DASSM Practice Exam Questions with Answers Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) Exam Certification

Guided continuous improvementextends the Kaizen loop strategy by providing structured, context-specific guidance to teams on how to identify and implement techniques likely to be effective for their unique circumstances. This method emphasizes learning from experience, adjusting practices based on outcomes, and aligning improvements with the organization's goals, enhancing the team's ability to adapt and improve continuously.

Options A (Cross-team learning), C (Explicit workflow policies), and D (Communities of Practice) are valuable for learning and improvement but do not specifically focus on providing guided, context-sensitive strategies for improvement.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

Governance in a Disciplined Agile (DA) project involves ensuring that the organization's standards, practices, and compliance requirements are being met while allowing teams to operate within a defined framework. It includes activities such as creating forums for sharing knowledge (A), making decisions about funding (B), administering rewards and recognition (C), ensuring compliance with a regulatory standard (E), and having a defined process for decision-making (F).

However, governance does not mean giving the team complete freedom to make decisions (D). In DA, while teams are encouraged to be self-organizing and empowered, they must still operate within the constraints of organizational governance policies and practices. Governance ensures there is a balance between team autonomy and alignment with organizational goals and standards. Therefore, "complete freedom to the team to make decisions" is not aligned with the DA approach to governance.

This aligns with the principles found in the PMI Disciplined Agile framework, which emphasizes both flexibility and control. In DA, governance is about guiding and monitoring the team’s activities to align with the organizational context, rather than granting unrestricted autonomy.

The PMI Disciplined Agile framework presents various process choices in a goal diagram to allow teams to select the most appropriate practices for their context. However, not all choices are suitable for every situation. The goal diagram illustrates multiple options to provide flexibility, but teams need to assess their specific circumstances, constraints, and goals to determine which process choices are viable. Therefore, it is true that not all process choices may be viable in a given situation.

It istruethat any change or improvement in the process is likely to plateau unless efforts are put into constantly reviewing and revising it. Continuous improvement is a core principle of Agile and Disciplined Agile, where teams are encouraged to regularly inspect and adapt their processes to ensure ongoing progress. Without regular reflection and adjustments, improvements can stagnate, and the team may miss opportunities for further optimization and innovation.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

When analyzing a team’s context for tactical scaling, Disciplined Agile (DA) considers factors such as "Team Size" and "Dynamics." "Team Size" affects communication, coordination, and overall team performance, while "Dynamics" refers to how well the team members work together, the existing relationships, and the level of trust and collaboration within the team. Options A (Demographics) and B (Best Practices) are not primary tactical scaling factors. Option C (Budget) is an important project consideration but not specifically a tactical scaling factor within the DA framework.

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In Lean, the role of management is to create an environment where teams can thrive and deliver maximum value. This involves fostering a culture that encourages collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation. Management is responsible for providing support, removing impediments, and ensuring that teams have the resources they need to be successful. The goal is to empower teams to make decisions, own their processes, and focus on delivering value to customers.

Options A, B, and D do not align with the principles of Lean management. Lean emphasizes minimizing waste (like unnecessary documentation) and does not focus on providing MVPs directly to the team (Option B). Ensuring decisions are not made regionally (Option D) is also not a core role of management in Lean.

References:

"Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation," James P. Womack & Daniel T. Jones.

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

The Marketing process blade in Disciplined Agile is responsible for crafting an appealing roadmap of the organization's offerings in close conjunction with Product Management. Product Management helps define the product vision, strategy, and features, while Marketing ensures that these offerings are effectively communicated to the target audience. Options A (Portfolio management), C (Finance), D (Business Operations), and E (Control) do not primarily focus on this collaboration.

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The primary function of the "Business Operations" process blade in Disciplined Agile is to provide ongoing support and services to customers and ensure that products function smoothly post-deployment. This involves managing customer relationships, handling support requests, andmaintaining operational stability. Options such as "B. To monitor the competitive landscape" and "D. To ensure cash flow in the organization" do not align with the core function of Business Operations. "C. To monitor and guide teams to remove barriers" is more aligned with the roles of leadership and governance. Hence, "A. To provide services to customers and support your products" is the correct answer.

