PMI-ACP Practice Questions #66
Your organization is transitioning from a traditional waterfall approach to Agile. The team is facing challenges adapting to iterative delivery, self-organization, and embracing change. While some team members are hesitant about the new processes, others are eager but unsure how to apply Agile principles effectively. As the project manager, you need to guide the team through this transition.
What approach should you take to help the team adapt to Agile effectively?
A. Conduct regular training sessions on Agile principles, encourage team retrospectives to identify areas for improvement, and provide coaching on self-organization.
B. Strictly enforce adherence to Agile frameworks by involving yourself in day-to-day tasks and holding team members accountable for compliance.
C. Focus on delivering outputs during initial sprints, minimizing delivery deviations, and demonstrating value by delivering working software.
D. Assign a senior team member to oversee the transition, prioritize quick wins, and discourage deviation from predefined Agile processes.
Analysis
The question presents a scenario where an organization is transitioning from a traditional Waterfall approach to Agile, and the team is facing challenges adapting to iterative delivery, self-organization, and embracing change. Some team members are hesitant, while others are eager but unsure how to implement Agile principles effectively. As the project manager, the goal should be to support the team in adapting to Agile through training, retrospectives, and coaching while fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement. The best approach should empower the team without imposing rigid structures and ensure that Agile principles are adopted in a way that encourages collaboration and self-organization.
Analysis of Options
A: Conduct regular training sessions on Agile principles, encourage team retrospectives to identify areas for improvement, and provide coaching on self-organization.
This is a strong Agile approach as it directly addresses the knowledge gap and ensures continuous improvement. Regular training sessions help team members understand Agile principles, retrospectives allow the team to reflect and improve, and coaching provides guidance on self-organization. Agile transformation requires support and patience, and this option ensures that the team gains practical experience while being guided toward agility. This is a balanced and effective approach.
B: Strictly enforce adherence to Agile frameworks by involving yourself in day-to-day tasks and holding team members accountable for compliance.
This option contradicts Agile principles because Agile is not about strict enforcement but rather about collaboration, flexibility, and adapting based on the team’s needs. A project manager micromanaging day-to-day tasks and forcing compliance is against the idea of self-organization and empowerment. Agile is not about rules and enforcement but rather about guidance and adaptation, making this option incorrect.
C: Focus on delivering outputs during initial sprints, minimizing delivery deviations, and demonstrating value by delivering working software.
While delivering working software is a key Agile principle, this option ignores the team’s learning curve and does not address their adaptation challenges. Agile adoption is not just about delivering quickly but also about helping the team become self-sufficient in Agile ways of working. Focusing purely on output over people and process improvements can lead to short-term success but long-term failure in Agile adoption. This option is too delivery-focused without addressing the team’s Agile maturity.
D: Assign a senior team member to oversee the transition, prioritize quick wins, and discourage deviation from predefined Agile processes.
This approach hinders team autonomy by assigning a single person to oversee the transition rather than allowing the team to evolve together. Predefined Agile processes should not be rigidly followed—Agile is about adapting to the team’s needs and continuously improving. Discouraging deviations implies a lack of flexibility, which is against Agile values. Instead of assigning a single senior team member, the entire team should collaborate on defining their Agile journey. This option is not in line with Agile principles.
Conclusion
The correct answer is Option A, as it provides the right balance of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement to help the team transition to Agile effectively. Training ensures knowledge acquisition, retrospectives drive continuous learning, and coaching supports self-organization. Option B is incorrect as strict enforcement contradicts Agile principles. Option C is also incorrect as it prioritizes output over team development. Option D is incorrect as it limits team autonomy and discourages flexibility, which is not aligned with Agile transformation.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Leadership | Empower Teams |
| Leadership | Promote Agile Mindset Principles and Practices |
Topics Covered:
- Supporting Agile Transformation: Helping teams transition from Waterfall to Agile by fostering a learning environment, providing continuous education, and encouraging self-organization.
- Agile Mindset Adoption: Emphasizing collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement to help teams embrace iterative delivery and self-organization.
- Training and Coaching: Ensuring the team understands Agile principles and practices through training and coaching, particularly focusing on self-organization and iterative improvement.
- Retrospectives for Continuous Improvement: Encouraging team retrospectives to reflect on the process and identify areas for improvement, thereby supporting an Agile culture of continuous learning and adaptation.
- Balancing Flexibility and Structure: Ensuring Agile adoption is flexible, with the team driving their transformation rather than imposing rigid structures and strict compliance.
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