Chapter 5 Flashcards
1.Your team disagrees on the direction a requirement should take, and it is convinced that the customer hasn’t explained it correctly. As a servant leader, what can you identify as the reason for the misunderstanding?
- Not enough information was gathered from the customer.
- The gulf of misunderstanding has occurred, and more information is needed to determine the correct direction.
- You should practice good conflict resolution skills.
- Team knowledge is limited because they are in the storming stage.
- The gulf of misunderstanding has occurred, and more information is needed to determine the correct direction.
The gulf of misunderstanding occurs when the customer and the team misunderstand the requirements. It is often the cause of disagreement on direction and on features/functions of the increment.
2.Bill and Ally are having a disagreement in the break room about something they saw on the news the night before. You are walking by, and you overhear the disagreement. As a servant leader, what is the best conflict resolution technique to utilize in this situation?
- Help them reach a compromise.
- Tell them to stop the disagreement, as it is inappropriate at work.
- Try to get them to compromise.
- Avoid getting involved as it isn’t relevant to project work.
- Avoid getting involved as it isn’t relevant to project work.
This is called “strategic avoidance.” Many people have differing opinions about news stories, and the Agile project manager shouldn’t get involved as it isn’t relevant to project work.
3.Your team has been working together for several iterations now, and they seem to be working well together. They are making decisions as a team and determining what work they should do and when. This is an example of which of the following?
- A storming team
- An Agile team
- A self-directed team
- An adjourning team
- A self-directed team
Even though this could describe an Agile team, all teams go through periods of adjustment before performing as a self-directed team. The Agile project manager is much more of a servant leader than a manager when a team is self-directed and self-managed.
4.As an Agile team member, you are working with the product owner and the customer on several of the user stories and requirements the customer is requesting. You witness the product owner suggesting that the customer choose one requirement over another because it will function better with their result, and the customer agrees that it is win-win for everyone. What did the product owner do effectively?
- Negotiation
- Requirement gathering
- User story development
- Servant leadership
- Negotiation
The product owner is using good negotiation techniques. It’s important to be able to give value to the customer, but occasionally it’s important to negotiate for the most important features and do away with the ones that don’t serve a purpose.
Task 5 of the exam content outline for stakeholder engagement states that you will need to establish collaborative behaviors among the members of the organization by fostering group decision making and conflict resolution in order to improve decision quality and reduce the time required to make decisions. If there is a conflict and you have an option, which of the following is the best conflict resolution strategy?
- Compromise
- Smoothing
- Collaboration
- Avoiding
- Collaboration
Obviously, which resolution strategy would work best in each scenario depends on the conflict situation. If, in general terms, you are asked what is the best or longest-lasting strategy, the correct answer would be confronting or collaboration.
6.Your team has reached the performing phase. What types of management and leadership do they need?
- A lot of feedback and interactions
- Feedback, coaching, and help only when they ask for it
- Help with conflict resolution and expectation settings
- Helping getting to know each other and building trust
- Feedback, coaching, and help only when they ask for it
Since your team is in the performing phase of team development, they are working together and may only need coaching here and there, and only if they ask for it.
7.The team space is key in Agile projects. What is the one thing that is recommended above all others for Agile teams?
- Scrum boards
- Collocation
- Caves and common rooms
- Information radiators
- Collocation
Having your team be collocated is generally the best setup for team space. Even though it isn’t always possible to do so, colocation is recommended as a best practice in Agile environments.
8.On a collocated team, what is one of the major benefits of everyone sitting together in the same work space?
- The Scrum Master can find everyone.
- Daily stand-up meetings are easier to organize.
- It enables improved communication.
- It builds relationships and trust.
- It enables improved communication.
Having your team collocated in one team space improves communication and allows individuals to overhear information and choose to retain or discard it through osmotic communication. It also builds relationships and trust, but that only happens with improvement in communication.
9.Your newly formed team is experiencing some conflict in the way they estimate time. Several team members have withdrawn from the conversations, while others are still arguing about the best ways to do things. This is an example of what team stage?
- Forming
- Norming
- Storming
- Adjourning
- Storming
Storming is a natural occurrence with newer teams. It is important for the coach/Scrum Master to coach the team through it.
As an Agile project manager, you explain to your team that, as their coach, you are there to provide for the team’s needs and remove any roadblocks to their progress. This is also described as which one of the following?
- Project management
- Agile leadership
- Management and leadership
- Adaptive leadership
- Adaptive leadership
Removing roadblocks and taking on administrative work is a key aspect to practicing adaptive leadership.
11.Misunderstandings of value, product, and customer needs can best be described as which one of the following?
- The gulf of evaluation
- The gulf of Agile
- The gulf of misunderstanding
- The gulf value stream
- The gulf of misunderstanding
Engaging stakeholders in the definition of done and helping them determine what success looks like is a valuable way to manage stakeholder expectations.
12.For an Agile project manager, active listening is an important aspect to practicing adaptive leadership. If a stakeholder is talking to you about an issue, what should be your primary focus?
- Solving their problem
- Assessing their facial features
- Thinking of what you will say next
- Listening to what the person is saying and assessing the information
- Listening to what the person is saying and assessing the information
Active listening is a large part of effective communication and stakeholder engagement. It’s best to listen to what the stakeholder is saying rather than thinking about what you will do next or how to solve their problem.
13.Your stakeholders are engaged in a conversation about what direction to go in with an aspect of the software that is being built. The team is divided on how to proceed. The conflict is more of a collective disagreement than an outright conflict. What should you do as the Agile project manager?
- Engage in the conversation, and help the team solve the issue.
- Call a meeting to have a formal discussion about the issue.
- Discuss conflict resolution techniques at the next retrospective.
- Do nothing.
- Do nothing.
In this situation, it is unnecessary to step in to help resolve the disagreement. Your team is collectively disagreeing, and it is working toward a solution. Unless you are asked to help, it’s better to let them work through it on their own.
14.One of your stakeholders is asking about your PMI-ACP certification and wonders what code of ethics you need to abide by as a certified professional. You explain that there are two categories of conduct you abide by. Which of the following describes these categories?
- Legal and aspirational
- Motivational and legal
- Mandatory and motivational
- Mandatory and aspirational
- Mandatory and aspirational
The Project Management Institute’s Professional Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct describes mandatory skills, which include not breaking the law and not discriminating, and aspirational skills, such as communication, negotiation, and motivation.
During a heated exchange over what the definition of done is to the stakeholders, you have determined that there isn’t any way anyone is going to be able to collaborate on solutions. Which of the following conflict resolution strategies would work best in this situation?
- Compromise
- Forcing
- Withdrawal
- Smoothing
- Smoothing
Smoothing helps everyone focus on what things they have in common and what may be necessary to work on before any collaboration can occur. When used alone, smoothing is only a short-term fix, but it may be necessary in a heated exchange situation.