PMP Practice Questions #116
You are managing a software development project that employs an Agile life cycle. During the project, your team relies on user stories to understand the requirements from the perspective of the end user. Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of a user story in Agile project management?
A) To act as a work package within the project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), detailing the specific tasks to be completed by the development team.
B) To serve as a singular task that can be assigned to one developer in a sprint, ensuring personal accountability and task completion.
C) To establish a basis for estimating project timelines and resource requirements by capturing detailed user needs and expectations.
D) To articulate the needs and desires of the end user in a simple, concise format that guides the development effort.
Analysis:
User stories in Agile project management serve as a critical link between the end user’s needs and the development team’s execution strategy. This question probes the depth of understanding around user stories, challenging the responder to discern whether user stories are mere tasks, comprehensive requirement documents, or pivotal guides aimed at delivering user-centric value.
Analysis of Options:
Option A: To act as a work package within the project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), detailing the specific tasks to be completed by the development team. This option misrepresents user stories as being part of a Work Breakdown Structure, which is more typical of traditional project management approaches. User stories in Agile serve a different purpose, focusing on value delivery from the user’s perspective rather than detailed task breakdowns.
Option B: To serve as a singular task that can be assigned to one developer in a sprint, ensuring personal accountability and task completion. While user stories may lead to tasks assigned within sprints, their essence is not confined to singular tasks or personal accountability. They encourage a broader view, focusing on user needs that might require collaborative effort rather than individual completion.
Option C: To establish a basis for estimating project timelines and resource requirements by capturing detailed user needs and expectations. User stories do facilitate estimation and planning within Agile projects. However, their primary intent is not the detailed enumeration of project timelines or resource allocations. They serve to capture user needs in a manner that allows for flexibility and responsiveness rather than detailed upfront planning.
Option D: To articulate the needs and desires of the end user in a simple, concise format that guides the development effort. This option accurately captures the essence of user stories. They are meant to convey the user’s needs and desires in a manner that is easily understandable and actionable by the development team, guiding the development process to ensure that the final product meets user expectations.
Conclusion: The primary purpose of user stories in Agile project management is to articulate end-user needs and desires in a format that guides the development team’s efforts towards delivering value. Option D best describes this role, emphasizing the importance of understanding and responding to user requirements in a straightforward and focused manner. This understanding ensures that the project remains user-centric, aligning development activities with the goals and values of the end users.
PMP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
|---|---|
| Process | Task 8: Plan and manage scope |
Topics Covered
- User Stories
