Scrum PAL-I Professional Agile Leadership (PAL-I) Online Training
Scrum PAL-I Online Training
The questions for PAL-I were last updated at Apr 30,2024.
- Exam Code: PAL-I
- Exam Name: Professional Agile Leadership (PAL-I)
- Certification Provider: Scrum
- Latest update: Apr 30,2024
You’re a Product Owner of a product with multiple stakeholders. During a meeting with them, you observe that the stakeholders are unable to come to an agreement on the target users and the primary vision of the product.
As a Product Owner, how can you help the stakeholders to agree?
- A . Work with the stakeholders to write the requirements before forming the Scrum Team.
- B . Work with the primary stakeholder to create the Product Backlog items and vote.
- C . Run experiments and gather market insights iteratively and incrementally. Share the results of the experiments with the stakeholders.
- D . Ask the Developers to start working on the infrastructure and architecture while you define the
requirements with the stakeholders.
C
Explanation:
Complex products require experimentation, learning, transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Empiricism asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is observed. There is no singular method that leads to guaranteed success. The outcomes of earlier experiments play a crucial role in making product decisions and deciding on the direction. Short feedback loops from having an idea to gathering user feedback will improve business agility. Ultimately, the market response will define the value of the work being done. We want short iterations to learn fast if we are building the right thing. If we fail in a short iteration, the impact and deviation are low but the learning is high, we can take corrective action and have opportunities to fix it. If we fail in a long iteration, the impact and cost of fixing it are much higher.
Your organization has 5 Scrum Teams with 10 members each. Three teams are doing very well developing an average velocity of 45-50 user story points per Sprint. The other two teams are achieving just 15 and 25 points on average per Sprint respectively.
Management is concerned and asks you to help them improve, what would be your response?
- A . Assign Developers from high-performing teams to low-performing teams to compensate and stabilize the average velocity of the company.
- B . Story sizing can vary from one team to another. Velocity depends upon the way stories are sized. Velocity should not be compared between teams.
- C . If a Team is working on more complex tasks, we should expect a lower velocity.
- D . We should look at the performance of individual Developers and work to improve the skills of the ones that are delaying the team.
- E . Some of these teams may be new, after some Sprint they should also do 45-50 points per Sprint.
B
Explanation:
Velocity cannot and should be not be compared between two teams. The interpretation of the story points, size of items belongs to one team. There is no such thing as a Good Velocity or a Bad Velocity. Remember, it is based on relative estimations. Comparing velocities between teams is an anti-pattern and can affect the transparency of estimates within the team. Velocity is the amount of work, measured in story points, completed by the team in a single sprint. Velocity is frustrating because it is often used inappropriately. Teams that are new to Scrum will assume that velocity represents the team’s productivity, and this is not the case. If a team allows this misunderstanding to go uncorrected, there is a danger that they will be asked for ” … a report that compares velocities between teams". Different teams will have different expertise, different experience and different team objectives. This is all reflected in the teams’ velocity making it unique for each team. So attempting to compare velocities between different teams is to compare different units of measure. The velocity is exclusively owned by the Developers. It merely provides the team itself and the Product Owner with an indication of how much work can be done within one Sprint. Leave the velocity at the Developers. You already know what the costs are; you know the composition of the team, you know how long the Sprint takes, so you can calculate the costs per Sprint per team. If you wish to compare, compare based on value, on the outcome, not on output. Standardizing the Story Points across teams is not a good idea either. When Teams know their success or compensation depends on a metric or a report, they may feel tempted pushed to game the system to not be seen as losers or just to get the prize. For instance, they can easily inflate the estimates to show a higher velocity. In such a system, the team will focus more on producing good numbers for the ones that observe them rather than focusing on generating value.
A company needs to form four Scrum Teams. Team members should be spread across the teams to maintain high utilization of resources, be able to respond quickly, and remain productive when impediments occur.
- A . TRUE
- B . FALSE
B
Explanation:
Spreading people across multiple teams will increase context switching and decrease focus. High utilization of resources should not be the objective, the objective should be delivering value. To improve throughput and velocity, people should be part of a single cohesive team with a high level of concentration and focus.
Which of the following may increase the effectiveness of a Scrum Team?
- A . Having teams consisting of cross-functional individuals who can work in any function and any task needed.
- B . Having dedicated team members focused on the work of a single product at a time.
- C . Having teams consisting of specialists that are experts in their function.
- D . Share different initiatives across multiple teams so that individual members can work on other
products when they have no active tasks to do in their current team.