Lean governance practices, as described in the PMI Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, focus on enabling teams to deliver value in a lean, efficient manner. This involves creating business value regularly (Option A), empowering the team (Option C), providing appropriate Return on Investment (RoI) (Option D), and presenting accurate and timely information (Option E). However, "Directing the team with clear tasks" (Option B) contradicts the lean governance principles, which emphasize empowering teams to make decisions and self-organize rather than being directed. Therefore, directing the team with clear tasks is not a lean governance practice.

The primary purpose of creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is toestablish the validity of a hypothesisby testing a prototype with real customers. In Disciplined Agile, an MVP is a minimal version of a product designed to test assumptions and learn about market needs with the least amount of effort and resources. By putting a prototype in front of customers, teams can validate or invalidate their hypotheses, gather user feedback, and make informed decisions on future development. This aligns with the lean and agile principle of delivering value quickly and efficiently while minimizing waste. Other options, like committing to continuous improvement or creating a marketable product, are secondary to the core purpose of hypothesis validation through MVPs.

When introducing new features to a large, existing product, the product team should employ the Minimum Business Increment (MBI) technique. In the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, an MBI is a small, releasable component that delivers recognizable business value to a customer or user. Unlike a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which is often used for new products or market exploration, an MBI is suitable for incrementally enhancing existing products by delivering value in manageable pieces. This approach allows teams to release new features more frequently and receive feedback more rapidly, helping them to prioritize future work based on actual customer and business needs. Continuous Integration (A) is a practice of merging code frequently to prevent integration issues, while Pull System (B) is related to Lean practices of managing work in progress. MVP (D) is generally used for launching new products rather than adding to an existing one.

During the Inception stage of a Disciplined Agile project, the team typically focuses on defining the project's vision, goals, and scope, as well as identifying high-level architecture and a test strategy. The deployment strategy, which details how the product will be released to the users, is generally determined later in the project when more is known about the product's architecture and functionality. Therefore, "B. Deployment strategy" is the correct answer, as it may not be decided during the Inception stage.

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Governance is indeed a critical aspect in Disciplined Agile (DA) projects. While it is true that many DA teams are self-organizing, governance provides oversight, ensures alignment with organizational goals, and helps mitigate risks. Disciplined Agile recognizes the importance of governance to maintain quality and compliance, manage risk, and deliver value. Therefore, "False" is the correct answer because governance remains a critical issue regardless of the self-organizing nature of the teams, ensuring that practices align with organizational policies and objectives.

Business Agility is the ability of an organization to adapt quickly and effectively to market and environmental changes, responding with innovative solutions and maintaining competitiveness. This concept involves a broader strategic capability beyond just implementing agile processes; it requires an organization-wide mindset of flexibility, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Options A, B, and D reflect narrower or less comprehensive aspects that do not fully encompass the broader concept of Business Agility.

Disciplined Agile (DA) provides a robust foundation for business agility by offering a flexible and comprehensive toolkit that allows organizations to tailor their Agile practices to their specific context. Two key ways DA achieves this are:

Provides guidance to streamline processes in a context-sensitive manner:DA emphasizes tailoring Agile practices to the organization's unique context, recognizing that one size does not fit all. It provides guidance on how to optimize processes based on specific needs and constraints.

Describes the trade-offs associated with a range of options:DA offers a variety of strategies and practices for teams to choose from and provides insights into the trade-offs of each choice. This enables teams to make informed decisions that best suit their goals and organizational context.

Options A, C, and E do not directly describe how DA provides a foundation for business agility. While DA encourages adherence to standards and fostering team joy, its core contribution lies in its flexibility and practical guidance.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

A major challenge that agile teams face withProcurement processesis that these processes are oftennot agile enough. Traditional procurement practices can be bureaucratic, slow, and rigid,making it difficult for Agile teams to respond quickly to changes, integrate new vendors, or adjust to new requirements. Agile teams need flexible procurement processes that allow for iterative and incremental development, quick onboarding of vendors, and adaptive contracting mechanisms.

