PSK-I Professional Scrum with Kanban (PSK 1) Exam Questions and Answers

Cycle Time measures the time taken to complete individual work items, and while some items might take longer than a Sprint, on average, teams aim to have Cycle Times shorter than the Sprint duration to ensure a smooth flow and regular delivery of value. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

While WIP is a crucial metric for Kanban teams, it is not a flow metric. Flow metrics measure the movement of work through the system, while WIP measures the amount of work currently in progress.

Here's a breakdown of the other options:

Cycle Time:The time it takes to complete a piece of work from start to finish.

Throughput:The rate at which work is completed.

Work item age:The amount of time a work item has spent in the system.

All of these metrics provide insights into the flow of work and can be used to identify bottlenecks and optimize the workflow.

Therefore, option B, "Work in Progress (WIP)," is the correct answer.

Scrum Teams using Kanban can start to increase predictability by reducing the amount of work in progress (WIP) through WIP limits. This approach helps to limit the number of items being worked on at any given time, thus reducing multitasking and context switching. It allows the team to focus on completing a few items before starting new ones, which directly impacts the flow of work and helps to predict when items will be completed. By controlling the WIP, teams can achieve a steadyflow of work, improve cycle times, and make more reliable forecasts about future deliveries

Professional Scrum with Kanban builds upon the core Scrum values to enhance flow and effectiveness within the team. The relevant values are:

•Courage: Encourages team members to address issues, experiment with changes in the workflow, and make adjustments transparently, even when facing uncertainty.

•Focus: Enhances the team's ability to concentrate on achieving the Sprint Goal and flow of work items by using Work in Progress (WIP) limits and other Kanban practices.

•Openness: Promotes an open environment where the team transparently shares information on work progress, obstacles, and opportunities for improvement, which is key for continuous inspection and adaptation in Kanban.

These values directly support the empirical process control and continuous improvement principles of Kanban

Throughput, which measures the number of items completed over a specific period, is essential forforecasting future delivery rates. By analyzing historical throughput data, Scrum Teams using Kanban can make informed predictions about how many items they can complete by a given date. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

A Kanban board is primarily used for visualizing the Workflow and managing WIP Limits. This visualization helps Scrum Teams make the flow of work transparent, track progress, and manage bottlenecks effectively. Limiting WIP ensures a pull-based flow, where new tasks are only started when there is available capacity, preventing overburdening the team. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

Work in Progress (WIP) and Work Item Aging are considered leading indicator metrics in Scrum with Kanban. Leading indicators are metrics that provide information that can help predict future outcomes or performance.

•Work in Progress (WIP): This metric indicates the number of work items currently being worked on and can provide early signals about potential bottlenecks or issues in the workflow. Managing WIP effectively can help teams optimize their flow and predict how work might proceed in the future.

•Work Item Aging: This metric shows how long work items have been in progress without being completed. It provides an early indication of delays and can help teams identify items that might need attention to maintain a steady flow

Limiting Work in Progress (WIP) is likely to increase rather than reduce collaboration within a Scrum Team. When WIP limits are enforced, team members are encouraged to "swarm" around fewer tasks, focusing on completing them together rather than starting new work. This promotes more collaborative behaviors, such as pairing or mob programming, to get work items done efficiently

Kanban for Scrum Teams maximizes value delivered by:

1.Enabling Tighter Empirical Feedback Loops via Faster Cycle Times (Option B):

Kanban practices help Scrum Teams reduce Cycle Times, which is the time it takes for a work item to move from "start" to "finish." Faster Cycle Times mean that feedback on work done is received more quickly, allowing the team to make necessary adjustments sooner. This rapid feedback loop enhances the empirical process control central to Scrum, thus ensuring that the team is always delivering value in line with the needs of stakeholders(

2.Optimizing the Flow of Value (Option C):

Kanban focuses on optimizing the flow of work through the team’s process. This is achieved by limiting Work in Progress (WIP) and actively managing flow metrics such as throughput and cycle time. By optimizing flow, teams can ensure that work items are completed efficiently and effectively, minimizing waste and maximizing the delivery of value to the customer(

The other options are less accurate:

•Option A: Minimizing time spent in meetings/events is not the primary goal of Kanban; rather, it is about optimizing flow and value delivery.

