.

This method empowers the team to stay focused on what is essential for each event and encourages self-management while still providing room for relevant discussions. In doing so, the team can achieve the desired outcomes of each scrum event without unnecessary delays.

The correct answer is A – Lead time, throughput, and due date performance. These are key flow-based metrics used in Kanban systems to monitor performance, efficiency, and predictability of delivery.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Kanban systems rely heavily on flow metrics to measure performance and identify bottlenecks. Key Kanban metrics include lead time, throughput, and cycle time. These metrics provide insights into how quickly work is flowing through the system.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Kanban System Metrics)

Mike Griffiths further explains:

“Kanban teams track cumulative flow, lead time, and throughput to ensure steady and predictable delivery. Due date performance is used to evaluate commitments and reliability.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

B refers to tools and principles, not performance metrics.

C includes practices not specific to Kanban metrics.

D includes some Scrum metrics, such as burndown, but not Kanban-centric ones.

Answer: A

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In an adaptive environment, the project manager’s role is focused on facilitating collaboration and communication among stakeholders, teams, and sponsors to ensure that decisions are made quickly and effectively as circumstances change. This aligns with the agile principle of collaboration over contract negotiation and emphasizes adaptability and the ability to respond to changing needs. While project managers may still contribute to planning and other activities, fostering a collaborative and flexible decision-making process is key in an adaptive environment.

The correct answer is B – Manage communication between all team members and the customer to promote effective and transparent collaboration. Agile values open, direct, and frequent communication, particularly between team members and stakeholders. Transparency, collaboration, and shared understanding reduce misunderstandings and promote customer satisfaction.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile values individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Frequent, open, and direct communication with stakeholders is essential. Agile teams are encouraged to engage stakeholders frequently to ensure alignment and transparency.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths emphasizes:

“Agile fosters transparency and trust through direct communication. Information should flow freely between all team members and stakeholders to facilitate quick feedback and mutual understanding.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Incorrect options:

A and C limit communication and transparency.

D is useful for conflict resolution, but not for broad issue management or stakeholder communication.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is B – Review the project vision statement.

A shared vision ensures that the team and stakeholders are aligned on the purpose, value, and expected outcomes of the product. In Agile, the vision statement guides product development and ensures that decisions made during iterations are grounded in stakeholder needs.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“A clear product vision guides the team and stakeholders in understanding the product’s purpose and desired outcomes. The product vision promotes alignment and provides a foundation for ongoing decisions.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.1 – Vision)

Mike Griffiths also emphasizes:

“A product vision helps ensure everyone is heading in the same direction. It’s critical to regularly revisit this vision to maintain alignment with stakeholders and the evolving product strategy.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Why the other options are incorrect:

A (kick-off meetings) may help in initial orientation but doesn’t sustain alignment over time.

C contradicts Agile’s preference for lightweight documentation and ongoing collaboration.

D is general process alignment—not specific to stakeholder engagement.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is B – Suggest the Product Owner prioritize the work items by feature to maximize value.

In Agile, the Product Owner is responsible for backlog prioritization. When multiple stakeholders have differing priorities, it is the Product Owner’s job to evaluate business value and ROI to determine which features deliver the most value and should be addressed first.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The Product Owner works closely with stakeholders to ensure that the most valuable work is prioritized in the backlog. When multiple stakeholders have competing interests, the Product Owner helps mediate and prioritize based on value delivery.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Value-Based Prioritization)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Agile avoids trying to define all requirements up front. Instead, the backlog is groomed regularly, and the Product Owner ensures that the team is working on the highest value features.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Other options are less effective:

A contradicts Agile principles by suggesting complete upfront requirement definition.

C puts responsibility on the customer instead of the empowered Product Owner.

D implies a waterfall approach by requiring clarity before starting.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is B — Communicate the issue to the team in the next stand-up meeting.

