All People Task 4 and 5: Flashcards
You are working with your team to plan the next release and are noticing some gaps in the skillsets of your team. Your team has mix of junior team member and senior team members, all with varying degrees of experience. You have assigned each junior member with a senior member so that the seniors can coach the juniors. Which of the following is true?
A. This is known as pairing since you have paired junior and senior team members.
B. This is known as mentoring.
C. This is known as Team Performance Appraisal.
D. This known as leadership since coaching is a leadership skill which senior team members are developing
Answer: B
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
When senior team members are coaching juniors, this is known as mentoring. Pairing is where team members (or stakeholders) learn from one another. Team Performance Appraisal is performed by the Project manager. Although coaching may be considered a leadership skill, you are not trying to develop leadership in this scenario, you are simply wanting junior members to learn from the seniors. PMI Authorized PMP Exam Prep Student Guide / Page 30
You are a project manager in a large telecommunications company. You are reviewing documentation to create training for junior project managers. In the field of project management, RAM is defined as which of the following?
A. Responsibility alignment matrix
B. Risk assessment matrix
C. Responsible, accountable, and manageable
D. Responsibility assignment matrix
Answer: D
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) represents roles and responsibilities on a project in a matrixed format. A common version is the RACI chart, which shows an activity, along with the people who are Responsible and Accountable for the task, as well as who should be Consulted and Informed with regard to that task.
As the Project Manager you are attempting to build a cross-functional team. Which of the following is not one of the goals of a cross-functional team?
A. Deliver finished value as an independent team
B. Integrate all the work activities to deliver finished work
C. Develop and deliver often
D. Reduce the number of changes that reach the team
Answer: D
Who has the responsibility of educating stakeholders on why and how to be agile?
A. Each team member because agile is a frame of mind
B. Scrum Master
C. An Agile Coach
D. A Servant Leader
Answer: D
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
Servant leadership is not a specific role so you won’t find the job title on an organizational chart. Servant leadership, much like agile overall, is a mindset. Many people can fulfill the aspiration of serving as a servant leader. PMI Agile Practice Guide pg. 36-37.
You and your core team are currently engaged in assessing the staffing pool for assigning resources to the project. Which of the following is not a factor that would influence the project manager’s decisions on the assignments?
A. Requirements Documentation
B. Availability of individuals
C. Competencies of individuals
D. Previous experience of individuals
Answer: A
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
The requirements documentation would not be relevant to the staffing decisions by themselves. Requirements documentation describes how individual requirements meet the business need for the project. The remaining answer choices should all be considered in this situation.
As the Project Manager you are attempting to add more accountability for team members. On your next iteration-based agile project you have decided to incorporate this into your daily standup meetings by having each team member answer the following questions during each standup meeting. Which questions should be asked?
A. What is my job? What is the expected time of completion? How can the scrum master help me in doing my job?
B. How many backlog items have been completed so far? How my work has assisted in those items’ completion? Why I should be selected ahead of my peers for promotion?
C. What did I complete since the last standup? What am I planning on completing between now and the next standup? What are my impediments?
D. What I have done so far? What you told me to do and when it will be completed.
Answer: C
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
In iteration-based agile projects, everyone answered the following questions in a round-robin fashion: What did I complete since the last standup? What am I planning on completing between now and the next standup? What are my impediments? PMI Agile Practice Guide p 53. paragraph 5.2.4
You are hosting a retrospective meeting and there are other stakeholders attending in addition to your team and the Product Owner. You notice that some attendees are listening attentively and occasionally taking the odd note. Most likely these stakeholders will fall into which category of the ESVP model?
A. Explorer
B. Shopper
C. Vacationer
D. Prisoner
Answer: B
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
Since these stakeholders are listening attentively it means they have some interest. They are occasionally taking the odd note which means they are happy to just learn one thing from the meeting and so they would more likely be a Shopper. An explorer would more likely be taking plenty of notes. A vacationer is just happy to get away from their day to day work and may not be very attentive. A prisoner just does not want to be there at all and will less likely be attentive or taking notes. https://www.scrum.as/academy.php?show=1&chapter=15
You are a project manager working on a one-year internal project. When should you check the results of the Plan Resource Management process specific to organization charts & position descriptions?
A. At the beginning of the project
B. During the early stages of the project
C. Throughout the project
D. At the end of the project
Answer: C
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
The correct choice is C. The results of the Plan Resource Management process should be checked throughout the project to ensure constant applicability.
You are working with your development team to plan the next sprint. A senior stakeholder is looking at the list of tasks and starts insisting on providing timelines of when these tasks should be completed. As a team facilitator what should you do in this situation?
A. Work with the senior stakeholder to estimate the timeline and then work with the team to ensure these timelines are met.
B. Inform the senior stakeholder that his estimates will need to go through the change control process for approval first.
C. Inform the senior stakeholder that the team members doing the work should be the ones performing the estimating tasks.
D. Inform the team that they must work with this senior stakeholder to reach a mutually agreeable timeline.
Answer: C
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
The subject matter experts are the people that are performing the work. They are the ones that should be estimating the tasks. A senior stakeholder is not a subject matter expert and so it should be explained to him that the team would be best equipped to provide these estimates.
