PMI-ACP Practice Questions #65
A developer on your Agile team expresses a strong desire to transition into a Business Analyst role to better align with their career goals. However, this movement might create resource gaps and impact the current release progress.
How should you handle this situation?
A. Allow the developer to immediately transition to the Business Analyst role and redistribute their current tasks to other team members.
B. Delay the developer’s transition until the current release is complete and plan for their knowledge transfer.
C. Encourage the developer to start shadowing the Business Analyst role part-time during the current release and support their growth into a multi-skilled professional.
D. Ask the developer to focus solely on their current tasks since the release is critical until a replacement is hired.
Analysis
The question presents a common leadership challenge in Agile teams—balancing individual career aspirations with project delivery commitments. A developer wants to transition into a Business Analyst role, but this shift could create resource gaps and impact the current release progress. The best approach should support career growth while ensuring delivery goals are met. Agile leadership values continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and fostering T-shaped professionals, so an ideal response would provide gradual learning opportunities rather than an abrupt role change or complete denial of the request.
Analysis of Options
A: Allow the developer to immediately transition to the Business Analyst role and redistribute their current tasks to other team members.
This approach fully supports the developer’s career aspirations but is too abrupt and unrealistic. Since the developer is not yet fully skilled in business analysis, an immediate transition may negatively impact both their learning and the team’s delivery commitments. Additionally, redistributing tasks could overburden other team members, leading to potential bottlenecks. This option lacks balance between individual growth and project needs.
B: Delay the developer’s transition until the current release is complete and plan for their knowledge transfer.
This approach ensures that the current release remains on track, preventing disruptions. However, it does not acknowledge the developer’s career growth aspirations in the short term. Simply postponing the transition may lead to frustration and disengagement. A better approach would be allowing the developer to start learning while gradually managing the transition. This option is practical but lacks proactive skill development.
C: Encourage the developer to start shadowing the Business Analyst role part-time during the current release and support their growth into a multi-skilled professional.
This is the best option as it balances both priorities—the developer’s growth and the project’s delivery. Allowing part-time shadowing provides the developer exposure to the Business Analyst role while ensuring they continue contributing to development tasks. This approach also promotes knowledge sharing, cross-functional skill-building, and a T-shaped professional mindset, which are core Agile leadership principles. The team benefits from gradual transition and minimal impact on the release schedule, making this the ideal response.
D: Ask the developer to focus solely on their current tasks since the release is critical until a replacement is hired.
This is the least preferred option as it completely ignores the developer’s career aspirations. While ensuring immediate project stability, this approach risks demotivating the developer and causing disengagement. Agile leadership should support team members’ career growth, and postponing discussions indefinitely could lead to attrition and decreased morale. This response is overly rigid and not aligned with Agile values.
Conclusion
The correct answer is Option C, as it effectively balances career growth and delivery commitments. Encouraging the developer to shadow the Business Analyst role part-time ensures that learning happens without disrupting ongoing work, supporting both individual aspirations and team goals. Option A is incorrect because it moves too fast without proper planning. Option B is a safer choice but lacks proactive support for learning. Option D is the least suitable, as it discourages growth and could negatively impact team morale.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Leadership | Empower Teams |
| Leadership | Promote Agile Mindset Principles and Practices |
Topics Covered:
- Balancing Career Growth and Project Needs: Supporting individual career aspirations while ensuring team delivery goals are met.
- Gradual Learning and Multi-Skilling: Encouraging the development of T-shaped professionals through part-time shadowing, fostering cross-functional skills and knowledge sharing.
- Agile Leadership: Providing mentorship and guidance to team members in aligning their growth with organizational goals, supporting both the individual and the team.
- Knowledge Sharing and Empowerment: Promoting a culture of continuous learning and knowledge transfer to improve team dynamics and enhance project delivery.
- Agile Mindset and Team Development: Fostering a growth mindset and promoting flexibility in team roles to accommodate career development and future project needs.
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