PMI PMI-ACP - PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

The correct answer is B — Chair a weekly team retrospective focusing on identifying areas for continuous improvement.

Retrospectives are a core Agile practice used to inspect and adapt the team’s process, foster self-improvement, and enhance performance. If productivity is flat, the best approach is to collaboratively reflect with the team to uncover bottlenecks, identify areas for experimentation, and implement process adjustments.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Retrospectives are a key feedback loop that allow the team to assess their performance and decide how to improve it. The retrospective is a cornerstone for continuous improvement and high-performing teams.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.8 – Retrospectives)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Rather than externally imposed metrics, agile teams should drive performance improvements through retrospectives where they inspect their own work and collectively identify opportunities for efficiency.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Incorrect options:

A is diagnostic but insufficient for process improvement without team involvement.

C introduces hierarchy and undermines team empowerment.

D introduces extrinsic motivation, which may damage team collaboration and intrinsic ownership.

Answer: B

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Sprint planning or any task-level technical meeting should involve thedevelopment team and the product owner, as they are the key players in delivering and clarifying work. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 3.3: Agile Roles and Responsibilities)andMike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance), the Scrum Master facilitates the meeting, while thedevelopment teamandproduct ownercollaborate on the details.

Option Dis correct: the core team (developers) and product owner are the correct participants for story elaboration and commitment.

Option AandCinvolve the customer and sponsor unnecessarily for a technical planning meeting.

Option Bincludes "key stakeholders," which may be overkill unless specific business input is needed.

The correct answer is A — Stakeholders should have regularly been engaged to obtain feedback and reduce the functionality risk.

In Agile, stakeholder engagement and iterative feedback loops ensure that the solution being built is aligned with business value. Simply meeting documented requirements is insufficient. Agile practices such as demos and user feedback sessions minimize the risk of building features that fail to deliver value.

PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile emphasizes ongoing stakeholder engagement. Demonstrating working software at the end of each iteration and gathering feedback ensures that the product is delivering business value.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths states:

“Value-driven delivery is achieved not just by delivering what was asked for, but by ensuring it actually meets customer needs. Regular feedback from stakeholders is critical to avoid building low-value features.”

(PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 3 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Incorrect options:

B refers to the lean principle of “decide as late as possible,” but feedback, not delay, would have addressed the issue.

C is unrelated to this context.

D lacks the collaborative engagement approach emphasized in Agile.

Answer: A

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Distributed or remote teams are common in modern agile environments. According to thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 4.4 Working with Distributed Teams)and thePMBOK® Guide (6th Edition, Section 10.1), the agile practitioner mustenable effective collaboration among all team members regardless of location. The guide recommends usingvideo conferencing, collaborative workspaces, shared boards, and communication toolsto simulate the benefits of co-location.

Mike Griffiths, in hisPMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 3: Team Performance), supports the use ofcollaboration toolsto foster team cohesion and support agile values like communication and transparency, even when teams cannot be physically co-located.

Option Ais correct: collaboration tools bridge the gap in distributed environments.

Option BandDpromote siloing or team hierarchy, which undermines agile unity.

Option Cmoves away from agile values by emphasizing documentation over interaction.

The correct answer is B — Establish a live video feed between the dispersed teams to enable spontaneous engagement and collaboration on issues.

Agile encourages face-to-face communication as the most effective form of knowledge sharing. For distributed teams, this means using video conferencing, virtual whiteboards, and real-time collaboration tools to replicate co-located team dynamics. This improves clarity, reduces misinterpretation, and accelerates problem-solving.

PMI Agile Practice Guide states:

“For distributed teams, using video conferencing, shared tools, and real-time collaboration platforms helps bridge communication gaps and maintains team cohesion. Face-to-face communication, even via video, remains the most effective method.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 — Stakeholder Engagement)

Mike Griffiths also notes:

“Distributed teams must invest in communication technologies to reduce barriers. Real-time, visual communication enables faster resolution of issues and a shared understanding of tasks.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep, Chapter 4 — Team Performance)

Incorrect Options:

A involves centralized control and status reporting — not Agile.

