PMI Updated PMP Exam Questions and Answers by raife

 In an agile team retrospective, when a concern about degrading code quality is raised, it is essential for the project manager to address this issue proactively to prevent future rework and maintain the project’s manageability. The most effective action the project manager can take is to help the team create or refine the Definition of Done (DoD). The DoD is a clear and concise list of criteria that outlines when a task, user story, or feature is considered complete. It ensures that all team members have a shared understanding of what is required for a piece of work to be ready for delivery, which includes meeting the quality standards.

By focusing on the DoD, the team can improve its delivery quality by making sure that all aspects of code quality are addressed before a task is marked as done. This approach promotes better quality assurance practices and reduces the likelihood of defects and technical debt accumulating over time, which aligns with the core agile principles of transparency, learning, and iteration. It also encourages continuous improvement and helps the team to deliver high-quality increments consistently.

The project manager should inform the sponsor and document the request in the stakeholder engagement plan, as this is the best way to handle the situation without compromising the project scope, budget, or schedule. The sponsor can then decide how to deal with the key stakeholder’s request, and the project manager can update the stakeholder engagement plan accordingly. This will also help the project manager to maintain a positive relationship with the key stakeholder and avoid any potential conflicts or misunderstandings.

According to the PMBOK Guide, project collaboration is the shared effort to achieve a common goal. It involves effective communication, consistent processes, and the right project collaboration tools. One of the best practices for project collaboration is to organize regular meetings with all of the stakeholders to share information, feedback, and solutions. This helps to avoid duplication of work, resolve conflicts, and improve efficiency. By meeting regularly with the deployment teams, the project manager can ensure more collaboration and alignment among them. References: (Professional in Business Analysis Reference Materials source and documents)

PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition, Chapter 3: The Role of the Project Manager, Section 3.7: Project Manager Competencies, Subsection 3.7.2: Leadership Skills, Page 62

Project Collaboration: 6 Tips for Success | The Workstream, Atlassian, Accessed on January 29, 2024

9 Tips and Best Practices for Effective Project Collaboration | ClickUp, ClickUp, Accessed on January 29, 2024

Servant leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on serving the needs and interests of the team members, rather than imposing authority or control over them. Servant leaders empower, coach, and facilitate their teams to achieve the project goals, while fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. According to the Professional in Business Analysis Reference Materials1, servant leadership is one of the key competencies for project managers, especially in agile environments, where teams are expected to be self-organizing, adaptive, and customer-centric.

In this scenario, the project team evaluated the product’s feasibility of functionality and accelerated testing, which implies that they are following an agile approach to deliver the product incrementally and iteratively, based on customer feedback and value. A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of the product that has enough features to satisfy the customer’s needs and provide feedback for future development. Finding the MVP is a common practice in agile projects, as it helps to reduce waste, optimize resources, and validate assumptions.

Therefore, the best option for the project manager as a servant leader is to support the team as necessary to find the MVP. This means that the project manager should:

Provide the team with the necessary tools, resources, and guidance to conduct the feasibility and testing activities.

Remove any impediments or obstacles that might hinder the team’s progress or performance.

Encourage the team to collaborate and communicate effectively with each other and with the customer.

Facilitate the team’s learning and improvement through feedback, reflection, and experimentation.

Recognize and appreciate the team’s efforts and achievements.

By supporting the team as necessary to find the MVP, the project manager can demonstrate servant leadership, and help the team to deliver a valuable and quality product to the customer, while meeting the project constraints and expectations.

The other options are not the best choices, because:

Amend the project budget to include MVP testing: This option implies that the project manager is not following the approved schedule management plan, and is making changes to the project scope, cost, and baseline without proper justification or authorization. This could create confusion, conflict, or resistance among the project stakeholders, and jeopardize the project success. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not address the needs or interests of the team or the customer.

Submit a change request to the project sponsor for accelerated testing: This option implies that the project manager is not following the agile principles and practices, and is relying on a formal and bureaucratic process to manage changes in the project. This could slow down the project delivery, reduce the team’s autonomy and flexibility, and undermine the customer’s satisfaction and trust. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not empower or facilitate the team to find the MVP.

Develop the product as per the schedule to perform integration and testing: This option implies that the project manager is ignoring the team’s evaluation and feedback, and is sticking to a rigid and predetermined plan to deliver the product. This could result in a product that does not meet the customer’s needs or expectations, or that has unnecessary or unwanted features. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not support or involve the team in finding the MVP.