In which year was the Agile Manifesto written?
Answer : 2001
The Agile Manifesto was written in February 2001 at Snowbird, Utah, by 17 signatories.
Questions and answers: Scrum & Agile
Revise Scrum & Agile: here is a selection of questions of every level, with the answer and an explanation. To test yourself without seeing the answers, play the quizzes.
Play the Scrum & Agile quizzesVery easy
What is the first value of the Agile Manifesto?
Answer : Individuals and their interactions over processes and tools
The manifesto values individuals and their interactions over processes and tools, without rejecting the latter.
In an agile approach, what does the “backlog” refer to?
Answer : The prioritized list of work to be done, most important items at the top
The backlog, or product backlog, is a list of work ordered by priority: what matters most is placed at the top.
What is a user story?
Answer : A short description of a feature, written from the user's point of view
A user story describes a need in the form ‘As a... I want... so that...’, and serves as the basis for the team's work.
On a Kanban board, what do the columns represent?
Answer : The stages of the workflow, from ‘to do’ to ‘done’
Each column is a stage of the flow: a card, which represents a task, moves from column to column until it is finished.
Among these definitions, which one describes Scrum?
Answer : A lightweight framework that organizes work into short iterations called Sprints
Scrum is a lightweight framework, not software or a standard; it organizes work into Sprints, fixed-length iterations.
What is the main difference between an agile method and a fixed plan?
Answer : An agile method accepts revising priorities along the way, based on real feedback
Agility favors adapting to change over strictly following a plan, without giving up planning.
What is the role of an iteration, or Sprint, in an agile approach?
Answer : Producing a usable result at short, regular intervals
At the end of each iteration, the team has a usable result, which can be shown to the customer and discussed with them.
Easy
How many roles does a Scrum Team have, according to the Scrum Guide (2020 edition)?
Answer : Three
A Scrum Team has three roles: it is cross-functional, usually ten people or fewer, and has no internal hierarchy.
Which role is responsible for managing the Product Backlog?
Answer : Product Owner
The Product Owner maximizes the value of the product and manages the Product Backlog.
What is the maximum length of a Sprint, according to the Scrum Guide (2020 edition)?
Answer : One month
A Sprint lasts one month or less; once started, its duration stays fixed.
What is the maximum duration of the Daily Scrum?
Answer : 15 minutes
The Daily Scrum lasts 15 minutes at most. It takes place every day, at the same time and in the same place.
Which event is used to inspect the Increment produced with the stakeholders?
Answer : Sprint Review
The Sprint Review focuses on the product; the Sprint Retrospective, on the other hand, focuses on how the team works.
What is the commitment attached to the Product Backlog?
Answer : The Product Goal
The Product Goal describes the future state targeted for the product: it is the commitment of the Product Backlog.
Which artifact has the Definition of Done as its commitment?
Answer : Increment
The Definition of Done, the shared definition of “done”, is the commitment attached to the Increment.
What is the commitment attached to the Sprint Backlog?
Answer : The Sprint Goal
The commitment of the Sprint Backlog is the Sprint Goal, the objective that the team wants to reach during the Sprint.
Medium
What is the main responsibility of the Scrum Master, according to the Scrum Guide (2020 edition)?
Answer : Ensuring the Scrum Team is effective and that Scrum is understood
The Scrum Master is a servant leader: they help the team, remove obstacles, and are not a project manager.
Who decides, within a Scrum Team, how the work of the Sprint is carried out?
Answer : The Developers, who self-manage
The Developers self-manage: they choose for themselves how to turn the Sprint Backlog into an Increment.
What is the Definition of Done?
Answer : A shared list of criteria that defines what completed work is
It sets shared criteria, common to the whole team, for an item to be considered finished.
What is the name of the objective that the team aims for during a Sprint?
Answer : Sprint Goal
The Sprint Goal is the commitment of the Sprint Backlog: it gives the team a shared purpose for the whole Sprint.
How many values does Scrum have, according to the Scrum Guide (2020 edition)?
Answer : Five
Scrum has five values, including commitment and courage, which guide day-to-day work.
Which of these Scrum values refers to devoting oneself to the work of the Sprint?
Answer : Focus
Focus means devoting oneself to the work of the Sprint and its goals.
Who can cancel a Sprint, according to the Scrum Guide (2020 edition)?
Answer : The Product Owner
Only the Product Owner can cancel a Sprint, and only if its objective becomes obsolete.
What is the maximum duration of Sprint Planning for a one-month Sprint?
Answer : 8 hours
For a one-month Sprint, Sprint Planning lasts eight hours at most; it is shorter for a shorter Sprint.
Hard
What is the main benefit of a work-in-progress (WIP) limit in Kanban?
Answer : Reducing the number of tasks open at the same time to smooth the flow
Limiting work in progress reveals bottlenecks and reduces the waiting time between stages.
In which company was the Kanban method originally developed?
Answer : Toyota
Kanban comes from Toyota's production system, where Taiichi Ohno developed it; ‘kanban’ means ‘card’ or ‘visual signal’ in Japanese.
Who formalized the Extreme Programming (XP) method?
Answer : Kent Beck
Kent Beck is the author of Extreme Programming, a method centered on technical development practices.
Which XP practice consists of writing the test before the code it must make pass?
Answer : TDD (test-driven development)
TDD, or Test-Driven Development, first writes a test that fails, then the minimal code to make it pass.
What is the name of the collective estimation where each person votes with a card, then the differences are discussed?
Answer : Planning Poker
In Planning Poker, each person votes with a card showing an effort value; the gaps between estimates lead to discussion.
What does a Scrum team's velocity measure?
Answer : The amount of work completed per Sprint, often in story points
Velocity is the amount of work completed in a Sprint, often expressed in story points.
In the INVEST criteria, what does the letter I stand for?
Answer : Independent
INVEST covers six criteria: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small and Testable. A story should, as far as possible, be independent of the others.
Which framework for agility at scale was designed by Dean Leffingwell?
Answer : SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)
SAFe, the Scaled Agile Framework, applies agile practices to large organizations; Dean Leffingwell designed it.
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