Question 1

Lean Coffee

Accepted Answer

Imagine yourself in a dynamic Scrum team, where open communication and collaboration are essential for success. That's where the Lean Coffee technique comes in, bringing a touch of magic to your discussions. It all begins with each team member jotting down their thoughts and ideas on colorful sticky notes. These notes are then organized and prioritized using a group voting system, ensuring everyone's voice is heard.

Now comes the exciting part: the conversations! Each topic is given its moment in the spotlight, with a fixed time frame set by the team per topic. This ensures a fair balance, preventing any one person or topic from dominating the stage. By embracing this iterative approach, you dive deep into the most relevant and valuable topics, uncovering hidden gems along the way.

But it doesn't stop there. Lean Coffee empowers your team to make the most of their precious meeting time, channeling their energy into focused discussions that truly matter. This technique brings out the best in your team, fostering a sense of togetherness and shared purpose. So let the Lean Coffee aroma fill the room, and watch as your Agile team flourishes with each sip of conversation.

Question 2

Evidence Based Management

Accepted Answer

Evidence-based Management refers to a decision-making approach that relies on objective and verifiable evidence, data, and research to inform and guide managerial actions and choices within an organization.

By using rigorous analysis and empirical evidence, this approach seeks to minimize biases and subjectivity, leading to more informed and effective decision-making.

It emphasizes the integration of scientific findings and real-world factual data to optimize organizational processes, enhance performance, and achieve desired outcomes.

Also see: Empiricism

Question 3

PDCA

Accepted Answer

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is an iterative problem solving framework developed around 1950s by Edward Deming.

PDCA is used to improve processes, products, and services, by improving upon quality, reliability, productivity, and effectiveness. PDCA is an improvement cycle, and is also known as dynamic improvement.

Plan: Involves gathering data, defining the issue, and identifying potential solutions.

The PDCA cycle is repeated until the desired improvement is achieved.

Question 4

Self-Managing Team

Accepted Answer

A self-managing team is empowered to internally decide who does what, when, and how. It is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects / decisions of planning and producing a product or delivering a service.

Self-Management requires the team members must be empowered and kept shielded from hierarchy.

See also: Self-Management, Scrum Team

Question 5

Antipattern

Accepted Answer

An antipattern is solution applied to a particular problem that is considered harmful or undesirable, but is used on a regular basis.

An antipattern can be applied to a process, product design, company policy of an org, etc. A key characteristic of antipatterns is that they are used in situations where other, better, alternatives exist.

Antipatterns can include such practices as over-engineering, reinventing the wheel, establishing too many dependencies, overcomplicating the situation and adding more complexity to a situation.

Question 6

Design Thinking

Accepted Answer

Design Thinking is a human-centered approach to solving complex problems. Design Thinking consists of five key steps to creating better solutions:

Emphathize: Understand needs of the end user
Define: Define end user / customer persona(s)
Ideate: Brainstorm ideas, narrow down possible solutions
Prototype: A visual-interactive mock-up of an idea, created to test an early stage idea, and gather user's feedback.
Test: Invite feedback, insights and analyze the effectiveness of the chosen prototype.

Question 7

Developers

Accepted Answer

Developers are cross-functionally skilled people in the Scrum Team who contribute to develop a usable Increment each Sprint.

The Developers are accountable for:

Planning the Sprint work;
Execution and adapting their plan each day toward the Sprint Goal;
Creating a quality Increment that adhers to their Definition of Done;
Holding each other accountable as professionals.

Question 8

Story Mapping

Accepted Answer

User Story Mapping is a holistic visual representation of how all the user stories fit into the overall user experience.

A 2-Dimensional story map can help understand the sequence of activities of a system, identify gaps in the product backlog, and plan releases that deliver customer value.

The goal is not to create a raodmap, rather, change people’s mindset from gathering and writing detailed requirements to building shared understanding.

A sample User Story Map: (Source: Jeff Patton)

Question 9

Systems Thinking

Accepted Answer

Systems thinking is an approach to solving complex problems that seeks to understand the system as a whole, recognizing patterns and considering connections.

Systems thinking recognizes that complex systems are made up of not just parts, but also of interactions and rules. These rules are important decisions that guide the behavior of the system.

Systems thinking also recognizes relationships between parts and that relationships between parts influence each other.

A systems thinking approach focuses on a system’s properties, such as its relationship to other elements in the system, and the relationships among these elements and behavior of the system as a whole.

An excellent reference on Systems Thinking is the book 'The Fifth Discipline' by Peter Senge. In it, Peter describes 11 laws:

Today’s problems come from yesterday’s ‘solutions.’
The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.
Behavior will grow worse before it grows better.
The easy way out usually leads back in.
The cure can be worse than the disease.
Faster is slower.
Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.
Small changes can produce big results…but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.
You can have your cake and eat it too—but not all at once.
Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.
There is no blame.

Developing Systems Thinking improves the ability of leaders, coaches, Product Owners and Scrum Masters to holistically solve the problems at hand, rather than solving the symptoms.

Question 10

Scrum Events

Accepted Answer

Scrum combines four formal events within a containing event, the Sprint. (That makes total 5 Scrum Events)

Four formal Scrum Events are:

Sprint Planning
Daily Scrum
Sprint Review
Sprint Retrospective

Scrum Events are a formal opportunity to inspect and adapt the Scrum artifacts. Missing any event(s) results in lost opportunities to inspect and adapt.

Events are used in Scrum to create regularity and to minimize the need for meetings not defined in Scrum.

Scrum events are designed to provoke change

Question 11

Incremental Development

Accepted Answer

Incremental Development is a software development approach that focuses on delivering value (even if small portion of the overall product) early to seek customer's feedback. Based on the customer feedback, builds additional features on earlier versions of the product. Each increment adds up in value and is more valuable from the previous increment.

Also see: Increment

Question 12

Lean Waste

Accepted Answer

Lean waste is a type of waste that relates to non-value added activities in processes, communication, information sharing, product features etc.

Any non-value add activities that a team undertakes, is a lean waste and such waste is detrimental to any organizaiton, as it creates delays in value creation and increases cost.

8 Types of Lean Wastes are:

Work-In-Progress, Inventory, Partially Done Work
Over Production, Extra Features
Extra Processing, Relearning
Transportation, Handoffs
Delays
Task Switching, Motion
Defects
Unused Talent

Also see: Lean Thinking

Question 13

Cross-Functional Team

Accepted Answer

A Cross-Functional team comprises of people with all the needed functional skills needed to translate the work planned for a sprint in to a Done Increment without being dependent on people outside this team.

While experts at their primary skill, members of a cross-functional team may also develop competence at a secondary skill (not necessarily all the skills) to become more valuable for the team.

Also Refer: Scrum Team

Question 14

Product Roadmap

Accepted Answer

Product Roadmap visually represents the strategy and vision of the Product Owner. It may contain the high level requirements in order of customer value, and the direction of the product over time.

Question 15

Sprint Review

Accepted Answer

Sprint Review is the opportunity to inspect the increment (outcome of the sprint) and adapt the product backlog. The Scrum Team presents the results of their work to key stakeholders and progress toward the Product Goal is discussed. Participants collaborate on what to do next.

The Sprint Review is the second to last event of the Sprint.

Question 16

Facilitation

Accepted Answer

Facilitation is an intervention through which a group improves the way it communicates, examines and addresses problems, and makes decisions.

A neutral and unbiased facilitator would create the environment, design the structure and may use various facilitation techniques to help a group improve it's effectiveness.

Question 17

Scrum Team

Accepted Answer

The fundamental unit of Scrum is a small team of people, a Scrum Team. The Scrum Team is a cohesive unit of professionals focused on one objective at a time, the Product Goal.

The Scrum Team consists of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers.

Scrum Teams are cross-functional, self-managing, small (10 members or less).

Also Refer: Self-Managing Team, Cross-Functional Team, Feature Teams

Question 18

Kaizen

Accepted Answer

Kaizen is a Japanese terms referring to incrementally achieving excellence through the relentless and endless pursuit of perfection.

In a business context Kaizen is continuous improvement of processes, operations and functions involving all employees.

Kaizen is Change for the Better.

Also see: Lean Thinking, Lean Waste, A3 Problem Solving, Lean Product Development, Value Stream Mapping.

Question 19

Spike

Accepted Answer

Spike (concept originating from Extreme Programming) may be considered a type of a Product Backlog Item that is usually focused on research, exploration and investivation activity.

The purpose of a spike may be to explore the technical feasibility or create a quick proof of concept to gain better understanding about a particular requirement.

Since a Spike does not directly deliver stakeholder value, and due to unknown nature of the work involved, a spike should be subjected to a time-box.

The knowledge gained during this time-box (effort spent) should be presented at the Sprint Review and based on it the Product Owner may decide whether to puruse this feature / technology further or not. If the Product Owner decides to pursue it further, they may write a fresh Product Backlog Item and add it to the Product Backlog.

Also see: Product Backlog Item, User Story, Product Backlog Refinement

Question 20

Toyota Production System

Accepted Answer

Toyota Production System (TPS) is a management system developed by Toyota that comprises its management philosophy and practices.

Toyota identifies TPS as a framework for conserving resources by eliminating waste. People who participate in the system learn to identify uses of material, effort and time that do not generate value for customers. It aims towards lasting gains in productivity and quality with a commitment to positive change".

Two conceptual pillars:

Just-in-Time: Building only what is needed, only when it is needed, and only in the amount that is needed.

Principles:

Continuous improvement
Respect for people
Long-term philosophy
Develop the right process
Develop your people and partners
Continuously solve root problems

Many of the Lean ideas and Agile Frameworks including Scrum are based on or inspired by TPS.