PMI-ACP Practice Questions #6
You are initiating a new project, and the team members are unfamiliar with working together. To set the right expectations and foster collaboration, what should the Agile practitioner and the team do?
A. Provide direction to establish the authority of the team lead.
B. Clarify roles, responsibilities, and rewards for good performance.
C. Schedule team performance reviews at regular intervals.
D. Establish ground rules and a shared understanding of goals.
Analysis
The scenario describes a newly formed team where members are unfamiliar with working together. The Agile practitioner’s goal is to set the right expectations and foster collaboration.
From an Agile perspective, when forming a new team (as per Tuckman’s stages of team development), the focus should be on creating alignment, building trust, and establishing a shared way of working. Agile teams thrive on self-organization, shared understanding, and collaborative decision-making, rather than rigid authority structures or performance-based rewards.
The best approach is to establish team ground rules and ensure alignment on goals, which sets a strong foundation for collaboration and teamwork.
Analysis of Options
A: Provide direction to establish the authority of the team lead.
This is not an Agile approach. Agile teams are self-organizing and do not rely on a hierarchical leader to dictate actions. Instead of enforcing authority, Agile encourages collaborative leadership, shared decision-making, and empowerment. This option should be eliminated.
B: Clarify roles, responsibilities, and rewards for good performance.
Clarifying roles and responsibilities can be useful, but this option includes “rewards for good performance,” which goes against Agile principles. Agile teams should focus on collaboration, intrinsic motivation, and shared goals rather than individual incentives. Rewards can create competition instead of teamwork, making this a less suitable choice.
C: Schedule team performance reviews at regular intervals.
While feedback and improvement are important in Agile, performance reviews suggest an individual-focused assessment rather than a team-driven learning process. Agile prefers continuous feedback through retrospectives, daily standups, and team discussions rather than formalized performance reviews. This option does not directly address the forming stage of a team.
D: Establish ground rules and a shared understanding of goals.
This is the best choice as it directly supports team formation and collaboration. Establishing ground rules and aligning on shared goals creates clarity, sets expectations, and fosters teamwork. This step helps the team understand how to work together, make decisions, and resolve conflicts effectively. It also lays the foundation for a collaborative and high-performing Agile team.
Conclusion
The correct answer is Option D: Establish ground rules and a shared understanding of goals.
This choice aligns with Agile values by promoting collaborative team environments, shared vision, and mutual accountability. It ensures that team members start on the same page, understand how to interact, and establish norms for working together effectively, which is critical in the early stages of team development.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Mindset | Promote Collaborative Team Environment |
| Leadership | Empower Teams |
| Leadership | Promote Agile Mindset Principles and Practices |
Topics Covered:
- Establishing team ground rules for collaboration.
- Promoting a shared understanding of goals.
- Encouraging self-organization and team empowerment.
- Building a foundation for trust and alignment.
- Fostering a collaborative team environment.
- Supporting Agile mindset principles and practices.
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