PMI DASSM - Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) Exam

In Disciplined Agile (DA), teams should first select the goal diagrams that are most relevant to their specific context and chosen lifecycle. DA provides guidance on choosing strategies and practices that are best suited to the team's unique situation, objectives, and constraints. While it's important to consider goals in which the team lacks experience (A) or that are selected by stakeholders (B), the most effective approach is to focus on those goals that align with the team's current context and lifecycle. Choosing goals that are the easiest to complete (C) might not necessarily contribute to the overall effectiveness or agility of the team.

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The Marketing process blade in Disciplined Agile is responsible for crafting an appealing roadmap of the organization's offerings in close conjunction with Product Management. Product Management helps define the product vision, strategy, and features, while Marketing ensures that these offerings are effectively communicated to the target audience. Options A (Portfolio management), C (Finance), D (Business Operations), and E (Control) do not primarily focus on this collaboration.

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In Disciplined Agile, the role of a DevOps Engineer is not necessarily filled by an operations person assigned to an Agile or Lean team. The DevOps role can be filled by individuals from either the development or operations side, or even someone with cross-functional expertise. The focus of the DevOps role is to foster collaboration between development and operations to enable continuous integration, delivery, and deployment. It is not limited to being an "operations person," but rather emphasizes the integration and collaboration needed to improve the flow from development to operations.

In the context of roles in Disciplined Agile (DA), it is true that a person may take on more than one role within a team. DA promotes flexibility and adaptability in team roles, allowing team members to wear multiple hats depending on their skills and the team's needs. Option A (highly specialized team members) contradicts DA’s principle of cross-functional teams. Option C incorrectly assigns the facilitator role to the Product Owner, and Option D does not accurately describe the Team Lead's responsibilities in DA.

While "Delight customers" is an important goal in agile and Disciplined Agile (DA) practices, it is not listed as one of the key principles to keep in mind when choosing and evolving a team’s Way of Working (WoW). The key principles are "Pragmatism" (A), "Choice is good" (C), and "Context counts" (D). These principles emphasize practical decision-making, recognizing that different situations require different approaches (choice is good), and tailoring the WoW to the specific context.

Disciplined Agile provides a solid foundation for business agility by (A) creating awesome teams that foster joy and (D) describing the trade-offs associated with a range of options. Creating awesome teams involves building a positive and productive team environment where team members are engaged, motivated, and empowered. Describing trade-offs allows teams to make informed decisions by understanding the implications of different practices and approaches. While "enforcing adherence to organizational standards" (C) and "defining a framework for agility at scale" (B) are part of Disciplined Agile, they are not specifically highlighted as primary ways DA fosters business agility.

Disciplined Agile (DA) encourages embracingdiversitybecause diverse teams bring a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, which can foster innovation and creativity. Diverse teams are better equipped to solve complex problems, adapt to changing environments, and meet varied customer needs. While diversity can sometimes lead to more challenging discussions, it ultimately contributes to higher-quality outcomes.

Options A (reaching consensus faster) and B (mandates) are not primary reasons within the DA framework. Option D (allowing everyone to do what they want) does not reflect a structured Agile approach.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

Disciplined Agile (DA) is best described as aprocess-decision toolkit. Unlike a prescriptive methodology or framework, DA provides a flexible toolkit that helps teams and organizations make informed decisions about their way of working based on their unique context. It offers guidance on various agile, lean, and traditional practices, and helps teams choose the most effective strategies for their situation. DA focuses on pragmatism and context-driven choice, encouraging teams to adopt and adapt practices that suit their specific needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach.

Reducing work-in-progress (WIP)is intended to increase focus, reduce lead time, and create a greater incentive to prioritize. It helps teams deliver value more quickly and efficiently by concentrating on fewer items at a time, minimizing context-switching, and reducing the chances of burnout.Option A isnota benefit of reducing WIP, as reducing WIP discourages multi-tasking between many high-priority items. In fact, reducing WIP aims to prevent multi-tasking, which is often counterproductive.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The Lean governance mindset in the Disciplined Agile framework promotes principles that help teams align their work with organizational objectives while maintaining agility and responsiveness. Key elements of a Lean governance mindset include promoting transparency (B), being servant leaders (C), learning continuously (D), and leading by example (E). These elements encourage a culture where leaders support teams, foster openness and trust, and model the behaviors they want to see in others.

However, "letting the team manage the risks" (A) is not part of a Lean governance mindset. While teams are encouraged to take ownership of their work, risk management is typically a shared responsibility that involves collaboration between the team and the broader organization. In Lean governance, risks are managed in a way that aligns with the organization's overall risk tolerance and strategic objectives, rather than leaving risk management solely to the team.

This understanding aligns with the Disciplined Agile approach, which emphasizes governance as an ongoing process that integrates learning, leadership, and transparency.