PSK-I Practice Exam Questions with Answers Professional Scrum with Kanban (PSK 1) Exam Certification

A Cycle Time scatterplot is the best chart to determine when a single item that has not been started will be finished. This chart shows the distribution of cycle times for completed work items. By analyzing the historical data, you can estimate the likely cycle time for a new item.

Here's how to use the Cycle Time scatterplot:

Identify the average cycle time:Calculate the average cycle time for similar types of work items.

Consider variability:Look at the range of cycle times to understand the variability in delivery times.

Estimate completion time:Based on the average cycle time and variability, estimate when the new item is likely to be completed.

While the other charts (CFD, Throughput run chart, and WIP Aging chart) provide valuable insights into the overall workflow, they are not as effective for predicting the completion time of a single item.

1.The Kanban Board Provides Transparency (Option A):

A Kanban board visualizes the flow of work, making it easy for the Scrum Team to see the status of work items, identify bottlenecks, and inspect and adapt their processes. This visual transparency is a fundamental aspect of both Scrum and Kanban and supports the empirical process control central to Scrum(

2.Kanban Helps Achieve Faster, Healthier Flow (Option D):

By focusing on optimizing flow (e.g., reducing Cycle Time and managing Work in Progress), Kanban helps Scrum Teams achieve a faster, more predictable flow of work. This improvement in flow brings more rapid transparency, allowing for more effective inspection and adaptation during Scrum events such as the Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective(

Option B (Kanban metrics are used in the Sprint Review to allow the Product Owner to inspect Throughput and adapt the Scrum Team's Cycle Time) is not necessarily accurate, as the Sprint Review focuses on the product increment and stakeholder feedback, not directly on Kanban metrics.

Option C (Kanban helps Scrum Teams deal with simple and complicated work where empiricism is not necessary) is incorrect because both Kanban and Scrum rely on empiricism (transparency, inspection, and adaptation) to deal with work complexity

Cycle Time measures the time it takes for a single work item to go from start to completion. By understanding Cycle Time, a team can forecast when multiple items from the Product Backlog will likely be finished based on the average duration it takes to complete an item. This is essential in Kanban as it provides insight into the delivery timeline and is crucial for planning and predictability within a Scrum context. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams?.

Little's Law states:

•Average Cycle Time = Average Work in Progress (WIP) / Average Throughput.

Little's Law is used to understand and forecast the performance of a workflow system. It implies that if you know two of these three variables (Cycle Time, WIP, Throughput), you can calculate the third. The correct formula is Option A(

Options B, C, and D do not correctly state Little's Law.

Work in Progress (WIP) and Work Item Aging are considered leading indicator metrics in Scrum with Kanban. Leading indicators are metrics that provide information that can help predict future outcomes or performance.

•Work in Progress (WIP): This metric indicates the number of work items currently being worked on and can provide early signals about potential bottlenecks or issues in the workflow. Managing WIP effectively can help teams optimize their flow and predict how work might proceed in the future.

•Work Item Aging: This metric shows how long work items have been in progress without being completed. It provides an early indication of delays and can help teams identify items that might need attention to maintain a steady flow

Leading indicators are the most appropriate metrics for Daily Scrum because they provide information about the current state of the work and potential future issues. By tracking leading indicators, the team can identify potential problems early on and take proactive measures to address them.

Here are some examples of leading indicators that can be useful during Daily Scrum:

WIP Limits:Are the WIP limits being adhered to?

Blocked Tasks:Are there any tasks that are blocked or waiting for dependencies?

Task Progress:How much progress has been made on each task?

Team Mood:Is the team morale high or low?

By discussing these leading indicators during the Daily Scrum, the team can identify any impediments and take immediate action to keep the work flowing smoothly.

Lagging indicators, on the other hand, provide information about past performance and are not as useful for identifying and addressing current issues. Examples of lagging indicators include cycle time, lead time, and throughput. While these metrics are important for long-term analysis and improvement, they are not as actionable in the context of the Daily Scrum.

A Cycle Time Scatterplot is a visualization tool used to display the cycle times for individual work items over time. This scatterplot provides several types of qualitative information:

1.General Cycle Time Trends (Option A): The scatterplot can show general trends over time, such as whether the cycle times are decreasing, increasing, or staying stable. This helps teams understand the overall direction in which their workflow efficiency is moving.

2.Single Cycle Time Outliers (Option B): The scatterplot also helps identify individual outliers — work items that took significantly longer or shorter than usual to complete. These outliers can be further investigated to understand why they occurred and to prevent similar situations in the future.

3.Clusters of Cycle Time Outliers (Option C): In addition to single outliers, the scatterplot may reveal clusters of outliers. These clusters can indicate systemic issues, such as bottlenecks or recurring problems in a specific part of the process.

