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

In Disciplined Agile, the "Construction" phase is where a consumable solution is developed incrementally and collaboratively. This phase is focused on creating working software or products in small, manageable increments, incorporating feedback, and ensuring that the solution evolves to meet customer needs. The Construction phase emphasizes collaboration, incremental development, and continuous integration to build a high-quality product iteratively.

Options A (Execution) and D (Transition) do not accurately describe the phase focused on collaborative and incremental solution development. Option B (Inception) refers to the initial phase where the scope, vision, and feasibility of the project are established.

References:

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

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

The primary benefit of DevOps, within the context of Disciplined Agile, isreduced cost of deployments. DevOps is a set of practices that aims to shorten the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality. In DA, DevOps practices facilitate seamless integration and continuous delivery of code changes, enabling more frequent and reliable releases to production.

By automating and streamlining deployment processes, DevOps reduces the manual effort, time, and errors associated with deployments, which, in turn, lowers the overall cost. This aligns with the Disciplined Agile principle of "optimize flow across the entire value stream," which emphasizes efficient and cost-effective delivery of value.

Additionally, reducing the cost of deployments leads to other secondary benefits such as improved quality (due to more frequent testing and feedback loops) and greater agility (by enabling quicker response to changing market or customer needs). Therefore, while other options may seem beneficial, the most direct and primary benefit associated with DevOps is indeed the reduced cost of deployments.

We can identify our challenges "by visualizing our workflow to identify what blocks it." Visualizing the workflow, such as through a Kanban board or value stream map, helps teams see where bottlenecks, delays, or inefficiencies occur. This visualization makes it easier to pinpoint problems and areas for improvement. While holding retrospectives (B), finding where frustrations arise (C), and trying good practices to identify failures (D) are all valuable techniques, visualizing workflow is a foundational Lean practice for identifying and addressing challenges in real time.

The primary purpose of a Community of Practice (CoP) in the Disciplined Agile (DA) framework is to share knowledge among a group of like-minded people. CoPs bring together people who share a common interest or practice, enabling them to exchange insights, experiences, and best practices to enhance their collective expertise. Options B (bringing all the experts together) and D (mentoring, coaching, and guiding others) are secondary benefits but not the primary purpose. Option C (selling a competency) does not align with the purpose of a CoP.

The Lean life-cycle model is based on a continuous flow of work. In Disciplined Agile, Lean focuses on minimizing waste, delivering value continuously, and optimizing the entire value stream. Unlike other models like Waterfall, which follow a sequential approach, or Agile models, which may focus on iterative increments, Lean emphasizes a smooth, steady flow of value to the customer. Continuous Delivery Agile also involves a continuous flow, but "Lean" specifically is the framework built around this concept. Therefore, "D. Lean" is the correct answer.

The Minimum Business Increment (MBI) is a tool used in Disciplined Agile to sequence work in a way that delivers value quickly. An MBI represents the smallest piece of functionality that delivers business value to customers or stakeholders, and it is fully usable upon release. By focusing on MBIs, teams can prioritize work that maximizes the delivery of value, ensures faster feedback, and enables quicker realization of benefits.

Options A (Planning Poker) and C (Minimum Viable Product, MVP) are related to estimation and product development strategies, while Option C (WIP limits) focuses on managing workflow efficiency rather than directly sequencing work for quick value delivery.

References:

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

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

For a long-term project with potential for significant budgeting and tracking overhead, the Scrum Master should set up a long-standing team. According to the Disciplined Agile framework, long-standing teams are stable teams that remain intact across multiple projects or over a long duration. These teams are cross-functional, meaning they have all the necessary skills to deliver value and are more likely to develop high levels of collaboration and productivity over time. While cross-functional teams (B) are a necessary characteristic, "long-standing team" (A) is the best answer for a long-term project with significant overhead, as it implies continuity and sustained team dynamics. A project team (C) is typically formed for a short-term, specific project and disbanded afterward. A shared services team (D) provides specialized skills and services to various teams and is not typically suited for the dedicated effort required by long-term projects.

The correct answer isB. Agile Documentation. In the context of the Disciplined Agile (DA) toolkit, Agile Documentation is the process blade most likely to address the need to provide employees and customers with more information about an organization's products and services.

Agile Documentationis a process blade within the DA toolkit that focuses on creating and maintaining documentation that adds value to the team and the organization. The goal is to ensure that the documentation is just sufficient, meaning that it is only created when it is needed and at the appropriate level of detail. The Agile Documentation blade helps teams and organizations develop and share information effectively, which is crucial for helping both employees and customers understand and take advantage of what the organization offers.

Why Agile Documentation is the Correct Answer:

Provides Relevant Information:Agile Documentation emphasizes producing the right amount of documentation to meet the needs of stakeholders. This could include product manuals, user guides, FAQs, and other resources that help customers and employees better understand the products and services.

Maintains Up-to-Date Information:Agile Documentation encourages keeping the documentation current and relevant, ensuring that the provided information reflects the latest state of the organization's offerings.

Supports Communication and Understanding:By making information available in a clear and concise manner, Agile Documentation helps bridge knowledge gaps between the organization and its customers or employees, enhancing their ability to leverage the products and services.

The other options are less applicable:

C. Support:While the Support blade might handle customer inquiries and provide assistance, it does not focus on proactively providing information about products and services.

D. Reuse Engineering:This is related to managing reusable assets (e.g., code, components) but not about documentation or providing information.

E. Enterprise Architecture:This focuses on the strategic alignment of IT and business goals, not on providing information to end-users or employees about products and services.

Therefore,B. Agile Documentationis the most appropriate choice for addressing the need to provide employees and customers with more information about the organization's products and services, according to the Disciplined Agile framework.

Business Agility is the ability of an organization to adapt quickly and effectively to market and environmental changes, responding with innovative solutions and maintaining competitiveness. This concept involves a broader strategic capability beyond just implementing agile processes; it requires an organization-wide mindset of flexibility, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Options A, B, and D reflect narrower or less comprehensive aspects that do not fully encompass the broader concept of Business Agility.

According to the I.N.V.E.S.T. mnemonic, a good user story should be:

Independent:Can be developed and delivered without dependencies on other stories.

Negotiable:Flexible in details and open to discussion.

Valuable:Must deliver value to the customer or end-user.

Estimable:Can be estimated to gauge effort required.

Small:Sized appropriately to be completed within an iteration.

Testable:Should have clear criteria to determine whether the story is complete.

"Valuable" is a key characteristic that ensures the user story contributes to the product's value. Options A (Incremental), C (Tangible), and D (Satisfactory) are not part of the I.N.V.E.S.T. mnemonic.

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.