PSK-I Psk I Practice Questions

The primary goal of a Kanban system is to optimize flow to 'Done'. When a Developer has capacity, the first priority should be to help work that is already in progress move forward. This 'stop starting, start finishing' mindset means looking downstream to see if they can help with testing, reviews, or any other activity that will get an item completed. Only if there is no way to help downstream should they consider pulling a new item.

A Kanban board makes the state of all work visible. During the Daily Scrum, the team can use this visualization to shift the focus from individual status updates to a discussion about flow. The board clearly shows where work is, what might be blocked, and which items are aging. This transparency helps the team inspect their progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt their plan for the day by focusing on the items that most need attention to move forward.

Little's Law states: Average Cycle Time = Average WIP / Average Throughput. Initially, the team's Throughput is 10 WIP / 5 days = 2 items/day. If they increase WIP to 12 and want to maintain a Cycle Time of 5 days, the new required Throughput would be: 12 WIP / 5 days = 2.4 items/day. Therefore, their average Throughput must increase to prevent the average Cycle Time from increasing.

Flow metrics are powerful tools for increasing transparency and managing expectations. Metrics like Cycle Time and Throughput are extremely valuable for the Product Owner for forecasting and release planning. Sharing this data with stakeholders during events like the Sprint Review can lead to more collaborative and realistic conversations about what can be delivered and when.

Actively managing work involves paying close attention to items once they have started. This includes monitoring their age and identifying when they become blocked. This focus allows the team to address problems early, before they significantly impact delivery times, thus improving the predictability and smoothness of the flow.

By making the status of work highly visible (e.g., using a blocked indicator or tracking age), active management serves as a trigger for conversations. When an item is stuck, the team is prompted to discuss why and what can be done to resolve the impediment, which is a key practice for maintaining a healthy flow.

The primary purpose of tracking Work Item Age is to serve as a leading indicator of potential problems. When an item is aging and blocked, it signals a risk to the SLE. The Daily Scrum is the perfect event to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the plan. The most effective action is to make the problem visible and facilitate a team-based solution to unblock the item and restore its flow, rather than waiting for the SLE to be breached.

The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams specifies that a Definition of Workflow must include, at a minimum: a definition of the individual units of value (work items), defined start and finish points, and one or more workflow states. The Scrum Master's name and WIP limits, while important, are not mandatory components of the Definition of Workflow itself.

The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams specifies that a Definition of Workflow must include, at a minimum: a definition of the individual units of value (work items), defined start and finish points, and one or more workflow states. The Scrum Master's name and WIP limits, while important, are not mandatory components of the Definition of Workflow itself.

The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams specifies that a Definition of Workflow must include, at a minimum: a definition of the individual units of value (work items), defined start and finish points, and one or more workflow states. Explicit policies are a key part of defining how work moves through the defined states.

Kanban practices are complementary to the Scrum framework. A team can use a CFD to gain insights into flow, but it does not replace the Sprint Burndown chart. The Burndown chart tracks remaining work against time to help a team manage its progress toward the Sprint Goal, while a CFD visualizes work in different states over time, highlighting flow, WIP, and Cycle Time. Both can be used together to provide a more complete picture.

A wide distribution on a Cycle Time Scatterplot indicates high variability and low predictability. This is often caused by a combination of inconsistent work item size (some items are huge, some are tiny) and delays from external dependencies or blockers. These factors cause some items to flow quickly while others get stuck for long periods, creating the wide scatter. Addressing these issues by breaking down work more consistently and managing dependencies is key to improving predictability.

The most effective first step is to address the known bottleneck and the overall system load. Setting a WIP limit on 'Validation' (e.g., 2-3 items) makes the bottleneck's capacity explicit and prevents work from piling up. A second, broader WIP limit on the entire system (from start to near the end) encourages a pull system and prevents the team from starting too much work overall. This evolutionary approach respects the current process, makes the key problem visible, and starts the journey toward better flow without drastic, disruptive changes like eliminating Scrum.