PMI-ACP Practice Questions: Scrum, Kanban and XP Scenarios
Here are 8 multiple-choice questions designed to match the style, difficulty, and domain coverage of the PMI-ACP exam. --- These questions are designed to test your application of Agile principles and your ability to navigate complex project scenarios, similar to what you will encounter on the actual PMI-ACP exam.
Question 1
A project team is developing a new mobile application. Midway through the iteration, a key stakeholder requests a critical new feature that was not in the original backlog. The Product Owner wants to include it in the current iteration. What is the most appropriate action for the Agile team to take? Readers also benefit from PMI-ACP Passing Score: What the Agile Practitioner Scaled Score Means.
- A. Add the feature to the current iteration, working overtime to ensure it is completed.
- B. Inform the stakeholder that the feature must wait for the next release planning session.
- C. Ask the Product Owner to add the feature to the backlog and defer a lower-priority item to the next iteration.
- D. Refuse the request as the iteration scope is fixed and cannot be changed.
Answer: C
Explanation: Agile welcomes and embraces change, even late in development. The Product Owner is the single point of accountability for the backlog and makes the final call on prioritization. The correct approach is to collaborate with the Product Owner to assess the new feature's value and swap it with a lower-priority item to maintain a sustainable pace and protect the iteration goal.
Question 2
A team is working on a project with a high degree of uncertainty. The customer is not entirely sure of the final outcome but has a clear vision of the problem they want to solve. Which of the following approaches is most aligned with the Agile principles of value-driven delivery?
- A. Create a detailed project plan and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to define the entire scope upfront.
- B. Ask the customer to finalize all requirements before development begins to avoid rework.
- C. Develop a minimal set of features that delivers the core value, then iterate based on feedback.
- D. Propose a fixed-price contract to ensure the budget and timeline are not exceeded.
Answer: C
Explanation: An Agile team focuses on delivering the highest-value features first to provide early return on investment and gather feedback. This approach, often called a Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) or Minimum Viable Product (MVP), is ideal for projects with high uncertainty. It allows the team to learn and adapt, reducing the risk of building the wrong product. Options A, B, and D rely on predictive planning and fixed contracts, which are contrary to the Agile principle of responding to change.
Question 3
During a daily stand-up meeting, a developer mentions, "I'm having trouble with a library I'm using, but I think I can figure it out by tomorrow." The team has heard similar updates for the past three days. What is the Scrum Master's best course of action?
- A. Offer to help the developer solve the problem after the stand-up meeting.
- B. Remind the developer that the stand-up is for coordination, not problem-solving.
- C. Ask detailed questions about the library to help the developer find a solution immediately.
- D. Ignore the comment, as the developer has said they will have it done by tomorrow.
Answer: A
Explanation: The stand-up is for the team to coordinate and identify impediments, not to solve them in detail. If a developer is stuck for three days, it is a clear impediment. The Scrum Master's role is to facilitate the removal of impediments. The best action is to take the discussion offline and offer help, possibly by pairing the developer with another team member or finding other resources, to keep the team's velocity on track. If this interests you, PMI-ACP Difficulty: The Agile Topics That Catch Waterfall PMs Off Guard goes into more detail.
Question 4
A Product Owner is managing a large backlog of features for a new software product. They want to prioritize the features to deliver the most value early. Which of the following techniques is specifically designed to help prioritize features based on their relative economic value and cost?
- A. MoSCoW analysis
- B. Kano model
- C. Planning Poker
- D. Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF)
Answer: D
Explanation: WSJF is a prioritization model used in Lean and Agile (especially SAFe) to calculate the Cost of Delay divided by the job's duration or size. It helps teams prioritize work that delivers the highest economic value in the shortest amount of time. MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won't) is a simpler categorization method, and the Kano model focuses on customer satisfaction. Planning Poker is an estimation technique, not a prioritization one.
Question 5
A distributed team is working on a complex project with teams in the US, Europe, and India. They are experiencing significant communication delays and misunderstandings. Which of the following is the most effective way to improve communication and collaboration?
- A. Rely more on email and instant messaging to document all decisions.
- B. Ensure all meetings are recorded and shared with the team for later review.
- C. Create a "follow-the-sun" schedule so that work is handed off to the next time zone at the end of each day.
- D. Overlap working hours to have a period of real-time, synchronous communication for all team members.
Answer: D
Explanation: The primary challenge for distributed teams is the lack of "osmotic communication." Creating a period of overlapping working hours allows for real-time collaboration, which is crucial for building trust and resolving complex issues quickly. This "core hours" approach is more effective than asynchronous methods like email (A) or recorded meetings (B), which can be passive. A "follow-the-sun" model (C) can increase cycle time and create hand-off risks, rather than fostering collaboration.
Question 6
An Agile team has just completed its second iteration. The team has been consistently meeting its iteration goals, but the burndown chart shows that all tasks are completed only on the last day of the iteration. What is the most likely cause of this pattern?
- A. The team is not collaborating effectively and is working in silos.
- B. The team's velocity is underestimated, and they are taking on too much work.
- C. The team is not breaking down user stories into small enough tasks.
- D. The team is not conducting a proper daily stand-up meeting.
Answer: A For more on this topic, see our guide on PMI-ACP in 8 Weeks: Study Plan for Agile Practitioners.
Explanation: A burndown chart that shows a sharp drop on the last day—rather than a steady decline—indicates that work is not being completed incrementally. This "siloed" behavior means team members are working on their tasks independently and only integrating or finishing them at the end. Effective Agile teams collaborate and swarm on tasks to ensure a steady flow of completed work (a steady burndown). The issue is not scope (B), task size (C), or the stand-up itself (D), but rather a lack of continuous integration and teamwork.
Question 7
A team is using Kanban to manage their work. The board has columns for "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done." The team notices that the "In Progress" column is consistently overflowing with tasks, and the cycle time for individual tasks is increasing. What is the best initial action for the team to take?
- A. Add more resources to the "In Progress" column to complete the work faster.
- B. Implement a Work-in-Progress (WIP) limit for the "In Progress" column.
- C. Create more columns on the board to better visualize the workflow.
- D. Hold a meeting with the stakeholders to explain the delay in delivery.
Answer: B
Explanation: The core principle of Kanban is to limit WIP to improve flow. When the WIP is too high, multitasking increases and cycle time expands, leading to bottlenecks. The immediate corrective action is to set a WIP limit and encourage the team to finish existing work before starting new tasks. This will naturally improve flow and reduce cycle time, making options A, C, and D unnecessary or ineffective.
Question 8
A project manager is transitioning a team to an Agile framework. The team is used to a command-and-control style of management. The project manager notices that the team is hesitant to make decisions and constantly seeks approval. What is the most important thing the project manager can do to foster a self-organizing team?
- A. Assign specific tasks to each team member to ensure clarity and efficiency.
- B. Provide the team with clear goals and constraints, then step back and allow them to figure out the best way to achieve them.
- C. Make all major decisions for the team until they are more experienced and capable.
- D. Hold daily meetings to review the team's progress and provide detailed instructions.
Answer: B
Explanation: A key principle of Agile is building projects around motivated individuals and trusting them to get the job done. To build a self-organizing team, the leader (acting as a Servant Leader) must shift from a "commander" to a "facilitator." By setting a clear vision, providing the necessary resources, and establishing boundaries (constraints), the leader empowers the team to own the process and make their own technical and managerial decisions, which builds confidence and accountability.
These questions cover key areas including adaptive planning, stakeholder engagement, team performance, and continuous improvement. Remember to not only know the Agile principles but also understand how to apply them in realistic, challenging situations. Good luck with your exam preparation!
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