APM Kanban & Lean Principles 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does a 'Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)' primarily reveal about a Kanban system?
- The velocity of each team member
- The flow of work through each stage and the size of queues over time (Correct answer)
- The total number of features completed per sprint
- The priority ordering of the backlog
Correct answer: The flow of work through each stage and the size of queues over time
A CFD visualizes how work accumulates and moves through each stage over time, making WIP, queue sizes, and approximate cycle time visible.
Question 2: In Lean thinking, 'Jidoka' (autonomation) enables workers to:
- Automatically generate daily stand-up reports
- Stop the production line when a defect is detected (Correct answer)
- Rotate between teams to reduce bottlenecks
- Automate backlog refinement using AI
Correct answer: Stop the production line when a defect is detected
Jidoka empowers workers and machines to stop the process immediately when an abnormality is detected, preventing defects from passing downstream.
Question 3: A team wants to use the 'Theory of Constraints' alongside Kanban. What is the first step?
- Eliminate all non-value-adding tasks from the backlog
- Identify the system's current bottleneck constraint (Correct answer)
- Increase WIP limits across all stages
- Conduct a root cause analysis of all defects
Correct answer: Identify the system's current bottleneck constraint
The Theory of Constraints begins with identifying the single constraint that most limits system throughput before taking any action to improve it.
Question 4: Which practice is most associated with making Kanban policies 'explicit'?
- Holding daily stand-up meetings
- Documenting and displaying the rules governing how work flows on the board (Correct answer)
- Assigning a dedicated Kanban coach to each team
- Using color-coded sticky notes for each team member
Correct answer: Documenting and displaying the rules governing how work flows on the board
Making policies explicit means clearly defining and displaying the rules for how work enters, moves through, and exits the Kanban system so all stakeholders understand them.
Question 5: In the context of Lean product development, 'Set-Based Concurrent Engineering' (SBCE) encourages teams to:
- Set hard deadlines for each feature and develop concurrently
- Explore multiple design options in parallel before converging on a solution (Correct answer)
- Base all engineering decisions on customer set preferences
- Run concurrent sprints across multiple scrum teams
Correct answer: Explore multiple design options in parallel before converging on a solution
SBCE delays commitment by developing multiple design alternatives concurrently, allowing teams to converge on the best solution with more information.
Question 6: What is the relationship between 'lead time' and 'cycle time' in Kanban?
- They are identical metrics measured differently
- Lead time starts when a request is made; cycle time starts when work begins (Correct answer)
- Cycle time includes waiting time; lead time does not
- Lead time applies only to bugs, cycle time to features
Correct answer: Lead time starts when a request is made; cycle time starts when work begins
Lead time measures from the moment a customer request is made until delivery, while cycle time measures only the active working period once a team starts the item.
Question 7: Which Lean waste type describes work that must be redone due to errors or defects?
- Overproduction
- Transportation
- Defects (Correction) (Correct answer)
- Motion
Correct answer: Defects (Correction)
Defects (or Correction) is the waste caused by errors that require rework, consuming additional resources and time without adding new value.
APM Kanban & Lean Principles 3
What does a 'Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)' primarily reveal about a Kanban system?