Class 3 - Agile Business Practices

Question 1

What are the steps involved in creating a sprint plan?

Answer 1

1. Create a sprint goal
2. Report the project velocity from the last sprint
3. Determine all potential user stories for the sprint, break them down into tasks
4. Developers must create estimates for each task
5. After estimates have been made, revisit chosen user stories
6. The development team must sign up for tasks

Question 2

True or False: It is best to have the scrum master assign tasks to the development team to assign tasks efficiently.

Answer 2

False. Preferably, tasks should be self-assigned

Question 3

Sprint Velocity

Answer 3

Number of story points completed over a sprint. A measurement of the work that can be taken on and finished over the length of a sprint.

Question 4

True or False: Partially finished tasks count towards sprint velocity.

Answer 4

False. Partially finished tasks do not count towards velocity. It is better to complete 80% of your sprint tasks entirely than having every task 80% done (no completed tasks).

Question 5

Velocity-driven Development

Answer 5

Using previous sprint velocities combined with the amount of work completed in previous sprints to plan for the next sprint.

Question 6

Release Planning

Answer 6

Includes:
- User stories
- Story points
- Velocity
- Release burndown charts

Question 7

Iteration (Sprint) Planning

Answer 7

Includes:
- Tasks
- Hours
- Task Boards
- Burndown charts

Question 8

Release Burndown Chart

Answer 8

A graph representation of the number of story points remaining after each sprint. It reflects both progress and changes to story points. It can be used to see if a project is spinning out of control.

Question 9

How should the time to complete a task be estimated?

Answer 9

You can use the Central Limit Theorem to compute the expected time to complete a task by using the most probable time, an optimistic time, and a pessimistic time. This will give you a better estimate than using a single time estimate that may be inaccurate.

Question 10

What are the 4 Agile Values?

Answer 10

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Question 11

Agile Value: Individuals and interactions

Answer 11

• Trust motivated individuals
• Have face-to-face conversations
• Self-organizing teams work the best
• Team adjusts their behaviour
• Promote sustainable pace

Question 12

Agile Value: Working software

Answer 12

Working software is the main measure of progress. Prioritize continuous, frequent delivery of value

Question 13

Agile Value: Customer collaboration

Answer 13

Focus on satisfying customers early. Customers and developers need to work together to create a quality product.

Question 14

Agile Value: Responding to Change

Answer 14

The development team should welcome changing requirements, even late into development. They should also prioritize the most important work (engage in the art of maximizing work not done)

Question 15

XP Practices

Answer 15

Extreme Programming practices include:
- Fine scale feedback
- Continuous process
- Shared understanding
- Programmer welfare

Question 16

Fine scale feedback

Answer 16

Includes:
- Pair programming
- The Planning Game
- Test Driven Development
- Whole Team (product owner)

Question 17

The Planning Game

Answer 17

A meeting that occurs at the beginning of a sprint. The development team and customer get together to discuss and approve a product’s features. At the end of the planning game, developers plan for the upcoming iteration and release, assigning tasks for each of them

Question 18

Whole Team (product owner)

Answer 18

Person who is familiar with the client’s requirements. They aim to minimize the physical distance between managers, testers, technical writers, etc.

Question 19

Continuous Process

Answer 19

Includes:
- Continuous Integration
- Design Improvement
- Small Releases

Question 20

Shared Understanding

Answer 20

Includes:
- Coding standards
- Collective code ownership
- Simple design
- System metaphor

Question 21

Programmer Welfare

Answer 21

The development team is working at a sustainable pace (i.e. do not exceed 40 hours of work per week)

Question 22

What are some potential communication barriers in software development?

Answer 22

• Language
• Assumptions
• Hasty judgements
• Time and place
• Gestures
• Status
• Topic
• Style

Question 23

What are the different communication methods that can be used for communication between development teams and clients?

Answer 23

• E-mail
• Voicemail
• Phone
• Chat/Discussion Forum
• Video Conference
• Face-to-face meeting

Question 24

Waterfall Model

Answer 24

A widely used approach in software engineering that follows a sequential and linear process. This approach is inflexible and does not leave room for revision

Question 25

Spiral Model

Question 26

What are the main risks that arise is software development?

Answer 26

- Scope risks - Technology risks - Customer (stakeholder) risks - Personnel risks

Question 27

Analysis Paralysis

Answer 27

Project stalls in its specification phase, often due to clients or product managers over-analyzing requirements

Question 28

Cart before the horse

Answer 28

When a team spends too much time developing features that are not required at the moment and not enough time on developing critical features

Question 29

Groupthink

Answer 29

People tend to follow the general opinions of a group, regardless of whether or not their own individual opinions are different. Their opinions would be different without the influence of the group

Question 30

Silos

Answer 30

Occurs when teams lose touch with each other and communication is limited, which can lead to the development of counterproductive strategies and product features

Question 31

Vender lock-in

Answer 31

Occurs when a dev team creates a product that relies heavily on a single technology, which can be problematic if the technology cannot cover what is needed, becomes outdated, or cannot adapt to change

Question 32

Over-engineering

Answer 32

Occurs when extra or needless features are added to a product, making it confusing for the majority of users

Question 33

Gold Plating

Answer 33

Occurs when so much effort is put into one part of a project that it reaches a point of diminishing returns

Question 34

Viewgraph Engineering

Answer 34

Occurs when a team has to spend more time working on documentation, presentations, or reports than the project itself

Question 35

Fire Drills

Answer 35

Occurs when the development team does very little work throughout most of the project and then makes a big push towards the end of the project, resulting in overtime work to meet deadlines

Question 36

Heroics

Answer 36

Occurs when the development team ends up relying on only one person's technical skills to get the project done

Question 37

Death March

Answer 37

Occurs when the development team and the management team are at odds

Question 38

Micromanagement

Answer 38

Occurs when a manager is very controlling and wants to be involved in every detail of a project, no matter how small. The manager needs to constantly know what their developers are doing

Question 39

Seagull Management

Answer 39

Occurs when a manager is only present when problems arise or right before deadlines. This results in an otherwise absent manager swooping in, dumping a lot of information or requests on the development team, and then disappearing again

Question 40

Loose cannons

Answer 40

An unpredictable person (or thing) who can negatively affect other, unless it is managed somehow. In software engineering, loose cannons tend to be people who make significant project decisions without consulting the rest of the team

Question 41

Intellectual Violence

Answer 41

A person who asserts their opinion on every topic and impedes progress by questioning every decision and action or using their advanced knowledge in an area to intimidate or look down on other team members. They repeat their opinions so much that the rest of the group concedes to them to avoid confrontation