Project Management Knowledge Assessment - 1

1. You are starting to work on a new project, and the previous Project Manager handed you the approved Project Charter.

What should be your initial focus in the Project Charter?

A) Evaluate ways to create the resource management plan.
B) Examine the project scope statement.
C) Review the "what, why, where, when, who, and how" aspects of the project.
D) Analyze risks on the project and develop contingency plans.

2. When is a Sprint considered over?

A) When the Product Owner declares it is over.
B) When the items are completed according to the project scope statement.
C) When all tasks in the queue are completed.
D) When the time-box expires.

3. You are a Project Manager working closely with a customer on a project. During a conversation, the customer mentioned needing a specific feature not included in the project scope statement.

What should you do next?

A) Evaluate the impact of the new feature on the project timeline, budget, and resources.
B) Collaborate with the project team to update the project scope statement and any related project documentation.
C) Incorporate the additional requirements into the project plan – prioritizing customer satisfaction.
D) Engage in a discussion with the customer's supervisor to explore the possibility of a change in their decision.

4. Consider the development of an AI product using Scrum. The product owner and your Scrum team members are conducting their first sprint planning meeting. Team members have completed the preparation of the selected user stories and provided their estimates.

As the team proceeds to implement the user stories during the sprint, what should the product owner do?

A) Encourage the team to take on more work in this sprint to ensure they can deliver additional value.
B) Consider extending the sprint's length if it appears the team cannot complete the work on time.
C) Monitor the team's progress by checking daily status to ensure that all user stories are on track for completion in this sprint.
D) Allow the team to work and be available to answer any questions that might arise during this sprint.

5. An electronic manufacturer has initiated a project to develop the fastest charging mobile phone, prioritizing the creation of a long-lasting battery. In the current phase, a team of experts has convened to identify critical considerations for the battery development. Specifically, they are undertaking a detailed comparison of the specifications of widely recognized long-lasting batteries available in the market with the planned product.

What specific tools and techniques are being employed by the expert team in this scenario?

A) Brain storming
B) Bench marking
C) Focus Groups
D) Round Robin

6. David is starting a new project, and in the first team meeting, he notices that the team members are still getting acquainted and are enthusiastic about the project. However, David hasn't briefed the team about the project's scope yet.

In which phase of team development is this group?

A) Norming
B) Forming
C) Storming
D) Performing

7. The CEO of the company has requested the Developers to add a new task to the current Sprint. The task is a high priority for the business, and he needs it to be implemented immediately.

What should the Developers do?

A) Add the task to the current sprint and drop a task of similar size.
B) Respect the CEO's authority and add the task without any adjustments to the current sprint.
C) Inform the Product Owner about the CEO's request and collaborate on prioritization.
D) Politely inform the CEO that the current sprint is planned and propose prioritizing the task in the next sprint.

8. Each Scrum artifact contains a commitment to ensure it provides information that enhances transparency and focus against which progress can be measured.

What is the commitment of the Increment?

A) The Product Goal
B) The Sprint Goal
C) The Definition of Done
D) The Project Objectives

9. A project has just started, and David is appointed as the project manager. The next day the project sponsor calls David and ask him when he will think the project will get completed. David is confused as he has not thoroughly analyzed the project nor worked in a project of this kind. He conveyed his concern to Adam, his friend who is a project manager too and Adam advised him to check in the organization for a very similar kind of project and based on that provide a high level estimate to the sponsor.

What technique is Adam referring here?

A) Parametric Estimates
B) Analogous Estimates
C) Bottom-up Estimates
D) Random Estimates

10. David, the project manager is in the phase of collecting requirements from the customers. The customers expressed the concern that requirements are collected in various ways from the users via feedbacks, surveys etc. and not in structure. David advised them to use a tool which would help them group these different source of requirements logically and create a proper structure.

What tool is he referring here?

A) MVP
B) Prototype
C) Decomposition
D) Affinity Diagram

Answers

1. Correct answer is C. Your initial focus in the Project Charter should be to review the "what, why, where, when, who, and how" aspects of the project. This will help you gain a clear understanding of the project and the sponsor's expectations. Additionally, you should examine the project goals and objectives, scope, assumptions, constraints, and risk factors. This information will be crucial for planning and controlling the project.

To summarize, your initial focus in the Project Charter should be to review the project details and gain a clear understanding of the project's goals, objectives, scope, assumptions, constraints, and risk factors. This will help you plan and control the project effectively.

The project charter should address, in part, a summary milestone schedule, a summary budget, and assumptions. The Project Charter converts the idea into the details required for planning, including project goals and objectives, scope, assumptions, constraints, and risk factors. The information on the Project Charter should be shared with stakeholders to clarify expectations and with the sponsor to gain agreement to proceed with planning.