Options B (vendor compliance), C (preference for in-house teams), and D (no contracting) are not typically the primary challenges Agile teams face with procurement.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The process goal of "Explore Scope" in the Disciplined Agile framework focuses on understanding the purpose, domain, and intended usage of a product. This involves clarifying what needs to be delivered, gathering requirements, and determining the boundaries of what is in and out of scope for the product development. When a team is exploring the product's purpose, domain, and usage, they are actively engaging in the process of defining and refining the scope of the work to be done, making Option C the correct answer. Options A, B, and D relate to other aspects of agile project management, but do not specifically address the exploration of scope.

If a team completes the work in their iteration backlog earlier than expected, the best course of action is to work with the product owner to pull more work from the product backlog into their iteration backlog. This approach keeps the team productive and focused on delivering value, rather than waiting or working on non-critical tasks. Option A suggests working on non-critical tasks, which does not maximize value delivery. Option B (waiting for other groups) is not a productive use of time. Option D (reporting differences in completion time) is helpful for future planning but does not address the immediate need to keep the team engaged.

The primary advantage of working in an Agile team, according to the PMI Disciplined Agile framework, is the ability to quickly adapt to changing customer needs (Option C). Agile teams emphasize flexibility, responsiveness, and continuous improvement, enabling them to respond effectively to feedback and evolving requirements. Options A, B, and D do not reflect the core value proposition of Agile. While agile teams may aim for timely delivery, specialization, andreduced customer intervention, their core strength lies in adaptability and responsiveness to change, ensuring that the product remains aligned with customer needs.

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The "Plan the Release" process goal in Disciplined Agile is most likely to offer potential techniques for providing a cost estimate for the project while recognizing that requirements will evolve over time. This goal involves determining the scope of the release, estimating the effort and cost, and planning for future iterations. It accounts for the fact that Agile teams work in environments of uncertainty and helps them create realistic plans that can adapt as requirements change. Options A (Project Management), C (Explore Scope), and D (Address Changing Stakeholder Needs) are relevant for Agile projects, but "Plan the Release" specifically focuses on creating estimates and planning in an Agile context.

The correct answer isB. Agile Documentation. In the context of the Disciplined Agile (DA) toolkit, Agile Documentation is the process blade most likely to address the need to provide employees and customers with more information about an organization's products and services.

Agile Documentationis a process blade within the DA toolkit that focuses on creating and maintaining documentation that adds value to the team and the organization. The goal is to ensure that the documentation is just sufficient, meaning that it is only created when it is needed and at the appropriate level of detail. The Agile Documentation blade helps teams and organizations develop and share information effectively, which is crucial for helping both employees and customers understand and take advantage of what the organization offers.

Why Agile Documentation is the Correct Answer:

Provides Relevant Information:Agile Documentation emphasizes producing the right amount of documentation to meet the needs of stakeholders. This could include product manuals, user guides, FAQs, and other resources that help customers and employees better understand the products and services.

Maintains Up-to-Date Information:Agile Documentation encourages keeping the documentation current and relevant, ensuring that the provided information reflects the latest state of the organization's offerings.

Supports Communication and Understanding:By making information available in a clear and concise manner, Agile Documentation helps bridge knowledge gaps between the organization and its customers or employees, enhancing their ability to leverage the products and services.

The other options are less applicable:

C. Support:While the Support blade might handle customer inquiries and provide assistance, it does not focus on proactively providing information about products and services.

D. Reuse Engineering:This is related to managing reusable assets (e.g., code, components) but not about documentation or providing information.

E. Enterprise Architecture:This focuses on the strategic alignment of IT and business goals, not on providing information to end-users or employees about products and services.

Therefore,B. Agile Documentationis the most appropriate choice for addressing the need to provide employees and customers with more information about the organization's products and services, according to the Disciplined Agile framework.

Agile teams, as per the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, can deliver non-software projects. The DA toolkit is designed to be adaptable and applies agile and lean principles to a wide range of business domains beyond software development. This flexibility allows agile teams to use iterative and incremental approaches to manage various types of projects, such as marketing campaigns, event planning, and other organizational initiatives. Thus, it aligns with the PMI's stance that agility can benefit all types of projects, not just software-focused ones.