•Option D: Minimizing transaction costs is more related to Lean principles, but it does not directly address the value delivered as effectively as options B and C.

•Option E: Choosing higher-value items to deliver is part of prioritization, which is more related to Product Backlog management than to Kanban's specific practices

An SLE indicates the expected time frame within which work items should be completed, expressed as a percentage probability over a specific range of days. This helps Scrum Teams using Kanban to establish realistic expectations about delivery timelines. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​.

Work Item Age is the amount of time a work item has been in progress. It acts as a leading indicator for the length of the Scrum Team's feedback loop for that item. If a work item stays in progress for too long, it indicates that feedback is delayed, potentially impacting the team's ability to adapt and respond effectively. Tracking Work Item Age helps the team monitor flow and take timely actions to ensure that feedback loops remain short and effective

Cycle Time measures the time it takes for a single work item to go from start to completion. By understanding Cycle Time, a team can forecast when multiple items from the Product Backlog will likely be finished based on the average duration it takes to complete an item. This is essential in Kanban as it provides insight into the delivery timeline and is crucial for planning and predictability within a Scrum context. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​.

The Definition of Done (DoD) still applies even if policies are explicitly stated at each column of your workflow. The DoD is a fundamental concept in Scrum that ensures a shared understanding of what it means for work to be complete. Even with explicit policies at each stage of the workflow, the DoD provides a consistent standard for the team's deliverables, ensuring quality and alignment with stakeholder expectations

The Definition of Workflow should include policies that dictate how work flows through the system, such as Visualization policies, Pull policies, WIP Limits, Service Level Expectations, Work Item types, and the Definition of Done. These elements help the Scrum Team maintain transparency and consistency in their process, enhancing predictability and facilitating continuous improvement. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

When WIP limits are implemented, Developers are encouraged to focus on completing existing tasks rather than starting new ones. This leads to a more collaborative approach, as team members may swarm to complete items together. Additionally, limiting WIP enhances transparency in the process, which in turn strengthens self-management by the team. These principles align with Kanban’s emphasis on active management and the Scrum framework's focus on collaboration. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

When Developers reserve capacity for unplanned work during a Sprint, the Sprint Goal becomes even more crucial. It serves as the guiding objective that aligns the team's focus amidst uncertainties or when unplanned work is introduced. By having a clear Sprint Goal, the Developers can ensure that any new items brought into the Sprint Backlog still align with the overarching objective of the Sprint, helping them maintain focus and coherence in their efforts throughout the Sprint

If the Product Owner requests that an urgent, unplanned work item be added during the Sprint, and it aligns with the Sprint Goal but does not fit within the current WIP limits, the Developers should:

1.Add the urgent item to their Sprint Backlog but only start working on it when their WIP Limits allow it (Option A): This maintains the integrity of the WIP limits and ensures that the team doesn't overcommit or create too much work in progress, which could affect flow and focus.

2.Take on the urgent item as an exception to the WIP Limits and visualize that they are above their WIP Limit (Option C): By taking on the urgent item as an exception, the team can address the urgency while being transparent about the temporary breach of the WIP limits. This visualization helps the team and stakeholders understand the current state of work and its impact(

Options B (Adjust the WIP Limits) and D (Reject the urgent item) are less suitable because they either undermine the WIP control mechanism or fail to accommodate a potentially critical change that aligns with the Sprint Goal.

1.WIP Limits provide a boundary/container in which the Scrum Team self-manages (Option B):

WIP Limits establish clear boundaries within which the Scrum Team can make decisions about how much work they take on. This framework allows the team to self-manage their workflow more effectively, as they must decide collectively how to stay within these limits while delivering value.

2.As part of self-managing, Scrum Teams figure out their own WIP Limits (Option D):

A fundamental principle of Scrum is self-management. The team collectively decides its WIP limits, adjusting them based on empirical evidence and ongoing learning about their capacity, flow, and delivery capabilities. This decision-making process is a key aspect of the team's autonomy and self-management(

Options A and C are incorrect because WIP limits do not inhibit self-management (A); instead, they enable it. Additionally, a Scrum Master does not define WIP limits (C); the Scrum Team decides them.