PMI DASM - Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM) Exam

A well-written user story in agile practices, including Disciplined Agile, describesthe customer's perspective. User stories are short, simple descriptions of a feature or requirement from the point of view of the end user or customer. They are intended to capture the "who, what, and why" of a requirement, focusing on the value it delivers to the customer. This perspective ensures that the development team understands the real-world needs and motivations behind the features they are building, allowing them to create solutions that truly meet user needs.

The Disciplined Agile (DA) principle of being pragmatic is characterized by the focus on "being as effective as you can and continuously improving." According to PMI's Disciplined Agile Toolkit, being pragmatic means applying an agile mindset that is not constrained by a rigid set of rules or practices. Instead, it emphasizes being practical and outcome-focused, aiming for the best results in each unique context while continually seeking opportunities for improvement.

Disciplined Agile promotes pragmatic decision-making by suggesting that teams should balance their approach by being both goal-driven and situation-aware. This means that instead of strictly adhering to a single agile framework or methodology, teams should assess their situation, leverage their experience, and apply the most suitable tools and techniques available. Furthermore, continuous improvement (Kaizen) is a fundamental aspect, meaning teams should regularly reflect on their practices and make iterative enhancements to achieve effectiveness.

This principle also aligns with DA's guidance to "Optimize Flow" and "Be Awesome," as it encourages teams to deliver value while recognizing that every situation might require different tools, techniques, and practices. Thus, "D. Being as effective as you can and continuously improving" best captures the essence of DA’s pragmatic approach.

Along-standing teamis best suited for a long-term project with the potential for significant budgeting and tracking overhead. In Disciplined Agile (DA), a long-standing team is a stable, cross-functional team that remains intact over time and works on various projects or continuous delivery of value. This type of team reduces overhead associated with forming and disbanding teams and allows for more consistent tracking, budgeting, and management of resources. Additionally, long-standing teams develop stronger team dynamics and improve performance over time due to their stability.

B. A project teamis typically temporary and disbanded once the project ends.

C. A cross-functional teamis a characteristic of many Agile teams but does not specifically address the need for long-term stability.

D. A shared services teamsupports other teams by providing specialized skills but is not focused on long-term projects with budgeting needs.

InTeam Estimation, also known as relative estimation or silent grouping, the team first estimates the relative sizes of all user stories by comparing them against each other. The stories are arranged in order of size (smallest to largest) without initially assigning specific numbers. After ordering, numerical values (such as story points) are then assigned to each story based on their relative size. This method leverages group consensus and comparative analysis to provide more accurate estimates.

B. Ranking teams in order of importanceis not part of the Team Estimation process.

C. Defining "Definition of Done" criteriais a separate exercise, not related to estimating story size.

D. Estimating necessary rolesis not a part of Team Estimation.

Address Changing Stakeholder Needs:This process goal involves actively engaging with stakeholders to understand and respond to their evolving requirements, preferences, and concerns throughout the project's life cycle. This goal is dynamic and requires significant effort because stakeholder needs and priorities can change frequently, requiring continuous adjustment of the Agile strategy. Tailoring your strategy to effectively address these needs involves multiple activities, such as conducting frequentreviews, reprioritizing the backlog, aligning deliverables with stakeholder expectations, and incorporating feedback into the development process.

Why It Requires the Most Effort:

Dynamic Nature of Stakeholder Needs:Stakeholders’ needs are often unpredictable and can change rapidly due to market shifts, regulatory changes, or new business priorities. This requires Agile teams to be highly adaptive and frequently recalibrate their strategies.

Continuous Engagement and Communication:Maintaining an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, gathering feedback, and negotiating trade-offs consume considerable time and resources.

Alignment and Consensus Building:Repeated effort is needed to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned and that there is a consensus on the direction and scope of the project.

Incorrect Options:

A. Improve Quality:While improving quality is a significant goal in any Agile strategy, it is more focused on refining existing processes, techniques, and tools rather than continuously adapting to external changes. Thus, it may not require as much continuous effort in tailoring the Agile strategy.

C. Align with Enterprise Direction:This goal involves ensuring that the team’s work aligns with the broader organizational objectives. While important, it is generally a less dynamic activity compared to addressing changing stakeholder needs and may not require as frequent adjustments once alignment is initially achieved.

D. Explore Scope:Exploring the scope is an initial activity in an Agile project where the team works to understand the project's boundaries and deliverables. Although this requires effort at the beginning of the project, it is not a continuous effort throughout the project life cycle like addressing changing stakeholder needs.

Therefore,"Address Changing Stakeholder Needs"is the process goal that requires the most effort due to its dynamic nature and the continuous engagement required to adapt the Agile strategy to evolving conditions.