"Develop test strategy" is a process goal within the Construction phase of the Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) framework. The Construction phase is where the team actively builds the solution incrementally, and developing a test strategy is critical to ensure that the product meets quality standards and stakeholder expectations. Other options like "Explore scope" (Option A), "Prove architecture early" (Option C), and "Form team" (Option D) are associated with the Inception phase, while "Ensure production readiness" (Option E) relates to the Transition phase.

The "Program" life-cycle model is the most suitable for running large product development efforts requiring a team-of-teams approach. The Program life cycle in Disciplined Agile (DA) is specifically designed to handle complex projects that require multiple teams working together in a coordinated manner. It focuses on collaboration, synchronization, and scaling across teams to deliver a large-scale solution effectively. Other options like Exploratory (A), Kanban (C), Agile (D), Scrum (E), and Lean (F) do not specifically address the need for coordinating multiple teams on a large product development effort.

False: On an Agile team, the team members do not accept or reject their own work at the iteration demo. Instead, the Product Owner, along with stakeholders, is responsible for accepting or rejecting the work presented. The iteration demo (or sprint review) is an opportunity for the team to showcase their completed work to stakeholders and gather feedback. The decision to accept the work is based on whether it meets the Definition of Done, fulfills the acceptance criteria, and aligns with stakeholder expectations.

In the Disciplined Agile framework, the principle of "Context Counts" emphasizes the importance of tailoring practices to fit the specific situation or context of the team. In this scenario,the team decided to skip the daily standup meetings because they were co-located, and the meetings were not adding value. This is an example of making a context-specific decision based on the team's unique circumstances, which aligns with the DA principle of "Context Counts." Options A (Being awesome), B (Enterprise awareness), and D (Choice is good) do not accurately capture the rationale behind the decision to modify the practice based on context.

The main role of the team lead in Disciplined Agile is toensure that the team builds the product right. This involves guiding the team to follow the appropriate practices, ensuring high-quality standards, and removing any impediments that could affect the development process. The team lead facilitates the team’s work, helps them adhere to their chosen way of working, and ensures that the product meets the necessary quality standards and fulfills customer requirements. While other roles, such as product owner or architect, might focus more on defining the right product or coordinating efforts, the team lead's primary responsibility is to ensure proper execution and adherence to quality practices.

Disciplined Agile (DA) encourages embracingdiversitybecause diverse teams bring a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, which can foster innovation and creativity. Diverse teams are better equipped to solve complex problems, adapt to changing environments, and meet varied customer needs. While diversity can sometimes lead to more challenging discussions, it ultimately contributes to higher-quality outcomes.

Options A (reaching consensus faster) and B (mandates) are not primary reasons within the DA framework. Option D (allowing everyone to do what they want) does not reflect a structured Agile approach.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

In Disciplined Agile, the role of a DevOps Engineer is not necessarily filled by an operations person assigned to an Agile or Lean team. The DevOps role can be filled by individuals from either the development or operations side, or even someone with cross-functional expertise. The focus of the DevOps role is to foster collaboration between development and operations to enable continuous integration, delivery, and deployment. It is not limited to being an "operations person," but rather emphasizes the integration and collaboration needed to improve the flow from development to operations.

According to Disciplined Agile (DA) principles, the maximum frequency of delivering a valuable solution is "several times a day." This reflects a highly agile and responsive way of working, where teams aim to continuously integrate, test, and deliver small increments of value as quickly as possible. Options B, C, and D suggest less frequent delivery, which would not align with DA’s emphasis on maximizing the flow of value delivery to customers.

In the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, the Iteration Demo is the ceremony where the team presents the work completed during the iteration to stakeholders and other team members. This is the primary opportunity to obtain feedback on the increment of product or work that was developed. The feedback gathered during this demo is crucial for making any necessary adjustments in subsequent iterations. Other ceremonies like Daily Stand-up (B), Iteration Planning (C), or Retrospective (D) have different focuses. For example, Retrospective (D) is used for process improvement feedback, not product feedback.

