Module 1

Question 1

Story Points

Answer 1

Used in agile projects as an integrated assessment of risk, innovation, and pure effort involved in carrying out a particular task because it allow for not knowing everything that’s needed to know to provide a precise time estimate.

Question 2

XP Metaphor

Answer 2

A common extreme programming technique that describes a common vision of how a program works.

Question 3

Resource calendar

Answer 3

Identifies working days, shifts, hours, weekends/holidays, physical resource availability, and attributes such as skills, experience levels, and geographies.

Question 4

Servant Leadership

Answer 4

A type of leadership used in agile and other types of projects, which encourages the self definition, self-discovery, and self-awareness of team members by coaching, listening, and providing an environment which allows the team to grow.

Question 5

Planning Poker

Answer 5

Estimation technique used in agile projects - estimates effort or relative size of development effort. Uses a deck of cards with modified Fibonacci numbers to vote on user stories. Also called Scrum Poker.

Question 6

100 Points Method

Answer 6

Each stakeholder is given 100 points and can multi-vote their points across all the stories, which they give a weighted priority when combined.

Question 7

Fist of Five Technique

Answer 7

A technique used to achieve consensus - A fist (0 fingers) is a strong statement of disagreement and will require adjudication. An open hand showing 5 fingers means agreement with the teams conclusion.

Question 8

MoSCoW Analysis

Answer 8

M-Must have
o
S-Should have
C-Could have
o
W-Won't have (unless willing to spend $)

Question 9

Kanban Board

Answer 9

Promotes visibility and collaboration. Its a visualization tool that enables improvements to the flow of work or a team task accountability board where each committed user stories for that iteration are decomposed into required tasks and tracked and managed by the team using information radiators. (*typically used in agile approach - helpful with project schedule)

Question 10

What should the Team Charter include?

Answer 10

The teams shared values, guidelines for communications, how the team makes decisions, How the team resolves conflict, how and when the team meets, other team agreements.

Question 11

Ground Rules

Answer 11

Clear expectations regarding the code of conduct for team members.

Question 12

Roman Voting

Answer 12

A technique used to achieve consensus - people vote either thumbs up (in agreement) or thumbs down (disagreement).

Question 13

Sprint

Answer 13

Time boxed between 1-4 weeks to facilitate planning, improve the quality of estimation, and set a consistent cadence for the team and the product owner.

Question 14

Product Box Exercise

Answer 14

A technique used to explain an overarching solution. Exercise where stakeholders try to describe aspects of a solution in the same way a marketer might describe product features and benefits in a box.

Question 15

SWOT Anaylsis

Answer 15

A technique used to identify team strengths and weaknesses that may be addressed during the project.
S-Strengths
W-Weaknesses
O-Opportunities
T-Threats

Question 16

Team Charter

Answer 16

A document that enables the team to establish its values, agreements, and practices as it performs its work together.

Question 17

Project Charter

Answer 17

A document issued by the project imitator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the PM with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.

Question 18

T-Shaped Skillsets

Answer 18

Refers to a person with one deep area of specialization and broad ability in the rest of the skills required by the team.

Question 19

Types of Conflict Management Approaches:

Answer 19

1. Smooth/Accommodate: doesn’t resolve; to just move forward (band aid)
2. Withdraw/Avoid: postpone issue; to push until later or retreat from the situation
3. Collaborative/Problem Solve: to get multiple viewpoints; open dialogue (takes time) - win/win
4. Force direct: win/lose; PM makes a decision; one sided
5. Compromise/Reconcile: lose/lose; both sides give up something; compromise

Question 20

WoW

Answer 20

Used in agile approach for self organizing teams and as a way to establish working agreements, team charter, etc.
Way
Of
Working

Question 21

Sprint Review (Demo)

Answer 21

A review at the end of each iteration with the product owner and other customer stakeholders to review the progress of the product and get early feedback, and where the product owner reviews and accepts the stories delivered in that iteration.

Question 22

Daily Standup (Daily Scrum)

Answer 22

A short 10-15 minute meeting held each day for the team to reaffirm commitment to its objectives for the iteration and to surface any potential blockers to its ability to meet the iteration goals.
(generally done standing in a circle)

Question 23

Conflict Resolution Methods

Answer 23

Methods that include the intensity and importance of the conflict, the time given to resolve the conflict, the positions of the conflicting parties, and the motivation to resolve conflicts on a short term or long term basis

Question 24

SCRUM

Answer 24

The use of ceremonies in an agile approach to establish cadence of meetings to assist the team in preparing and progressing the project.

Question 25

Pre-Assignment Tools

Answer 25

Tools used to assess candidates before assigning and confirming team roles.
Ex: Attitudinal, ability test, personality test, structured interviews, etc.

Question 26

3 Point Estimate

Answer 26

Traditional PM’s use this to estimate the best case, normal case, and worst case timescales, might be used to provide a clearer sense of the level of uncertainty and to set expectations appropriately.

Question 27

Sprint planning

Answer 27

Facilitates agreements on small goals for a team to complete during a short, defined period of time, generally referred to as a sprint or iteration.

Question 28

Virtual Teams

Answer 28

Team members share goals but spend little or no time meeting face-to-face.

Question 29

RACI Matrix/Chart

Answer 29

A common type of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM):
R - Responsible
A-Accountable
C- Consulted
I - Informed

Question 30

Polling

Answer 30

A technique used to achieve consensus - simply polling the team members to asses their point of view on an issue. If the team is unanimous a decision has been reached and the team moves on.

Question 31

Expert Judgment

Answer 31

Judgment based upon expertise in an application area, knowledge area, discipline, industry, etc. as appropriate for the activity being performed.

Question 32

NGT

Answer 32

A technique used after generating an idea as a way to vote on options.
N - Nominal
G -Group
T - Technique

Question 33

Dot Voting

Answer 33

A technique used to achieve consensus - each stakeholder is given a number of sticky dots; then each stakeholder can vote with the dots based on the weight they believe should be provided to each item listed after brainstorming a prioritization list.

Question 34

Kano Model

Answer 34

identifies certain features or capabilities as Basic performance or Excitement to help in the prioritization of which capabilities are truly must-have, and which ones create meaningful competitive differentiators.
*Basic, Performance, Excitement, Indifferent, Reverse

Question 35

Retrospective

Answer 35

An agile ceremony held at the end of each iteration to identify potential solutions and improve the processes the team uses to improve its overall performance.

Question 36

Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)

Answer 36

A contract between a service provider (internal or external) and the end user that describes the level of service expected from the service provider.
*governs a service after a project is done.

Question 37

User Stories

Answer 37

Key outcomes the customer wants the solution to provide.

Question 38

Lessons Learned

Answer 38

Identify specific improvements that will improve the team’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Question 39

Paired Comparison Analysis

Answer 39

Looking at each pair of stories and prioritizing one over the others.

Question 40

Fibonacci Sequencing

Answer 40

An estimation technique to predict level of work in agile project. 1,2,5,8,13,20,40,100, etc. - numbers used to assign to each story point.

Question 41

Brainstorming

Answer 41

A technique where a facilitator works with the team to identify a series of potential solutions to a given problem, and then preforms various types of analysis to assist the team in selecting the most appropriate alternatives.

Question 42

Go-live Blackouts

Answer 42

Occurs at the end of a project timeline when a projects deliverables are handed over for implementation the organization often establishes a set of black out times where other changes to their system are suspended to reduce risks as a solution is released to customers.