Question: 10 of 31
You have been assigned to manage a project that requires two staff members. Based on the company database of available staff, you find junior staff members who have the general experience you desire, but lack the specific database experience that is needed for the project. After speaking with both of the potential staff members’ department managers and agreeing that training would be needed to meet the needs of the project, you decide to bring them on board, knowing that they will need training. The department managers also indicated that the training will also be put to use once the project is completed. The responsibility of ensuring each team member is trained in the appropriate project-related skills falls upon whom?
A. HR department
B. Project manager
C. Functional Manager
D. Training manager
Answer: B
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
The project manager is responsible for ensuring team members possess and/or acquire the appropriate project-related skills.
Which of the following is not a decision-making technique for agile projects?
A. Fist of five
B. Roman voting
C. Dot voting
D. Planning poker
Answer: D
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
Planning poker is a technique used to relative estimate user stories. The others are decision-making techniques.
Which of the following is not one of the services of the PMO in the agile environment?
A. Developing and implementing standards
B. Developing personnel through training and mentoring
C. Calculating earned value metrics for program management decisions
D. Facilitate organizational learning
Answer: C
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
C. This is not a “service” provided by the PMO in the agile environment according to the Agile Practice Guide on p 82
You are managing a software design project which is segmented into various phases to allow for closer control and to provide periodic reviews of the project to ensure its continued feasibility. Which of the following characteristics of the project team would you not expect to change throughout the various phases of this project?
A. Technical abilities
B. Team Charter
C. Headcount
D. Amount of overtime worked
Answer: B
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
A, C and D are all items that you would expect to change throughout various phases of the project. The team charter, however, should generally be uniform and apply consistently throughout the project.
The team is presently compiling a project team directory. In which process is the team most likely engaged?
A. Resource planning
B. Develop Team
C. Acquire Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
Answer: C
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
A project team directory lists all the project team members and their contact information. This means that the team has been assembled, or is currently being assembled, making C correct.
Everyone on your project team, which will use a hybrid life cycle approach for a new project, has just completed agile training since part of the project will utilize agile to complete the software development work. A few team members have some prior experience with agile, while others have never been exposed to it other than via the training they just received. The predictive portion of the project will begin first, with the first agile sprint scheduled to begin a week later. What would be the best technique to reinforce learning for team members who are brand new to agile?
A. Pairing
B. Mentoring
C. Baselining
D. Gap analysis
Answer: B
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
The best approach is for team members who have some prior experience with an agile mentor those who have none. Pairing would be the next best answer, though that would be more appropriate if everyone on the team was brand new to agile and no one had any prior experience with it. Baselining measures the efficacy of training, which might still be done but isn’t a knowledge reinforcing technique. The gap analysis was likely done before the agile training was conducted, as it would have revealed the need for agile training for the team.
You are the project manager for a large business products and services company. You are managing a project to supply furniture, window treatments, artwork, and decor to senior housing centers, multifamily dwellings, and hotels. You have a great team and many levels of experienced project managers. Mentoring for the project manager will most likely come from which of the following?
A. Project Management International
B. ISO
C. The project management office
D. Subject matter experts
Answer: C
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
Project managers will most likely receive mentoring from the project management office (PMO).
As the Project Manager you are attempting to build a cross-functional team. Which of the following is not one of the goals of a cross-functional team?
A. Deliver finished value as an independent team.
B. Integrate all the work activities to deliver finished work.
C. Develop and deliver often.
D. Deliver finished value without change to scope, schedule, or budget.
Answer: D
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
Agile expects and welcomes changes. Attempting to avoid changes is the opposite of an agile mindset.
You are the project manager on a complex project in a balanced matrix organization. This is the first time your project team has worked together, and they are in the forming stage of the Tuckman model. You are on an extremely tight timeline, and your sponsor pressures you to get results quickly. Team members are unclear about role expectations. Which document below ensures project team members understand their specific role relative to the work activity, and how might you use it?
A. Work Breakdown Structure, used so team members understand the deliverables of the project.
B. Team Charter so team members understand ground rules which will help the team become more cohesive.
C. Project Charter so team members understand the business case and what their specific role is relative to it.
D. Responsibility Assignment Matrix (such as a RACI Chart) so team members understand what their role is, and the role of team members.
Answer: D
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
A Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) shows project resources assigned to each work package. It is used to illustrate the connections between work packages, or activities, and project team members. It also ensures that only one person is accountable for any one task. None of the other documents indicate the specific role of the team member relative to a work package or activity.
You will be going on an assignment overseas for six months and want to be sure that you will be able to manage communications on the project effectively. You are aware there are significant differences between the host country method of working and yours. You also know there are major differences between your team and the host company team on some of the technical solutions you need to provide. Interpersonal and team skills you will require include which of the following?
A. Communication competence and conflict management
B. Conflict management and cultural awareness
C. Cultural awareness and communication competence
D. Expert judgment and conflict management
Answer: B
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
While all of these are important, only conflict management and cultural awareness both answer the question but are also listed in the PMBOK Guide specifically as interpersonal and team skills.