In theContinuous Delivery Leanlife-cycle model, a Disciplined Agile team needs to have high levels of skill and organization because this model involves continuous delivery of small, incremental changes. Teams must manage a smooth flow of work, maintain high quality through automation, integrate changes frequently, and respond rapidly to customer feedback. This requires sophisticated technical practices, strong cross-functional collaboration, and disciplined work management to ensure a continuous stream of value delivery.

Options A (Program), C (Scrum), D (SAFe), E (Continuous Delivery Agile), and F (Exploratory) also require specific skills but do not generally demand the same level of continuous and lean-oriented discipline as Continuous Delivery Lean.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The primary risk addressed by thestakeholder vision milestoneisthat your primary stakeholders agree to your strategy. This milestone ensures alignment and consensus among key stakeholders regarding the project's overall vision, goals, and strategic approach. Achieving this agreement is critical to securing buy-in, support, and commitment from stakeholders, which helps to mitigate the risk of misalignment and conflicting expectations as the project progresses. Other risks, like architectural strategy viability, business case viability, or a realistic release plan, are addressed by other specific milestones or checkpoints in the Disciplined Agile framework.

Guided continuous improvement is not limited to using a prescriptive framework or model. In Disciplined Agile (DA), guided continuous improvement can be achieved by using principles, guidelines, and practices that are adaptable to various contexts. It emphasizes learning and improving based on feedback, rather than following a strictly defined process.

The "Architecture Owner" in Disciplined Agile is responsible for addressing and mitigating key technical risks within a project. This role ensures that the architecture of the solution aligns with the strategic and tactical goals of the organization, guides the team in making architecture-related decisions, and helps in managing technical debt.

Options B (removing impediments) and C (working cross-functionally to deliver the solution) are responsibilities of the Team Lead or Scrum Master. Option D (determining priorities for the solution) is typically the role of the Product Owner.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

In the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, the role of "Team Member" is primarily responsible for building the product right. Team members, who possess the necessary skills and expertise, work collaboratively to develop, test, and deliver the solution according to the agreed-upon requirements and standards. While the Team Lead (B) facilitates the process and the Product Owner (C) ensures the right product is being built by prioritizing features and managing the backlog, it is the Team Members who actually perform the development work. The Architecture Owner (D) ensures the architectural integrity of the solution but is not solely responsible for building the product itself.

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The three categories of process blades in Disciplined Agile (DA) are:

Disciplined DevOps:Focuses on integrating development and operations to streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and ensure continuous delivery and deployment.

Disciplined Agile IT:Encompasses practices that support IT functions, such as Enterprise Architecture, Data Management, IT Governance, and IT Operations.

Disciplined Project Management Office (PMO):Provides strategic alignment, governance, and guidance to ensure that projects and initiatives align with organizational goals and deliver value.

Disciplined Agile Delivery (C) is a process blade itself, not a category, and Disciplined Kanban (D) is not a recognized process blade in DA.

In the context of the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, if a team is about to begin work on a project where releases are expected only every six months or so, and the team does not have an agile mindset or desire to release often, the "Traditional" lifecycle is most appropriate. The Traditional lifecycle, also known as a predictive or waterfall lifecycle, is suitable for teams or projects that require extensive planning and where changes are infrequent or less welcome. This approach matches well with a mindset that is not inclined towards frequent releases or iterative development, allowing for longer, planned intervals between releases, which aligns with the six-month release cadence described in the scenario.

DevOps in the Disciplined Agile framework refers to a set of practices and tools aimed at creating a seamless integration of development and operations to enable continuous delivery and integration. Option (B), "Creating a smooth flow of work from development to operations," correctly captures the essence of DevOps. This practice involves automating workflows, improving collaboration between development and operations teams, and ensuring that software changes can be deployed to production reliably and frequently.