Agile emphasizes early detection and resolution of impediments through daily communication. The Daily Stand-up is the appropriate forum to raise issues, so the entire team is aware and can decide collaboratively how to proceed.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Daily stand-ups allow team members to communicate problems and identify impediments early. The team collaboratively determines how to respond to issues raised.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.4 — Stand-up Meetings)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Issues must be shared early and openly. The stand-up is designed to expose blockers and ensure collective team awareness and decision-making.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 6 – Problem Detection and Resolution)

Option A skips collaboration and bypasses the team’s self-organizing nature. Options C and D delay the communication until the retrospective, which would result in lost time and potentially compound the issue.

Answer: B

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To reduce stakeholder risk and encourage early investment in high-risk/high-reward projects, agile recommends breaking the solution intosmall, incremental deliverablescalledMinimally Marketable Features (MMFs). According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1 Product Roadmap and MMFs)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Value-Driven Delivery), delivering MMFs early allows the business to realize value quickly, validate assumptions, and reduce risk—especially helpful for uncertain or experimental projects.

Option Bis correct: MMFs demonstrate business value early, promoting trust and investment confidence.

Option A (PPC)andD (EV)are traditional project tracking metrics, not suited for early-stage agile investment justification.

Option C(story points) is used forcapacity planning, not financial justification.

The correct answer is B — Create a spike story to analyze the impact of the threshold requirement on current stories.

A “spike” is a research activity used in Agile to investigate a technical or functional uncertainty. In this case, the performance threshold requires exploration to understand its impact on multiple backlog items. Creating a time-boxed spike allows the team to analyze without prematurely committing to changes.

PMI Agile Practice Guide describes spikes as:

“A spike is a user story for time-boxed research or exploration. Teams use spikes when they need more information to estimate or deliver a story.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 — Types of Backlog Items)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“When a new requirement introduces uncertainty, such as performance constraints, creating a spike helps the team determine scope, risk, and impact before incorporating it into backlog stories.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 5 — Adaptive Planning)

Other options:

A prematurely alters acceptance criteria before understanding the impact.

C leans toward big upfront design (non-agile).

D skips the exploration phase and directly breaks into tasks.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is B – Conduct story-mapping exercises to clarify deliverables and release priorities. Story mapping is a visual practice that aligns stakeholders and teams around a shared understanding of the product vision, user workflows, and incremental delivery plans.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Story mapping is a collaborative activity used to understand the user’s journey, prioritize features, and identify releases. It is highly effective for stakeholder alignment and promoting shared understanding.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.4 – Story Mapping)

Also supported by Mike Griffiths:

“Story mapping promotes visibility, alignment, and prioritization. It fosters collaboration between the team and stakeholders and helps translate business objectives into user stories.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Why other options fall short:

A reverts to heavy documentation, which agile discourages.

C is a one-time event and doesn’t sustain alignment.

D focuses on adherence to process rather than collaboration and planning clarity.

TheMoSCoW method(Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have) is aprioritization techniquecommonly used in agile to determine which stories deliver the most value. ThePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.1: Prioritization Techniques)lists MoSCoW as one of the methods used by product owners and teams toprioritize backlog items.

Option Ais correct: MoSCoW is a proven agile prioritization method.

Option Bis used forestimation, not prioritization.

Option Cis not a standard agile prioritization method.

The correct answer is C – Determine who is best qualified to address the challenges. Agile teams are self-organizing and empowered to make technical decisions. When challenges arise, the team collaboratively identifies who is best suited to resolve issues, rather than relying on external direction or top-down task assignment.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams are self-organizing. When challenges or new work arises, the team decides how to proceed, including task allocation based on skills and availability.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Self-Organization)

Mike Griffiths also notes:

“Team members decide how work is divided and who tackles what. When technical complexity is involved, those with relevant expertise are encouraged to step in, with support from the rest of the team.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Incorrect options:

A violates the principle of team autonomy.

B delays delivery rather than solving the problem.

D incorrectly places the Product Owner in a team management role.

Answer: C