C demands co-location, which may not be feasible.

D accepts poor performance instead of addressing root causes.

Answer: B

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When a team reports that user stories are unclear or lack sufficient detail, the correct agile response is to fostercollaborative refinement and shared understanding. Auser story workshopis a well-recognized practice that involves the team and product owner collaborating to write, clarify, and refine stories. This is supported by thePMI Agile Practice Guide (Section 5.2: User Stories and Backlog Refinement), which recommends story-writing workshops as a proactive way to clarify requirements.

Mike Griffiths in thePMI-ACP Exam Prep Book (Chapter 6: Adaptive Planning)notes that good agile teams collaboratively refine stories in grooming sessions or workshops to ensure shared clarity and alignment.

Option Cis correct: a workshop enables both the team and product owner to collaborate in improving story clarity.

Option Aoversimplifies the solution—acceptance criteria alone don’t fully define a story.

Option Bmisuses the retrospective, which is for process improvement, not story editing.

Option Descalates prematurely and undermines team ownership and collaboration.

The correct answer is D – Stop updating the documentation and initiate an analysis to identify its value and act on the findings.

Agile promotes the creation of “just enough” documentation. If a document isn’t being used and adds no value, the team should reflect on whether to discontinue or improve it. Retrospectives are the appropriate venue to identify such inefficiencies and implement continuous improvement.

From the Agile Manifesto (referenced in PMI Agile Practice Guide):

“Working software over comprehensive documentation.”

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile teams minimize non-value-added work. If documentation is not being used or reviewed, teams should examine whether it is necessary, and if not, discontinue or replace it.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 7.1 – Continuous Improvement)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Documentation should serve a purpose. If stakeholders do not find value in it, the team should discontinue or refactor it to meet actual needs.”

(Mike Griffiths, PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book, Chapter 7 – Continuous Improvement)

Why the other options fall short:

A prolongs the wasteful practice unnecessarily.

B lacks the analysis needed before eliminating documentation.

C enforces process over value, which contradicts Agile principles.

Answer: D

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The correct answer is A because an Agile leader, such as a Scrum Master, is a servant-leader and facilitator. The Scrum Master supports the development team by helping remove impediments and facilitating healthy team dynamics. When there is misalignment or interpersonal conflict, the Scrum Master should help the team explore the root causes and encourage self-directed resolution.

From PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Agile coaches facilitate conflict resolution by helping individuals understand each other’s perspectives and guiding them to collaborative solutions. The goal is to promote team ownership of outcomes and reinforce healthy communication.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 6.3 – Facilitating Agile Practices)

From Mike Griffiths’ PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book:

“The role of the Scrum Master is not to direct or micromanage the team, but to facilitate communication and remove barriers that prevent team members from collaborating effectively. In conflict scenarios, the Scrum Master should help the team uncover the root issue, then allow them to resolve it constructively.”

(Mike Griffiths, Chapter 4 – Team Performance)

Option B is slightly less effective than A because it escalates to the whole team before trying a focused resolution.

Option C abdicates responsibility and may allow conflict to worsen.

Option D contradicts agile’s emphasis on self-organizing teams.

Answer: A

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As a servant leader, the agile coach’s role is to support and empower the team, helping them overcome obstacles that hinder their progress. In this case, the coach should focus on identifying and removing any impediments that are slowing down the work, whether they are technical, process-related, or communication-based. This approach enables the team to work more efficiently, enhances their ability to self-organize, and ensures they can deliver high-quality results. Simply adjusting the work plan or assigning more resources may not address the underlying issues, and a command-and-control approach is counterproductive in an Agile environment.

To improve collaboration, it's essential that the team members understand the importance of the project vision statement and feel empowered to contribute. Setting clear expectations ensures that all participants know the purpose of the meeting and their role in contributing. By encouraging everyone to share their ideas and perspectives, the team can reach a consensus or at least acknowledge differing views in a constructive way. This fosters a collaborative environment where team members feel their input is valued.