Options A, C, and D do not fully encompass the concept of DevOps in the Disciplined Agile context. While automating testing (A) and involving operational teams in development (C) are parts of DevOps, they are not the complete definition. Using development team members to solve operational problems (D) is not the primary focus of DevOps; instead, the aim is to create a collaborative environment where both development and operations teams work together effectively.

Thus, the correct answer is (B) as it represents the overarching goal of DevOps in a DA context, which is to facilitate a smooth, efficient flow from development to operations, enabling rapid and reliable software delivery.

The decision to keep a single Scrum team of 12 members, despite the increase in size, reflects the Disciplined Agile principle ofbeing pragmatic. This principle involves making context-sensitive decisions that balance competing priorities. In this case, although Scrum recommends smaller team sizes (ideally 10 or fewer), the team prioritized cohesiveness and delivery over strict adherence to the guideline. By being pragmatic, they chose an approach that best suits their current context and promotes better collaboration and productivity, even if it meant working with a slightly larger team. This decision also demonstrates a balance between adhering to best practices and adapting to the unique needs and dynamics of the team.

The primary role of the Product Owner in Disciplined Agile is to ensure that the team builds the right product. This includes defining and prioritizing the product backlog, making decisions on behalf of stakeholders, and ensuring that the team understands the product vision and customer needs. Options A (coordinate the product), B (organize the product team), and C (inspect the product) are aspects of the Product Owner's responsibilities, but they do not capture the overarching goal of delivering the right product to meet customer needs.

It istruethat, in the initial stages, a team's way of working (WoW) may be determined more by enterprise guidelines or the recommendations of a coach. This is acceptable in Disciplined Agile, especially when teams are new to agile practices and need direction. Over time, however, teams are expected to evolve and refine their WoW based on their unique context, learning from experience, and continuous improvement.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The Retrospective is an important agile ceremony because it provides a dedicated time for the team to reflect on their performance and processes, discuss what went well, what didn’t, and how they can improve moving forward. This continuous improvement mindset is central to agile methodologies, including Disciplined Agile (DA). It helps build a culture of transparency, trust, and learning. Option B is incorrect because the Product Owner is not the focus of the Retrospective. Options C and D do not describe the purpose of a Retrospective in agile practices.

When tailoring an agile strategy within the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework, the two process goals that require the most effort are"Align with Enterprise Direction"and"Explore Scope."These goals are critical because they provide a foundational understanding and alignment with both the organization's strategic objectives and the specific scope of the project or product being developed.

Align with Enterprise Direction:

Effort Required: Tailoring an agile strategy requires significant effort to ensure alignment with the overall enterprise direction, including strategic goals, corporate culture, compliance requirements, and governance policies. This involves understanding and integrating the broader organizational objectives into the team’s way of working (WoW).

Why It Is Important: Ensuring alignment with the enterprise direction is vital for maintaining consistency across different teams and departments and for achieving long-term organizational goals. It helps in leveraging shared resources, standards, and practices, reducing risks, and fostering collaboration.

Disciplined Agile Context: In the DA toolkit, "Align with Enterprise Direction" ensures that teams are not working in silos but are contributing to the broader organizational strategy and that their actions support the enterprise’s vision and values.

Explore Scope:

Effort Required: Exploring the scope involves understanding the breadth and depth of the problem space, gathering requirements, and defining what needs to be built. This can be a complex and time-consuming effort because it requires collaboration with multiple stakeholders, eliciting requirements, and managing changes.

Why It Is Important: This process goal helps ensure that the team understands the scope of the work to be done and aligns its efforts accordingly. It involves prioritizing features, defining acceptance criteria, and creating a shared understanding among all stakeholders.

Disciplined Agile Context: "Explore Scope" in the DA framework is critical because it lays the foundation for what the team will work on. It helps manage stakeholder expectations, prioritize work, and align deliverables with customer needs and organizational objectives.

Contrasting Incorrect Options:

A. Improve Quality: While improving quality is essential in any agile strategy, it typically involves applying established practices such as Test-Driven Development (TDD), Continuous Integration (CI), and automated testing, which may not require as much initial effort compared to aligning with enterprise direction or exploring scope.