2. Correct answer is D. Sprints are fixed length (time-boxed) events of one month or less to create consistency. A new Sprint starts immediately after the conclusion of the previous Sprint.

Option A can create a confusion as a Sprint can be cancelled if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete. Only the Product Owner has the authority to cancel the Sprint in this specific situation. But since no such situation is mentioned in the question or in options, option A can be discarded.

3. Correct answer is A. As a project manager, when a customer mentions a feature not included in the project scope statement, the best course of action is to evaluate the impact of the new feature on the project timeline, budget, and resources. This will help you determine if the new feature aligns with the project goals and objectives.

Once you have evaluated the impact of the new feature, you should collaborate with the project team to update the project scope statement and any related project documentation. This will ensure that everyone is aware of the scope change and its impact on the project.

Incorporating the additional requirements into the project plan without evaluating the impact on the project timeline, budget, and resources can lead to negative consequences. Prioritizing customer satisfaction is important, but it should not come at the expense of the project's success. Similarly, engaging in a discussion with the customer's supervisor to explore the possibility of a change in their decision is not the best course of action as it can damage the relationship with the customer.

4. Correct answer is D. During the sprint, the product owner should allow the team to work and be available to answer any questions that might arise during the sprint.

5. The correct answer is B. The specific tool and technique being employed by the expert team in this scenario is benchmarking. They are undertaking a detailed comparison of the specifications of widely recognized long-lasting batteries available in the market with the planned product.

Benchmarking is a process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other companies. It is used to identify areas for improvement and to analyze how well a company is performing compared to its competitors.

6. The correct answer is B. The team is in the forming phase of team development. During this phase, team members are getting to know each other and are enthusiastic about the project, but the project's scope has not yet been fully briefed.

Here is a brief overview of the different phases of team development:
Forming: This is the initial phase where team members are getting to know each other and the project's purpose and boundaries are being established.
Storming: This is the phase where conflicts may arise as team members begin to assert their opinions and ideas.
Norming: During this phase, team members begin to adjust their behavior to each other and develop work habits that make teamwork seem more natural and fluid. They begin to trust each other and motivation increases.
Performing: This is the phase where the team is working effectively together and achieving their goals.

7. Correct answer is C. The best course of action for the developers in this situation would be to inform the Product Owner about the CEO's request and collaborate on prioritization. This would involve discussing the impact of adding the new task to the current sprint and determining whether it is feasible to complete it within the sprint timeline without compromising the quality of other tasks. The Product Owner can then work with the CEO to prioritize the task appropriately and adjust the sprint backlog accordingly.

Option A, dropping a task of similar size, may not be the best solution as it could disrupt the balance of the sprint backlog and affect the overall progress of the project. Option B, blindly adding the task without any adjustments, could also lead to negative consequences such as delays or compromised quality.
Option D, proposing to prioritize the task in the next sprint, is a valid option but it would be more beneficial to collaborate with the Product Owner and CEO to determine the best course of action for the project as a whole.

8. Correct answer is C. Each Scrum artifact contains a commitment to ensure it provides information that enhances transparency and focus against which progress can be measured:

For the Product Backlog it is the Product Goal.
For the Sprint Backlog it is the Sprint Goal.
For the Increment it is the Definition of Done.

These commitments exist to reinforce empiricism and the Scrum values for the Scrum Team and their stakeholders.

9. Correct answer is B. Analogous estimating is a technique for estimating the duration or cost of a project or activity using historical data from a similar project or activity as a basis. By using historical data, the project manager can provide a high-level estimate to the sponsor without having to thoroughly analyze the project. This technique is often used when there is limited information available about the project or when there is a need for a quick estimate.

Parametric Estimates is a gross value estimating approach that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters such as cost, budget, and duration. Bottom-up Estimates is a method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the work breakdown structure (WBS). Random Estimates is a made-up word.

10. Correct answer is D. Affinity Diagram is used to group requirements from various sources and create a structured approach to managing them. It is used to gather a large amount of ideas, opinions, or issues from a group of participants in a short period of time. Participants then organize the information according to the natural relationships that exist within the information. This can help to streamline the requirements gathering process and ensure that all requirements are properly documented and tracked.

A minimum viable product (MVP) is the simplest version of a product or website with just enough features to satisfy early adopters, and only after considering feedback from the product’s initial users is the final, complete set of features designed and developed. A prototype is a functional model of a product given to customers for their feedback. Decomposition is a tool used to break work down into more detailed activities.