Free Practice Questions for PMI PMI-ACP Exam

As the project team scales and expands to build a business-critical platform, having a work collaboration platform is the most effective way to ensure that the team can work toward a common goal and communicate efficiently. Such a platform centralizes communication, document sharing, task tracking, and collaboration, which is essential for maintaining alignment, especially as the complexity of the project increases. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or similar platforms allow for seamless communication and collaboration, even across distributed teams, making it easier to manage and track progress, share knowledge, and keep everyone on the same page.

In agile environments, planning should be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Just-in-time (JIT) refinement refers to the practice of refining the backlog and details of the product features as they become more relevant, rather than attempting to plan everything upfront. This allows the team to respond to changes and new information as they emerge, which aligns with agile principles of iterative development and adaptability.

The correct answer is C – Create an environment of continued learning by providing opportunities for team members to develop their skills as generalized specialists.

Agile encourages the concept of “T-shaped” team members—individuals who have deep expertise in one area and broad skills across multiple areas. Promoting cross-skilling and continued learning reduces risk, increases collaboration, and helps build a resilient, self-sustaining team.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Teams should strive to become cross-functional and develop generalized specialists who can collaborate effectively across domains.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.2 – Building High-Performing Teams)

Mike Griffiths notes:

“Agile promotes team learning. Encouraging members to grow as generalized specialists reduces reliance on single individuals and improves flexibility.”

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

Other options:

A helps but is not sufficient on its own.

B is a solid practice but doesn't directly promote skills growth.

D goes against Agile values of team development and empowerment.

Answer: C

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The correct answer is D – Meet with project stakeholders to review the backlog and determine if the scope should be adjusted. Agile emphasizes continuous stakeholder collaboration and delivering maximum value. If the remaining backlog may not contribute significant value, it’s prudent for the Product Owner to reassess scope and validate changes with stakeholders.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Engage stakeholders continuously to review priorities and business value. If the product delivers sufficient value earlier than anticipated, the scope may be reduced or the project closed.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.4 – Value-Driven Delivery)

Mike Griffiths adds:

“Early delivery of value allows teams to stop work that no longer serves business objectives. This requires transparent communication with stakeholders to validate scope adjustments.”

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

Incorrect options:

A assumes authority without consulting stakeholders.

B doesn’t address the possible need for scope reduction.

C skips stakeholder validation before deployment decisions.

Answer: D

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As a scrum master, the goal is to foster a collaborative and self-organizing environment. When conflicts arise, it is essential to guide the team in resolving the issue on their own rather than making unilateral decisions. The scrum master should:

Coach the team individually to understand the root causes of the conflict and ensure each team member feels heard.

Then, bring the team together in a more structured environment, such as the Sprint review, to discuss the disagreement openly and constructively. This helps the team resolve conflicts and learn how to handle similar situations in the future.

The correct answer is B – Discuss the situation with the functional manager. The Scrum Master serves as a facilitator and servant leader, helping resolve impediments that interfere with the team’s ability to deliver. When conflicting assignments arise, the Scrum Master should facilitate communication with functional managers to clarify priorities and reinforce team commitments.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“The Scrum Master removes impediments and facilitates collaboration with stakeholders, including functional managers, to ensure the team can focus on sprint goals.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.2 – Agile Leadership and Stakeholder Collaboration)

Mike Griffiths writes:

“When external interference affects team performance, the Scrum Master should engage in dialogue with stakeholders to clarify roles and commitments, promoting alignment and removing blockers.”

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

Incorrect options:

A is extreme and not within the Scrum Master's authority.

C is unnecessarily escalatory.

D is confrontational and undermines collaboration.

Answer: B

The correct answer is B – Create a team norms document to set participation guidelines. Establishing team norms improves psychological safety, trust, and collaborative behavior. It provides a structured way to handle differences of opinion and ensure equal contribution.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Team norms or working agreements are guidelines created by the team to set expectations for behavior, participation, and communication. These norms are agreed upon early and revisited as needed to support healthy collaboration.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 4.3 – Team Charter and Working Agreements)

Mike Griffiths elaborates:

“High-performing agile teams create shared agreements that clarify roles, expectations, and behavior. When team conflict or disconnects arise, practitioners should guide the team to revisit or develop such norms.”

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

Incorrect options:

A lacks structure and may not address the root issue.

C delays resolution and misuses the stand-up’s purpose.

D waits too long to act; issues should be addressed immediately, not deferred.

Answer: B

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The correct answer is A – Lead time, throughput, and due date performance. These are key flow-based metrics used in Kanban systems to monitor performance, efficiency, and predictability of delivery.

From the PMI Agile Practice Guide:

“Kanban systems rely heavily on flow metrics to measure performance and identify bottlenecks. Key Kanban metrics include lead time, throughput, and cycle time. These metrics provide insights into how quickly work is flowing through the system.”

(PMI Agile Practice Guide, Section 5.5 – Kanban System Metrics)

Mike Griffiths further explains:

“Kanban teams track cumulative flow, lead time, and throughput to ensure steady and predictable delivery. Due date performance is used to evaluate commitments and reliability.”

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

Incorrect options:

B refers to tools and principles, not performance metrics.

C includes practices not specific to Kanban metrics.

D includes some Scrum metrics, such as burndown, but not Kanban-centric ones.

Answer: A

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To ensure that the service will benefit the customer and meet their requirements, the product owner should build a prototype. Prototypes allow the team to create an early, low-fidelity version of the product that can be used to gather direct feedback from the targeted customer segment. This helps to validate whether the service aligns with the customer's needs and expectations before investing heavily in full development.

To prevent the prioritization meeting from turning into a brainstorming session, the product owner should ensure that user stories are well-defined before they are added to the backlog. By reviewing the items with the product owner’s teammates (or stakeholders) beforehand, the product owner can clarify the details of the stories and ensure they are properly defined. This allows the team to focus on prioritization during the meeting, rather than spending time clarifying vague requests. This proactive approach improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the prioritization process.