B
Explanation:
Working on one team allows the team members to increase focus, mature together and synergize. Working on one product enables the team to inspect and adapt more effectively than working on many products at the same time.
Developers in the Scrum Team heavily disagree with the acceptance criteria of a feature in the Sprint Backlog and its value for the users due to similarities with other existing functionalities in the system.
As a Scrum Master, which would be the best approach?
- A . Developers must vote and decide.
- B . Involve the Product Owner and facilitate a meeting so the Product Owner can clarify the requirements with the Developers.
- C . Ask the Product Owner to better document the requirements next time.
- D . Postpone the functionality to the next Sprint so it can be discussed during the Refinement.
- E . Developers in the Scrum Team should understand the requirements from the Product Owner. The
Scrum Master should not need to get involved.
B
Explanation:
During the Sprint, the scope may be clarified and renegotiated with the Product Owner as more is learned. It is not possible to know all the details in Sprint Planning. The Scrum Master is a leader for the Scrum Team. The Scrum Master is accountable for the Scrum Team’s effectiveness. Scrum Masters are true leaders who serve the Scrum Team and the larger organization.
The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:
– Coaching the team members in self-management and cross-functionality.
– Helping the Scrum Team focus on creating high-value Increments that meet the Definition of Done.
– Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress.
– Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox.
– Facilitating Scrum events and meetings as requested or needed. The Scrum Master serves the Product Owner in several ways, including:
– Helping find techniques for effective Product Goal definition and Product Backlog management.
– Helping the Scrum Team understand the need for clear and concise Product Backlog items.
– Helping establish empirical product planning for a complex environment.
– Facilitating stakeholder collaboration as requested or needed.
The Product Owner is also accountable for effective Product Backlog management, which includes:
– Developing and explicitly communicating the Product Goal;
– Creating and clearly communicating Product Backlog items;
– Ordering Product Backlog items; and,
– Ensuring that the Product Backlog is transparent, visible and understood.
What is Agile?
- A . A set of rules to guide complex product development.
- B . A methodology for developing products.
- C . A methodology for developing software.
- D . A set of values and principles.
D
Explanation:
The Agile Manifesto is a set of values and principles intended to inspire change in how people created software. See https://agilemanifesto.org/
What are the primary benefits of an Agile approach over a Waterfall approach? Select two answers.
- A . Deliver the product incrementally, including frequent and relevant feedback from stakeholders.
- B . Focus on customer satisfaction and delivering business value.
- C . Save costs by using more efficient product development practices.
- D . Better ability to deliver on-budget, on-time, and on-scope.
A,B
Explanation:
Manifesto for Agile Software Development (https://agilemanifesto.org/) We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
– Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
– Working software over comprehensive documentation.
– Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
– Responding to change over following a plan.
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more. 12 Principles behind the Agile Manifesto. We follow these principles: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale. Business people and Developers must work together daily throughout the project. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. Working software is the primary measure of progress. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, Developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly. Check this link for more differences between Agile and waterfall: https://www.seguetech.com/waterfall-vs-agile-methodology/
You are a manager in an agile organization. Markus is a development leader of a Scrum Team and he doesn’t seem very motivated lately, so you asked him to talk in a one-on-one meeting. While talking to Markus, he says that he is disappointed that the team is making decisions without consulting him.
What would you do?
- A . Ask him if he has discussed the issue with the team, talked with the Scrum Master or raise it as an issue in the Sprint Retrospective.
- B . Facilitate a meeting with the team members to discuss the problem and explain that their decisions need Markus’ approval.
- C . Move him to another team that will respect his opinions.
- D . Investigate why the value of respect is broken.
A
Explanation:
In a Scrum Team, leadership is an attitude and not a title. Everyone in a Scrum Team can be a leader and must have leadership skills. Scrum Teams are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint. They are also self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how. Just because Markus is a leader does not mean that he is a boss and that team members should consult with him on all decisions. However, it is important to listen to his point of view, that he listens to other members of the team and that everyone reaches an agreement on how the Scrum Team manages itself. As a manager, it would be good to encourage the issue to be discussed and transparent within the team.
Which of the following would you use to describe how the Product Owner stances? Select all the answers that apply.
- A . Customer Representative.
- B . Visionary.
- C . Decision Maker.
- D . None of the answers.
- E . Collaborator.
A,B,C,E
Explanation:
The preferred Product Owner stances are:
Which of the following would you use to describe how the Product Owner stances? Select all the answers that apply.
- A . Customer Representative.
- B . Visionary.
- C . Decision Maker.
- D . None of the answers.
- E . Collaborator.
A,B,C,E
Explanation:
The preferred Product Owner stances are: