AgileBA® Foundation Exam Simulator

Rationale: The role is a leadership role rather than a management role and the person holding it will ideally be elected by his or her peers as a Team Leader. The Team Leader is responsible for ensuring that the Solution Development Team functions as a whole and meets its objectives. The person holding this role works with the team to plan and coordinate all aspects of product delivery at a detailed level. It is a leadership role because the person holding this position is elected by their peers as the best person to lead them through a particular stage of the project, as opposed to being appointed by management.

Rationale: DSDM recommends handling the development of models and prototypes collaboratively. Collaboration plays a significant role throughout the DSDM approach. In DSDM methodology, collaboration and the involvement of the necessary stakeholders are essential to ensure quality and success. DSDM promotes an iterative and collaborative approach, where frequent interaction and communication among stakeholders are emphasized. DSDM's approach advocates for the use of models to improve communication and to create or challenge ideas by making developing products visible. DSDM stresses the importance of using modelling to make ideas and situations visible, ranging from very informal to very formal models using specific notations. DSDM teams use models and prototypes to establish requirements, confirm expectations, and test the achievability of objectives. All this is done collaboratively to ensure the right processes are followed, and the right people are involved, reducing the risk of solitary errors. The development of models and prototypes is indeed done in collaboration, ensuring that all involved stakeholders understand the models and their benefits.

Rationale: In support of the DSDM principle, "Collaborate," the Business Visionary, Business Ambassador, and Business Advisor roles work closely with other roles in the project team but their primary goal is to bring the appropriate subject matter experts into the project. This ensures that the project has access to the necessary expertise to deliver the required outcomes. The Business Visionary, Business Ambassador, and Business Advisor roles act as a conduit between the business and technical aspects of the project and provide business context, goals, and objectives. These roles are not optional and are an essential component of DSDM to ensure that teams collaborate effectively, delivering value in each iteration.

Rationale: The Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ) is a checklist that is used to assess whether the success factors described are likely to be met, or whether action needs to be taken to counter the risk arising from any of them being undermined. The PAQ is first used during the Feasibility phase of the project to help shape the work of the Foundations phase. The PAQ is also used towards the end of Foundations to help finalize the approach to be taken by the project for development and delivery and to drive active management of the project risks. Therefore, the PAQ is used a second time in a DSDM project towards the end of the Foundations phase.

Downloads:

• The Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ)

Rationale: Initial estimates during Feasibility will be based on the limited information known about the project at this stage, but also on the experience of similar solutions in different projects. In AgilePM, estimates during the Feasibility phase are based on limited information about the project. During this phase, the high-level requirements haven't yet been fully defined, and so estimates have to be done "top down." Therefore, it is based on the Solution Development Team's experience of delivering similar solutions in previous projects. In addition to similar solutions, the Solution Development Team may consider risks, assumptions, and constraints when carrying out the estimates. The Solution Development Team may provide estimates as a range of values for both cost and duration.

Rationale: During the Evolutionary Development phase, all or part of the problem or opportunity is investigated and a partial solution is created, since each Evolutionary Development phase must always bring value to the business in the form of i.e. new functionalities/features to the solution being built.

Rationale: In DSDM, testing is not just a final product phase - testing should occur throughout the entire development process to catch errors early and ensure that the project is progressing as intended. Testing early and continuously allows the team to quickly identify any potential issues and fix them before they can become major problems. Consistent and early testing also helps the team to communicate and collaborate more effectively, as everyone is constantly aware of the status of the project.

Rationale: In DSDM, stakeholders must be prepared to accept that change is inevitable as they understand more about the solution being developed. DSDM emphasizes that the process of discovering the details of a solution is a self-correcting one, and that "change is inevitable."

Rationale: The Pre-Project phase is the initial phase of the AgilePM framework, and its primary objective is to create a proposal for a project and to place it in the context of other potential work to be, or already being, carried out by the organisation. One of the key activities of the Pre-Project phase is to scope, plan, and resource the Feasibility phase, which comes next in the AgilePM lifecycle. During the Feasibility phase, the project team assesses the viability of the project from both a business and a technical perspective, by investigating the potential solutions, costs, and timeframes. Therefore, the Pre-Project phase is essential for setting up the project correctly and aligning it with the organizational strategy, objectives, and priorities, while providing a clear justification and direction for the subsequent phases of the project.

Rationale: Bottom-up estimating is known to produce the most accurate estimates as it breaks down individual requirements into tasks needed to complete the work, providing more granularity and detail. The tasks associated with each requirement are then estimated individually, and these estimates are added together to provide an accurate estimate for that requirement. The result is a more precise and detailed estimation that takes into account all the tasks involved in developing specific features.

Rationale: The Foundations phase is aimed at establishing firm and enduring foundations for the project. In establishing the foundations, it is necessary to combine the business, solution, and management Perspectives, so the business, solution and management perspectives need to be combined. During the Foundations AgilePM phase, the project team needs to work in collaboration to establish the necessary groundwork to deliver a successful solution. This includes defining and understanding the business perspective of the solution needed by the end-users, the solution perspective of how to design, deliver and transition that solution, and the overall approach to project management and project governance. To be effective, the Business Perspective must have a voice in how the solution is designed and the Solution Perspective needs to have a voice when determining the project scope, timelines, and budgets. The Management Perspective is responsible for helping the project to stay on track and ensuring that there is overall focus on achieving the right level of transparency, quality, and control of progress.

Rationale: Regarding the Solution Architecture Definition (SAD), the statement that is true from the given options is option number 2 - "The Solution Architecture Definition (SAD) is an evolutionary product that contains the solution's business and technical aspects." The Solution Architecture Definition is an essential product that contains information on both technical and business aspects of the solution architecture. It is an evolutionary product that evolves with every stage of the project and is reviewed rigorously with every iteration. The Solution Architecture Definition is used to frame the development of the solution; however, it should not unnecessarily constrain the Iterative Development of the Solution. The content of the Solution Architecture Definition varies considerably from project to project, and caution should be taken when using standard templates for this document.

Rationale: Facilitated Workshops are an important technique in DSDM as they ensure buy-in and ownership of the plans, not only by the Project Manager and Team Leader but also by the wider project team and key stakeholders. These workshops provide a collaborative environment where everyone can contribute to the planning process, which helps to ensure that all viewpoints and knowledge are taken into account. Through facilitated workshops, different team members can express their opinions and ideas, which helps to ensure more accurate and detailed plans that are based on sound knowledge and experience.

Rationale: The MoSCoW rules have been cast in a way that allows the delivery of the Minimum Usable Subset of requirements to be guaranteed. This approach ensures that the essential requirements are prioritized and delivered, providing a solid foundation for the project's success.

Rationale: In DSDM , quality is established in partnership with the business and is agreed upon at the beginning of the project. This means that all work should be focused on delivering the agreed-upon level of quality, and no more or no less. The minimum usable subset is the set of features that are necessary to deliver a working solution. If the business agrees that this subset has been provided adequately, then the solution should be acceptable. This principle ensures that quality is maintained throughout the project lifecycle regardless of any changes to scope or requirements, and helps ensure that what is delivered is of value to the business.

Rationale: In the context of DSDM, project teams should approach estimation by using both Informed and Educated Guesses. DSDM recognizes that both approaches can be useful in different situations and that combining them can help to improve overall accuracy. Educated Guesses can be based on historical data and other sources of information, while Informed Guesses are based on current knowledge and experience. Using both approaches can help ensure that the project is on track and that the team is equipped to handle challenges as they arise. Relying solely on either Informed Guesses or Educated Guesses can limit the accuracy of estimations.

Rationale: The AgilePM Lifecycle used to describe the organization and governance aspects of the project is the Feasibility phase. This phase outlines essential governance and organizational elements of the project, detailing how the project will be managed and how DSDM practices and techniques will be applied. It sets the groundwork for the iterative and incremental development of the solution that follows in subsequent phases.

Rationale: DSDM says that features are a key control that can be adjusted during the project. One main principle of DSDM is to focus on delivering business value Increases throughout the project, which is usually done through completing specific features. In an DSDM project, a Prioritized Requirements List is as the name suggests, the prioritized list of features required by the stakeholders. The project team develops and delivers the features in set intervals called timeboxes. Since managing change and incorporating feedback are core to Agile, the features list can be re-evaluated and re-prioritized based on feedback and changing business needs throughout the project.

Rationale: The Business Advisor is an DSDM role that provides specialist input to solution development or solution testing by offering specific advice, guidance, and direction based on their specialism. They may come from a variety of backgrounds, with expertise in legal or regulatory compliance, business operations, or other relevant areas. By sharing their knowledge, experience, and insight with the Solution Development Team, they help ensure that the evolving solution meets business needs and objectives. While the Business Ambassador and Business Sponsor are also important roles within the DSDM framework, they are not primarily involved in providing specialist input to solution development or testing. Similarly, while the Business Visionary may help shape the overall vision and direction of the project, their role is more focused on high-level decision-making than on day-to-day technical or operational input.

Rationale: DSDM is an Agile project management approach that prioritizes business values and uses iterative and incremental delivery to deliver solutions in a timely mannerr. The framework is based on eight principles that promote collaboration, quality, timely delivery, and continuous communication between stakeholders. Delivering on time, on budget, or as promised are crucial success factors for a successful project outcome, but only one of them is a DSDM principle. The DSDM Principle that refers to timeliness is Principle 2: Deliver on Time, which promotes delivering the solution as early as possible and meeting intermediate delivery deadlines to demonstrate control over the solution's evolution. Therefore, delivering as promised, delivering always, or even delivering on a budget may not align with the DSDM principles if they compromise business needs or quality requirements. The DSDM principles aim to guide teams in delivering incremental and sustainable business benefits through a collaborative and flexible approach that welcomes change and prioritizes the needs of the business.

Rationale: Describing how quality will be assured is one of the objectives of the Foundations phase in the DSDM methodology. During this phase, the team works to establish the necessary structures and processes to ensure that the project is successful. This includes creating plans, defining roles and responsibilities, and establishing quality standards and processes to ensure that the solution meets the needs of users and stakeholders. By focusing on quality assurance early on in the project, the team can help identify and address any issues before they become major problems and ensure that the final solution meets or exceeds expectations.

Rationale: In DSDM, the Business Visionary role is responsible for providing the business perspective and ensuring that the solution's fitness for business purposes is defined and implemented. This role serves as an advocate for the desired outcomes and a single point of decision-making authority for the business and stakeholders, guiding the project team towards delivering value. They must have the passion, vision, and seniority to communicate effectively with the wider business organization and ensure that the project remains aligned with business goals. By understanding the customer's needs, they help the team deliver working solutions that meet the intended purpose. Overall, this role plays a critical part in maintaining the business's focus and helps ensure that the project delivers value to the organization.

Rationale: DSDM methodology offers guidance with team size, recommending a team size of between six and nine people. However, where team size is expected to exceed this, it may be beneficial to split the team into smaller teams to improve performance and enhance communication flow. However, splitting into teams introduces additional coordination overhead, and the Project Manager must take time to plan, risk-assess and manage this overhead. Hence, where a larger team needs to be split into smaller teams, there is a need for extra time planning so that adequate coordination across teams is maintained to avoid unnecessary delays or inappropriate decisions. The project manager should encourage active communication and collaboration among teams to foster positive working relationships. Moreover, DSDM guidance should not be ignored since its principles have been tested and refined over time across many projects, and provide a solid foundation on which to base an Agile project delivery approach.

Rationale: The DSDM methodology places high importance on the Foundations Summary product since it provides the first detailed insight into the DSDM project from both project management and solution delivery perspectives. The Foundations Summary product is the product developed in the Foundations phase, where the responses generated from the Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ) are used to shape this product using all three perspectives: Business (yellow), Management (blue), and Solution (green). As stated in the official Handbook, " The Foundations Summary may be expressed as a baselined collection of the products described above or as an executive summary covering the key aspects of each of them.", which means that other products such as Outlined Delivery Plan (which is covering just one perspective - Management) is part of bigger product, the Foundations Summary. Hence, The Foundations Summary document provides a #1 detailed understanding of the business need, #2 an outline of the proposed solution, #3 a description of the DSDM-based project delivery approach, and a summary of the development and management team roles and responsibilities. This document's output helps stakeholders understand the foundations and core principles of the project and informs their development of a more detailed delivery strategy, development plan, and deployment plan. Therefore, the DSDM Foundations Summary product provides the critical starting point for project management and solution delivery activities under the methodology.

Downloads:

• The Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ)

Rationale: DSDM takes an empowered team approach to task allocation and control, enabling team members to work collaboratively and make collective decisions. In this approach, team members are self-organizing and work together to determine who does what and how. This approach fosters creativity, and innovation and allows team members to use their skills and knowledge to accomplish their tasks most effectively. Although individuals may be responsible for specific tasks, team members are encouraged to take on a broader perspective and work together to accomplish team goals. The team's ethos is participatory, not hierarchical or directive, and fosters continuous communication among team members to ensure effective collaboration.

Rationale: Managing a DSDM project is about embracing change and adapting to it, while continuously monitoring and correcting the project's course to ensure that it remains focused on its ultimate goal. While deadlines are important, they are also flexible and can be altered in response to changing requirements or other unforeseen circumstances. The key is to maintain the overall direction of the project and to remain responsive to changing needs while also ensuring that progress towards the ultimate goal is being made. The role of the project manager is to provide guidance and support to the team, empowering them to take ownership of the project and to work collaboratively towards its success. Ultimately, the success of a DSDM project depends on the ability of the team to work together and remain focused on the desired outcome, even in the face of unexpected challenges and changes.

Rationale: According to DSDM, the Workshop Facilitator is responsible for managing the workshop process and is the catalyst for preparation and communication. The Workshop Facilitator ensures that the workshop is well-organized, that the required participants attend, that the right materials are available, and most importantly, that the participants focus on the workshop's objectives. For an DSDM project to succeed, workshops are employed to arrive at solutions quickly, seeking to involve the right stakeholders for fast decision-making. Alternatively, Teams only use traditional requirements-gathering techniques to shift to detailed documentation, which takes longer. The DSDM Coach provides advice to Agile teams on the Agile approach itself plus optional consultancy and mentoring to help optimize team performance.

Rationale: Among many other responsibilities, the Project Manager should make sure that some products are in place and are up to date at the beginning of each Timebox. The first is a properly formulated, up-to-date Delivery Plan to guide development, which provides baseline-level planning and establishes a project timeframe. The second product is a Timebox Plan that sets out how the work will be organized within each Timebox to deliver the end-of-Timebox objectives. The Timebox Plan provides information to the Project Manager, enabling him/ her to communicate expectations to the wider stakeholder group as well as giving him/her more detailed information on if and how the Solution Development Team planned their upcoming Timebox.

Rationale: During the DSDM Foundations phase, one of the three possible maintainability levels recommended is "deliver first, re-engineer later". This maintainability level is a strategic solution that acknowledges the need to deliver a solution quickly while recognizing that it will ultimately require re-engineering in the future to remain relevant and effective. With this approach, the solution is engineered to be usable enough for now to deliver the initial business value while still keeping it functional and effective until reengineering happens. This maintainability level is suitable for projects requiring early delivery of a working solution while allowing time to upgrade and maintain features in the future.

Rationale: Late delivery in DSDM can often undermine the project's underlying rationale, especially when there are market opportunities or legal deadlines involved. The consequences of late delivery can be severe, resulting in a significant loss of business opportunities, customer dissatisfaction, or even legal implications. Therefore, timely delivery is critical, and the DSDM Agile project manager is responsible for ensuring that every project member focuses on business priorities, always hits deadlines, timeboxes the work, and creates a realistic delivery plan. Late delivery is not acceptable in DSDM because it can have serious consequences for both the project and the business.

Rationale: Once the project is in the Evolutionary Development phase, up-to-date information is now available to update the current, ongoing Timebox Plan. The first Timebox Plan is usually created during the Foundation phase and refined during the Evolutionary Development phase, daily. It contains an outline of the high-level tasks that the Timebox needs to complete to achieve its objectives. During the Evolutionary Development phase, the detailed information collected from the previous phases is used to update and refine the planning of the next Timebox Plan. As the team has more information about the project tasks and schedule, it can estimate more accurately, incorporating changes, keeping the plan current, and making any necessary adjustments in response to feedback.

Rationale: The DSDM principle that an DSDM team upholds if they are seeking continuous business sponsorship and commitment is to prioritize requirements based on business value, a "Focus on the business need" principle. This principle helps ensure that the team focuses on delivering the most valuable features to the business and seeks their feedback and involvement throughout the project.

Rationale: DSDM reduces the chance of scope creep by establishing firm foundations which are approved by key stakeholders, not by refusing changes or fixing all requirements at the start of the project. DSDM recognizes that changes are inevitable and that scope creep can occur, therefore, it encourages the use of facilitated workshops, which help identify changes as quickly as possible. The use of incremental and iterative delivery ensures that changes can be incorporated in a controlled and timely manner. The use of regular reviews and prioritization of requirements allows the project to adapt to changes in priorities, and ensure that the most important features are delivered first.

Rationale: T-shaped people, have broader knowledge and can collaborate across different areas of a project, increasing team effectiveness, cooperation, and knowledge sharing. T-shaped people facilitate a better flow of information between different areas of the project, which can help in team collaboration, problem-solving, and achieving the project goals.

Rationale: The Team Leader works with the team to plan and coordinate all aspects of Product delivery at a detailed level. This role focuses on ensuring that the team effectively delivers the product according to the detailed requirements and specifications outlined in the Timebox Plans.

Rationale: In DSDM, the Project Manager is responsible for ensuring that the project is delivered on time, on budget, and to the agreed level of quality. As such, the Project Manager is expected to interact primarily with the project-level roles, such as the Business Analyst, Technical Coordinator, and Team Leader, to provide high-level direction, deal with planning and issue management, and provide oversight for the entire project. While the roles within the Solution Development Team are responsible for the day-to-day management and planning of the work needed to evolve the solution, the Project Manager must balance the empowerment of the Solution Development Team's roles, including the Team Leader, with the need to understand whether things are progressing smoothly. Therefore, the Project Manager is the DSDM role that focuses on the team to ensure on-time delivery of the agreed products.

Rationale: According to the DSDM, the role to whom the Timebox Plan provides information to enable him/her to communicate expectations to the wider stakeholder group is the Project Manager. The Timebox Plan is created during the Kick-Off or during the Timebox Review Meeting, of the previous Timebox. The Timebox Plan is a list of high-level features or functionality for the timebox and outlines the potential risk and the acceptance criteria.

Rationale: DSDM assesses progress by delivery of products to the appropriate and agreed level of quality (set during the Foundations phase). Completion of activities and tasks is important, but the focus is on delivering the required products. The product quality is agreed upon at the start, and all work is aimed at achieving that quality level, ensuring that quality does not become a variable. The Project Manager needs to ensure that the team prioritises the quality of higher priority requirements, ensure appropriate Timebox reviews are carried out, and that early and continuous testing is conducted.

Rationale: The Technical Coordinator ensures that the Solution Development Teams work consistently, maintain technical coherence, and meet the desired technical quality standards. This role focuses on the technical aspects of the project, ensuring that the teams adhere to the established technical criteria and standards. By overseeing the technical design authority, the Technical Coordinator plays a crucial role in ensuring that the project meets the desired technical quality standards.

Rationale: Establishing requirements early in the Feasibility and Foundations phases involves obtaining agreement on high-level baselined prioritized requirements from the Business Visionary and key stakeholders. This ensures that change can be embraced and controlled throughout the project. The detailed analysis of requirements is intentionally delayed to manage complexity and avoid unnecessary rework.

Rationale: According to the DSDM philosophy, empowerment is a critical attribute of any effective team. The spirit of DSDM is such that team members feel empowered to make decisions within their area of expertise. This collaborative approach ensures the optimal outcome by promoting cross-functional communication and ensuring everyone applies their knowledge and expertise as needed. However, it's essential to remember that empowerment isn't synonymous with giving members of the team complete freedom to do "whatever they want." Instead, it's about creating an environment where team members trust one another and are willing to collaborate to make the project a success. This includes meetings with higher or senior management. Everyone should feel comfortable speaking up for clarification or to challenge ideas, as thoughtful decisions sometimes need to be made to arrive at the best possible solution no matter whose idea it was. While not directly stated in the DSDM Handbook, it's all about company culture and terms such as job safety and psychological safety.

Rationale: The factors which have been found, in practice, to greatly improve the success of Facilitated Workshops is an effective, trained, independent Workshop Facilitator. The factor that has been found, in practice, to greatly improve the success of Facilitated Workshops is an effective, trained, independent Workshop Facilitator. The Workshop Facilitator is responsible for encouraging openness and participation, maintaining group focus and energy, and leading participants to a clear understanding of desired outcomes. They also ensure the workshops are run on time and plan, follow up on agreed actions, and produce a workshop report detailing decisions, actions, and outputs.

Rationale: The Business Analyst's second major responsibility, in addition to ensuring that the business needs are properly analyzed, is to ensure that these business needs are correctly reflected in the guidance provided to the team. This involves translating business requirements into actionable guidance for the Solution Development Team to generate the solution effectively.

Rationale: Face-to-face discussions with written-up minutes help in documenting important points discussed. Daily Stand-ups ensure regular updates on progress, fostering continuous communication and rich communication techniques such as modelling and prototyping.

Rationale: The DSDM framework promotes a collaborative and empowered culture, where the senior business management delegates decision-making authority to the whole Solution Development Team (SDT), where the Business Ambassador is part of the SDT. This means that the team members are not only responsible for their individual contribution, but also for the collective delivery of the project's objectives, and are empowered to make decisions on a daily basis within their agreed terms of reference. By doing so, the DSDM approach aims to reduce delays, bureaucracy, and miscommunication that may result from centralized control and approvals. However, delegation does not mean abandonment, and the senior business management remains accountable for the project's success criteria and benefits realization. Therefore, the DSDM framework also emphasizes regular communication, collaboration, and governance mechanisms to ensure that the right decisions are made at the right time, based on the relevant information and understanding of stakeholder needs and expectations.

Rationale: The Solution Tester should be fully integrated with the Solution Development Team (SDT), and test the solution in accordance with the Technical Testing Strategy. The Technical Testing Strategy defines the testing of non-functional requirements, such as system response times and throughput, capacity, availability, resilience, and recovery time objectives. This testing includes performance, security, usability, and compatibility testing.

Rationale: According to DSDM, the Team Leader plays a crucial role in ensuring that the team functions as a whole and meets its objectives. This involves coordinating all aspects of product delivery at a detailed level and working with the team to plan and execute tasks effectively. The Team Leader focuses on leadership rather than management, guiding the team towards achieving their goals collaboratively.

Rationale: The Project Manager manages and plans all aspects of the project at a high level through the use of Facilitated Workshops. The Agile Project Manager's role involves managing the project's different aspects to ensure timely and cost-effective project delivery while maintaining quality standards. However, Agile Project Managers manage the project differently from traditional project managers. Agile Project Managers adopt a more engaging role that allows for input from all team members, helping to identify problems and improve processes. Agile project management thrives on collaboration and the use of facilitated workshops for the decision-making process, making the Agile Project Manager responsible for ensuring the development team's input is considered in decision-making. The Project Manager is not responsible for delegating, coordinating, or controlling all the project management aspects. The Agile Project Manager's primary focus is on supporting individuals and teams to achieve high productivity and effectiveness levels.

Rationale: According to DSDM, the project/programme characteristics must be taken into consideration to configure the optimum lifecycle for delivery of early business benefits and risk mitigation. The lifecycle provides scalability from small projects to large enterprise-wide programmes. DSDM 's iterative and incremental framework is highly configurable, allowing individual configurations to depend on the size and formality of the project being delivered, and ensuring that the right lifecycle is chosen to deliver early business benefits while mitigating risks.

Rationale: As a project progresses through the different DSDM phases, learning occurs, and any attempt to freeze the scope will usually result in the project missing many of the stakeholders' key requirements. This highlights the importance of allowing the scope to evolve to ensure that the project meets the needs and expectations of all stakeholders involved.