Project Management Professional (PMP) Agile and Adaptive Approaches Syllabus

Agile and Adaptive Approaches syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Agile and Adaptive Approaches in Project Management Professional (PMP), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Agile Foundations and Mindset

   4 topics

   • The Agile Manifesto values and 12 principles
   • Empirical process control
     • Transparency, inspection, adaptation
   • Selecting predictive, agile, or hybrid approaches
     • Stacey matrix and suitability filters
   • Lean thinking and eliminating waste
2. 2

   Scrum and Common Agile Frameworks

   4 topics

   • Scrum roles
     • Product owner, scrum master, developers
   • Scrum events
     • Sprint, sprint planning, daily scrum
     • Sprint review and retrospective
   • Scrum artifacts and commitments
     • Product backlog, sprint backlog, increment
     • Definition of done and definition of ready
   • Other frameworks: Kanban, XP, SAFe, and scaling
3. 3

   Agile Planning and Execution

   4 topics

   • Product vision, roadmap, and release planning
   • Backlog creation and refinement
     • User stories and INVEST criteria
     • Story points and relative estimation
   • Prioritization techniques
     • MoSCoW, Kano model, WSJF
   • Velocity, capacity planning, and iteration execution
4. 4

   Agile Metrics, Transparency, and Improvement

   4 topics

   • Tracking progress
     • Burndown and burnup charts
     • Cumulative flow diagrams
   • Value-based metrics
     • Lead time, cycle time, throughput
   • Continuous improvement and retrospective techniques
   • Managing technical debt and quality in agile

Agile and Adaptive Approaches flashcards for Project Management Professional (PMP)

23 of 70 cards from the Agile and Adaptive Approaches deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the four core values of the Agile Manifesto?

   1) Individuals and interactions over processes and tools; 2) Working software over comprehensive documentation; 3) Customer collaboration over contract negotiation; 4) Responding to change over following a plan. The items on the right have value, but the items on the left are valued more.

2. How many principles does the Agile Manifesto contain, and what does the first principle emphasize?

   It contains 12 principles. The first principle: the highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

3. Which Agile principle addresses changing requirements?

   "Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage."

4. What does the Agile principle about sustainable development state?

   Agile processes promote sustainable development; sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

5. According to Agile principles, how often should working software be delivered?

   Frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference for the shorter timescale.

6. What does the Agile principle say is the primary measure of progress?

   Working software is the primary measure of progress.

7. What is empirical process control, and what three pillars support it?

   A process control model based on observation and experimentation (learning from experience) rather than detailed up-front planning. Its three pillars are Transparency, Inspection, and Adaptation.

8. Define the empiricism pillar of 'Transparency.'

   Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome, using a common standard so observers share a common understanding of what is being seen.

9. Define the empiricism pillars of 'Inspection' and 'Adaptation.'

   Inspection: frequently examine artifacts and progress toward goals to detect undesirable variances. Adaptation: if inspection reveals a deviation outside acceptable limits, adjust the process or material as soon as possible to minimize further deviation.

10. What is a defined process control model, and how does it differ from empirical?

    A defined process produces the same output every time given the same inputs (predictable, repeatable, plan-driven). Empirical process control is used when requirements/technology are uncertain and relies on iterative inspection and adaptation instead.

11. What factors favor choosing a predictive (plan-driven/waterfall) approach?

    Stable, well-understood, low-uncertainty requirements; clear scope; mature/familiar technology; low rate of change; need for firm up-front cost/schedule; regulatory/compliance constraints requiring extensive documentation.

12. What factors favor choosing an agile (adaptive) approach?

    High uncertainty and change in requirements; need for frequent customer feedback; ability to deliver incrementally; innovative/novel work; engaged customer; need to manage risk through short iterations.

13. What is a hybrid approach in project management?

    A combination of predictive and adaptive (agile) practices on the same project—for example, using a predictive approach for well-defined components and agile for high-uncertainty components, or agile development inside a predictive governance framework.

14. On the project life cycle continuum, name the four common life cycle types from most plan-driven to most change-driven.

    Predictive, Iterative, Incremental, and Agile (which combines iterative + incremental). Iterative refines through repeated cycles; incremental delivers finished pieces; agile does both with rapid feedback.

15. What is the core idea of Lean thinking?

    Maximize customer value while minimizing waste—delivering value with fewer resources by optimizing the whole value stream and eliminating activities that don't add value.

16. What are the 7 (often 8) wastes of Lean, especially as adapted for software/Agile?

    Partially done work, Extra processes, Extra features, Task switching, Waiting, Motion, Defects (and the 8th: unused talent/non-utilized skills). In manufacturing terms: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects (TIMWOOD).

17. In Lean, what distinguishes value-added, non-value-added, and necessary-but-non-value-added work?

    Value-added: work the customer is willing to pay for that transforms the product. Non-value-added (pure waste): should be eliminated. Necessary non-value-added: doesn't add value but currently required (e.g., regulatory checks); minimize it.

18. What are the three roles (accountabilities) on a Scrum Team?

    Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers. Together they form one cross-functional, self-managing Scrum Team, typically 10 or fewer people.

19. What is the Product Owner accountable for in Scrum?

    Maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the team. The PO manages the Product Backlog: developing/communicating the Product Goal, creating and ordering backlog items, and ensuring the backlog is transparent and understood. The PO is one person, not a committee.

20. What is the Scrum Master accountable for?

    Establishing Scrum and the team's effectiveness. A servant leader who coaches the team, removes impediments, facilitates events as needed, and serves the team, Product Owner, and organization. Accountable for the team adhering to Scrum theory and practice.

21. What are the Developers accountable for in Scrum?

    Creating a usable Increment each Sprint. They create the Sprint Backlog plan, instill quality by adhering to the Definition of Done, adapt their plan daily toward the Sprint Goal, and hold each other accountable as professionals.

22. List the five Scrum events.

    The Sprint (the container event), Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective.

23. What is a Sprint, and what is its maximum length?

    A Sprint is the fixed time-box (one month or less) that contains all other events; a new Sprint starts immediately after the previous one ends. During a Sprint, no changes are made that endanger the Sprint Goal, quality does not decrease, and scope may be clarified/renegotiated with the PO.

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