Since a Cycle Time Scatterplot provides all these types of information (general trends, single outliers, and clusters of outliers), the correct answer is D.

Kanban for Scrum Teams maximizes value delivered by:

1.Enabling Tighter Empirical Feedback Loops via Faster Cycle Times (Option B):

Kanban practices help Scrum Teams reduce Cycle Times, which is the time it takes for a work item to move from "start" to "finish." Faster Cycle Times mean that feedback on work done is received more quickly, allowing the team to make necessary adjustments sooner. This rapid feedback loop enhances the empirical process control central to Scrum, thus ensuring that the team is always delivering value in line with the needs of stakeholders(

2.Optimizing the Flow of Value (Option C):

Kanban focuses on optimizing the flow of work through the team’s process. This is achieved by limiting Work in Progress (WIP) and actively managing flow metrics such as throughput and cycle time. By optimizing flow, teams can ensure that work items are completed efficiently and effectively, minimizing waste and maximizing the delivery of value to the customer(

The other options are less accurate:

•Option A: Minimizing time spent in meetings/events is not the primary goal of Kanban; rather, it is about optimizing flow and value delivery.

•Option D: Minimizing transaction costs is more related to Lean principles, but it does not directly address the value delivered as effectively as options B and C.

•Option E: Choosing higher-value items to deliver is part of prioritization, which is more related to Product Backlog management than to Kanban's specific practices

1.WIP Limits provide a boundary/container in which the Scrum Team self-manages (Option B):

WIP Limits establish clear boundaries within which the Scrum Team can make decisions about how much work they take on. This framework allows the team to self-manage their workflow more effectively, as they must decide collectively how to stay within these limits while delivering value.

2.As part of self-managing, Scrum Teams figure out their own WIP Limits (Option D):

A fundamental principle of Scrum is self-management. The team collectively decides its WIP limits, adjusting them based on empirical evidence and ongoing learning about their capacity, flow, and delivery capabilities. This decision-making process is a key aspect of the team's autonomy and self-management(

Options A and C are incorrect because WIP limits do not inhibit self-management (A); instead, they enable it. Additionally, a Scrum Master does not define WIP limits (C); the Scrum Team decides them.

An SLE of 85% for 5 days signifies that the team anticipates they will complete items within 5 days, 85% of the time. This helps set clear expectations with stakeholders, ensuring transparency around potential delivery timelines. The SLE is based on historical data and provides a probability-based forecast, rather than a commitment. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams?.

The Scrum framework already contains elements that create a pull system. In Scrum, the team members "pull" work into the Sprint Backlog during Sprint Planning. They decide which Product Backlog items they will commit to completing based on their capacity and the Sprint Goal. This is a form of a pull system where the team only takes in as much work as they believe they can complete within a Sprint, aligning with Kanban principles that limit Work in Progress (WIP) to optimize flow

Professional Scrum with Kanban builds upon the core Scrum values to enhance flow and effectiveness within the team. The relevant values are:

•Courage: Encourages team members to address issues, experiment with changes in the workflow, and make adjustments transparently, even when facing uncertainty.

•Focus: Enhances the team's ability to concentrate on achieving the Sprint Goal and flow of work items by using Work in Progress (WIP) limits and other Kanban practices.

•Openness: Promotes an open environment where the team transparently shares information on work progress, obstacles, and opportunities for improvement, which is key for continuous inspection and adaptation in Kanban.

These values directly support the empirical process control and continuous improvement principles of Kanban

During a flow-based Daily Scrum, the team is likely to review metrics such as Work Item Age and Work in Progress (WIP):

•Work Item Age: Helps to identify items that have been in progress for a longer time than expected, signaling possible impediments or the need for swarming to complete those items.

•Work in Progress (WIP): Indicates the number of items currently being worked on, ensuring that the team is not exceeding the agreed WIP limits, which is crucial for maintaining a steady flow

During Sprint Planning, the most relevant metric to consider is Throughput (Option B), which measures the number of work items completed in a given time frame (e.g., per Sprint). By reviewing past throughput, the team can make informed decisions about how much work they are likely to complete in the upcoming Sprint, taking into account their capacity and any potential changes in team composition or external factors.

•Service Level Expectation (A) is less relevant as it is more about setting expectations with stakeholders rather than planning the Sprint.

•Work Item Aging (C) is a leading indicator metric used to track how long current work items have been in progress, which is less helpful during planning.

•Work in Progress (D) indicates the current workload but does not provide historical data useful for forecasting in Sprint Planning

The decision on whether Kanban is a beneficial complement to Scrum lies with the entire Scrum Team. This includes the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers, who collaboratively evaluate their workflow and decide if Kanban practices would improve flow and meet their specific needs. This is not the responsibility of a single role but a collective decision for effective self-management and ownership??.