ADM ADM Metrics & Reporting 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'throughput' measure in a Kanban or agile context?
- Number of work items completed within a defined time period (Correct answer)
- Average story point size of completed tickets
- Percentage of sprint goal items delivered
- Total hours invested across the team per week
Correct answer: Number of work items completed within a defined time period
Throughput counts the number of items finished per unit of time (e.g., per week), serving as a flow-based alternative to velocity.
Question 2: How does a burn-up chart differ from a burndown chart?
- A burn-up chart shows completed work and can also display scope changes (Correct answer)
- A burn-up chart tracks remaining defects only
- A burn-up chart is used only for release planning, not sprints
- A burn-up chart plots cost rather than story points
Correct answer: A burn-up chart shows completed work and can also display scope changes
Unlike a burndown that shows remaining work, a burn-up chart plots completed work against total scope, making scope creep clearly visible.
Question 3: What are 'escaped defects' in agile quality metrics?
- Defects discovered by end users after the product has been released (Correct answer)
- Defects found during sprint review by the product owner
- Defects that were logged but never assigned to a developer
- Defects identified in the backlog before development starts
Correct answer: Defects discovered by end users after the product has been released
Escaped defects are bugs that pass through all internal quality gates and are only found by customers in production, indicating testing gaps.
Question 4: What is the primary benefit of applying WIP (Work In Progress) limits?
- Improve flow efficiency by reducing context switching and bottlenecks (Correct answer)
- Ensure every team member is fully utilized at all times
- Increase the number of features delivered per sprint
- Allow the team to work on more stories simultaneously
Correct answer: Improve flow efficiency by reducing context switching and bottlenecks
WIP limits force teams to finish work before starting new items, reducing multitasking, exposing bottlenecks, and smoothing delivery flow.
Question 5: What is the key difference between lead time and cycle time for a delivery manager?
- Lead time includes wait time before work is started; cycle time starts when work begins (Correct answer)
- Lead time is measured in hours while cycle time is measured in days
- Lead time applies only to bugs while cycle time applies to features
- Lead time is a team metric and cycle time is an individual metric
Correct answer: Lead time includes wait time before work is started; cycle time starts when work begins
Lead time captures the full customer experience from request to delivery, while cycle time reflects only the active work period, helping managers identify queuing delays.
Question 6: Which metric best reflects a Scrum team's predictability over multiple sprints?
- Sprint goal attainment rate (Correct answer)
- Average story point size
- Number of daily standups held
- Ratio of bugs to features in each sprint
Correct answer: Sprint goal attainment rate
Tracking how consistently a team achieves its sprint goal across sprints is a direct measure of predictability and reliability of delivery commitments.
ADM ADM Metrics & Reporting 2
What does 'throughput' measure in a Kanban or agile context?