D. Address Changing Stakeholder Needs: Addressing changing stakeholder needs is part of the agile process, but the effort involved depends on how frequently and significantly those needs change. This goal is more of an ongoing activity rather than an initial effort required for tailoring an agile strategy.

In Disciplined Agile, teams are encouraged to be flexible andevolve their life-cyclebased on their context, learning, and needs. As teams gain experience, they may start with one life-cycle model and later transition to another that better suits their situation (e.g., moving from Scrum-based to Lean continuous delivery). This flexibility enables the team to optimize their way of working for continuous improvement.

Options A, B, and C are not correct. The inception phase does not last until the architecture is proven; the transition phase is not necessarily about the amount of functionality built; Agile and Lean life-cycles can include inception and transition phases.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

According to the Disciplined Agile (DA) manifesto, valuing transparency over false predictability means that it is better to be open and honest about uncertainties and unknowns rather than pretending to have precise control or predictability over future outcomes. This approach builds trust and enables more adaptive and responsive planning. Option A (pointless trying to be predictable) is an oversimplification, Option C (stakeholders don’t need to know about the goals) is incorrect, and Option D, while partially true, does not fully capture the intention of the manifesto statement.

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AValue Stream Mapis a visual representation of all the steps required to deliver a product or service of value to the customer. It helps identify and eliminate waste, improve efficiency, and optimize the flow of value through an organization. It focuses on the activities that add value from the customer's perspective, from initial request to delivery.

Options A, B, and C do not accurately describe a Value Stream Map. Option A focuses on the physical movement of parts, Option B is more about an organizational chart, and Option C relates to financial metrics, not the flow of value.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The Lean governance mindset in the Disciplined Agile framework promotes principles that help teams align their work with organizational objectives while maintaining agility and responsiveness. Key elements of a Lean governance mindset include promoting transparency (B), being servant leaders (C), learning continuously (D), and leading by example (E). These elements encourage a culture where leaders support teams, foster openness and trust, and model the behaviors they want to see in others.

However, "letting the team manage the risks" (A) is not part of a Lean governance mindset. While teams are encouraged to take ownership of their work, risk management is typically a shared responsibility that involves collaboration between the team and the broader organization. In Lean governance, risks are managed in a way that aligns with the organization's overall risk tolerance and strategic objectives, rather than leaving risk management solely to the team.

This understanding aligns with the Disciplined Agile approach, which emphasizes governance as an ongoing process that integrates learning, leadership, and transparency.

The Architecture Owner is a primary role on a Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) team. This role is responsible for guiding the team in making architectural decisions and ensuring the architectural integrity of the solution. The Architecture Owner works closely with the team to balance the need for emergent design and intentional architecture. The other options (Domain Expert, Specialist, and Integrator) are roles that can exist on an agile team but are not primary roles defined within the DAD framework.

If the frequency of changes to requirements is very high (almost daily), the Continuous Delivery Agile lifecycle model makes the most sense. This model is designed to handle frequent changes by integrating and delivering work continuously, ensuring that new requirements are incorporated quickly and effectively. Options A (Scrum) and D (Agile) provide iterative approaches, but they may not handle daily changes as efficiently as a continuous delivery model. Option B (Lean) focuses on optimizing flow and reducing waste but does not specifically address handling frequent requirement changes.

An important part of improving the Way of Working (WoW) for a team is to continuously evolve and adapt processes, tools, and practices to better fit the team's needs and context. "Stick to a method once you discover it" contradicts the Disciplined Agile principle of continuous improvement. Instead, teams are encouraged to always try to get better (C), do the best they can (A), and start where they are (D) while continuously exploring new and more effective ways of working. Thus, Option B is not an important part of improving the WoW.

In Disciplined Agile, the amount of work to be completed during an iteration is defined by the team members themselves, based on their understanding of their current capacity and velocity. The team collaboratively estimates what they can achieve and commits to completing that work. Option A (the Product Owner) is responsible for prioritizing the backlog but does not dictate the amount of work. Option B (the team lead) facilitates the process but does not decide the work. Option D (the quality tester) is involved in testing completed work but does not determine the iteration's workload.

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