A team realizes that there is no access to data that the project depends on to complete the current iteration. This dependency was known; however, theteam is unsure of the available options to remove this obstacle.
What should the project manager do next?
Correct Answer:
C
According to the Agile Practice Guide, one of the agile values is to respond to change over following a plan. This means that the project manager and the team should embrace changes and uncertainties, and find creative ways to overcome challenges and deliver value to the customer. In this case, the team faces a data access issue that prevents them from completing the current iteration. The project manager should guide the team to determine alternatives, such as finding another data source, modifying the requirements, or prioritizing other tasks. This way, the project manager can help the team to adapt to the situation and deliver a working product increment. Escalating the issue to the project sponsor or the IT manager, or moving the dependent task to the next iteration, are not agile responses, as they imply that the project manager and the team are relying on external authorities or postponing the problem, ratherthan finding a solution within the team. References: Agile Practice Guide, pages 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. PMP Question 330.
How can agile measurements improve upon predictive measurements in cases where the final 10% of a project takes longer than planned?
Correct Answer:
D
= This answer is based on the agile principle of delivering value early and often, which means that the project team should prioritize the features and functionalities that are most valuable to the customer and deliver them in small increments throughout the project. By doing so, the project team can avoid the risk of spending too much time and resources on the final 10% of the project, which may not be as important or relevant to the customer as the earlier deliverables. This approach will also enable the project team to obtain frequent feedback from the customer and make adjustments as needed, ratherthan
waiting until the end of the project to validate the results. References: (Project Management Professional (PMP) Reference Materials source and documents)
✑ A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) –Seventh Edition, Chapter 14: Enabling Change, Section 14.1: Planning for Change, page 325.
✑ Agile Practice Guide, Chapter 2: An Introduction to Agile, Section 2.2: Agile Manifesto and Principles, page 11.
An agile project team is creating an enterprise workflow system for a company. One of the project team members, who is the system design architect, keeps receiving telephone calls from the users who are
asking questions about the system. The calls are impacting the architect's daily work schedule.
What should the project manager do?
Correct Answer:
B
In an agile project, the project manager should collaborate with the customer and the team to deliver value and satisfy the customer’s needs. One of the ways to do this is to provide user training materials as part of the project deliverables, so that the users can learn how to use the system and reduce the dependency on the system architect. This will also help the system architect focus on their core tasks and avoid interruptions from the users. Option B is the best answer because it addresses the root cause of the problem and provides a long-term solution. Option A is not a good answer because it does not solve the problem of the users’ lack of knowledge and may affect the quality of the system design.
Option C is not a good answer because it adds more work to the system architect and does not involve the customer or the team. Option D is not a good answer because it does not address the problem of the users’ lack of knowledge and may delay the feedback and communication between the users and the system architect. References: [Agile Practice Guide], page 28; [A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)], Sixth Edition, page 18.
A senior employee with experience relevant to a highly complex project is seeking a promotion to be able to join the project. The employee has made arecommendation regarding the project. The project charter was recently approved.
How should the project manager address the employee's request?
Correct Answer:
B
According to the PMBOK Guide, a salience model is a stakeholder classification model that uses three attributes to categorize stakeholders: power, legitimacy, and urgency1. Power is the degree of influence or authority that a stakeholder has over the project or its outcomes. Legitimacy is the degree of involvement or interest that a stakeholder has in the project or its deliverables. Urgency is the degree of need or demand that a stakeholder has for the project or its results. The salience model helps the project manager to identify and prioritize the stakeholders based on their relative importance and impact on the project2.
In this scenario, a senior employee with experience relevant to a highly complex project is seeking a promotion to be able to join the project. The employee has made a recommendation regarding the project, which implies that the employee has some legitimacy and interest in the project. However, the project charter was recently approved, which means that the project scope, objectives, and key stakeholders have been defined and authorized. The project manager should create a salience model to determine if the employee will have influence on the project, which depends on the employee’s power and urgency. The project manager should assess the employee’s power by considering the employee’s position, role, relationship, and expertise in the organization and the project. The project manager should also assess the employee’s urgency by considering the employee’s needs, expectations, and deadlines for the project. The project manager should then compare the employee’s salience with the other stakeholders and decide whether the employee should be included in the project or not.
The project manager should not assess the influence and power of the employee to see if the employee will add value, as this is only one aspect of the salience model. The project manager should also consider the employee’s legitimacy and urgency, as well as the other stakeholders’ salience. The project manager should not evaluate the employee’s recommendation by reviewing the lessons learned from a similar project, as this is not relevant to the employee’s request. The project manager should focus on the employee’s salience, not the employee’s suggestion. The project manager should not ask the project sponsor to revisit the project charter to consider the employee’s recommendation, as this may cause unnecessary changes and delays in the project initiation. The project manager should first determine the employee’s salience and then communicate with the project sponsor and the other stakeholders about the employee’s request.
References: 1: Salience Model - BrainBOK 2: Salience Model to Analyze Project Stakeholders - PM Study Circle
During the final stage of the launch for a new design, team members are having a conflict about some features of the design. What should the project manager do?
Correct Answer:
B
The project manager should call a stakeholder meeting along with team members and seek consensus about the design features. This is because the project manager needs to resolve the conflict among the team members and ensure that the design meets the stakeholder expectations and requirements. The project manager should use conflict resolution techniques such as collaborating, compromising, or problem-solving to facilitate a constructive dialogue and reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The project manager should also consider the impact of the design features on the project scope, quality, schedule, and cost and communicate any changes or issues to the relevant stakeholders.
✑ Option A is not a good action, as asking the project sponsor to make the decision about the design features may not be appropriate or effective. It may also undermine the team members’ autonomy, creativity, and ownership of their work. The project manager should try to involve the team members and other stakeholders in the decision-making process and not rely on the project sponsor’s authority or influence.
✑ Option C is not a good action, as asking stakeholders to reduce the scope in order to meet project deadlines may not be feasible or desirable. It may also create dissatisfaction, confusion, and resistance among the stakeholders. The project manager should try to deliver the project scope as agreed and not change it without proper justification and approval.
✑ Option D is not a good action, as reviewing the design with the team members and proposing a new launch date may not be necessary or beneficial. It may also create additional risks, issues, and delays for the project. The project manager should try to launch the project as planned and not postpone it without proper justification and approval. References:
✑ [PMBOK Guide], 6th edition, page 386, section 10.3
✑ [PMP Exam Content Outline], page 12, task 4 under domain 3