You are working on outlining procedures for staff acquisition and release, training, rewards and compliance as they pertain to your project team. Where will you document these procedures?
A. Resource requirements
B. Roles and responsibility charts
C. Resource management plan
D. Staffing requirements
Answer: C
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
The resource management plan addresses these matters.
Which of the following is not one of the services of the PMO in the agile environment?
A. Developing and implementing standards.
B. Developing personel through training and mentoring.
C. Determining the TCPI of all current projects.
D. Facilitate organizational learning.
Answer: C
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
This is not a “service” provided by the PMO in the agile environment according to the Agile Practice Guide on p. 82.
Michael is the project manager of an IT project and has a considerable amount of experience on these types of projects. He identifies he has some inexperienced members on his project team and determines there are several opportunities during this project the team members could conduct cross-training and gain mentorship from more senior members. What process is Michael working in?
A. Develop Team
B. Manage Team
C. Project Team Training
D. Team Training Assessments
Answer: A
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
Choice A, Develop Team is the correct response. Training is a tool and technique used during this process to develop the team. Answer choices C and D are not processes.
You are the project manager for implementing a new Project Management Information System (PMIS) tool for your company. Your team has plenty of experience implementing similar tools. The latest version of the selected tool will run in a cloud environment, which your team is not very familiar with. What is the best way to mitigate this knowledge gap risk?
A. While assembling the Resource Management Plan, develop a Training Plan and implement it prior to the Design phase of the project.
B. Recommend to senior management that they select another PMIS tool that does not run in the cloud.
C. Offer to reimburse your team members for attending a cloud training course of their choosing.
D. Hire consultants to handle any cloud-related issues that arise.
Answer: A
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
A Training Plan is part of the Resource Management Plan. Training should be implemented at the point just before when it will be needed, so the knowledge can be applied soon after learning occurs so that it won’t be forgotten. Answer D is the next best answer, though this does not impart any new knowledge to the team which would be beneficial in the long run. Answer C may help, but unless everyone takes the same course, there is risk of learning inconsistency since some courses may be better than others. Answer B–assuming senior management would even agree to it–only delays the inevitability of going with more state-of-the-art technology, making it harder to keep up with new product releases from the vendor.
As you begin to onboard various team members onto your project, you notice that nearly a dozen of your fellow employees have not yet had their standard safety and behavioral compliance training. This training is critical to each team member being successful on your project. Training of team members in general job skills such as these is the responsibility of whom?
A. The engineering manager
B. The director of training
C. The functional manager
D. The project manager
You are working with your team to plan the next release and are noticing some gaps in the skill sets of some of your junior team members. You pair junior members with senior members but still identify the need for additional training. The project has a tight schedule but currently there is some flexibility with timelines. When is the most effective time for team members to take training?
A. As soon as possible since there is some time in the schedule.
B. Training should be taken based on the availability of the team member.
C. The Agile Coach should decide when team members should go on training.
D. Training should be done as close to the point of solution as possible.
Answer: D
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
The question is simply, when is the most effective time for team members to take training, and that is as close to the point of when it is needed. If one does not utilize the skills for some time after the training, then the skill can easily be lost. The team as a whole will work together to determine the best time (not mandated by the Agile Coach). Although it is tempting to choose a or b since that what we would do in the real world, but in this case the scenario is actually irrelevant to the question.
In order to best populate the responsibility assignment matrix, Gina wishes to ensure that the accountable parties in the RAM most closely align with an organizational structure that serves both the project and the company best. Which of the following is true regarding the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)?
A. It cannot be used when you have a WBS
B. It should be determined by the HR department
C. It mimics the corporate organizational chart
D. It should be determined by the finance department
Answer: C
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
The project’s OBS is structured around the firm’s departments or functional areas, which also appear on the corporate organizational chart. According to the PMBOK Guide, the OBS is structured around an organizations departments, units, or teams with the project activities or work packages listed under each department.
You are assembling an agile team consisting of 7 -9 members to work on an agile software development project, which will likely consist of several sprints to complete it. The majority of the people available for this assignment are new to you. You want to ensure that you have the highest degree of skills, competencies, and proficiencies in your team to complete the work successfully. What is the best approach to take while assembling the team?
A. Conduct a planning poker session
B. Conduct a retrospective
C. Assemble a Team Charter
D. Conduct a SWOT analysis
Answer: D
People - Task 4 - Empower Team
A SWOT analysis will help identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You will want to organize around team strengths while minimizing weaknesses. Planning poker is used by the team to determine relative estimates, which occurs after the team is formed. A Team Charter is assembled by the team after the team is formed. A retrospective is conducted by the team after each sprint is completed.
Online, classroom, computer-based, and on-the-job are all examples of types of which of the following?
A. Ideas
B. Training
C. Tactics
D. Communication
Answer: B
People - Task 5 - Ensure Team is Trained
Online, classroom, computer-based, and on-the-job are types of training. Training is most often performed in the develop project team process.
