PMI-ACP Practice Questions #78
Here is the Sprint Data from the Last 5 Sprints:
- Velocity: 25, Defects Added: 20
- Velocity: 27, Defects Added: 25
- Velocity: 30, Defects Added: 30
- Velocity: 25, Defects Added: 20
- Velocity: 20, Defects Added: 18
Management is concerned about the declining velocity and is pressuring the team to increase it immediately to meet critical deadlines. Meanwhile, the team is showing signs of stress, struggling to balance priorities, and dealing with recurring quality issues, missed deadlines, and inconsistent productivity.
What should the Agile Project Manager prioritize in this situation?
A. Explain to management that the previous velocity increases came at the expense of quality and advocate against pushing for more.
B. Focus on resolving the growing defect backlog to stabilize quality and reduce rework.
C. Set stricter timelines and push the team to meet management’s velocity expectations.
D. Emphasize to the team that the decline in velocity is becoming a critical issue and needs immediate improvement.
Analysis
The team is facing multiple challenges: declining velocity, increasing management pressure to speed up work, team stress, recurring quality issues, missed deadlines, and inconsistent productivity. A root cause analysis suggests that the quality issues (defects) are significantly impacting the team’s ability to maintain consistent velocity and productivity. The best approach should focus on stabilizing the team’s workflow by addressing the most fundamental problem first—defects—before pushing for velocity improvements.
Analysis of Options:
A: Explain to management that the previous velocity increases came at the expense of quality and advocate against pushing for more.
While this approach helps manage stakeholder expectations, it does not address the core problem affecting the team. Simply pushing back against management’s demands without taking action to improve the situation does not help the team recover. While setting realistic expectations with management is necessary, it should not be the primary focus.
B: Focus on resolving the growing defect backlog to stabilize quality and reduce rework.
This is the best option. The data shows that when velocity peaked in Sprint 3, defects also peaked, suggesting a trade-off between speed and quality. As defects accumulated, velocity dropped, and the team became stressed. By addressing defects first, the team can improve product quality, reduce rework, and stabilize their workflow. This will ultimately lead to a natural and sustainable increase in velocity.
C: Set stricter timelines and push the team to meet management’s velocity expectations.
This is a counterproductive approach. Increasing pressure on an already stressed team will likely worsen morale, lead to more defects, and decrease quality further. Agile promotes sustainable pace and quality over forced speed.
D: Emphasize to the team that the decline in velocity is becoming a critical issue and needs immediate improvement.
Focusing on velocity alone ignores the underlying issue of defects. If the team continues working at high speed without addressing quality, defects will continue to accumulate, leading to more rework and lower efficiency. Agile prioritizes delivering value over simply increasing output.
Conclusion
The best choice is Option B (Focus on resolving defects to stabilize quality and reduce rework) because it addresses the root cause of the problem. Once defects are under control, velocity and overall productivity will naturally improve. Options A, C, and D either fail to address the core issue or risk worsening the situation by focusing on velocity without fixing quality problems.
PMI – ACP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
| Leadership | Facilitate Problem Resolution |
Topics Covered:
- Address the root cause of declining velocity by focusing on defect resolution and quality stabilization.
- Prevent further accumulation of defects to reduce rework and ensure sustainable team productivity.
- Balance management expectations by prioritizing long-term efficiency over short-term velocity gains.
- Promote a sustainable pace for the team to minimize stress and maintain consistent performance.
- Encourage continuous improvement and iterative problem-solving to stabilize team workflow.
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