DA DA Team Dynamics & Collaboration Practices 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In DA, what does 'swarming' refer to in a team collaboration context?
- Multiple team members simultaneously focusing on one blocked or critical work item to resolve it quickly (Correct answer)
- A technique where team members rotate between different projects weekly
- A planning ceremony where the whole team estimates all backlog items together
- A code deployment strategy using multiple parallel pipelines
Correct answer: Multiple team members simultaneously focusing on one blocked or critical work item to resolve it quickly
Swarming is when multiple team members temporarily drop other work to collectively address a single blocked, critical, or high-priority item to restore flow.
Question 2: According to Disciplined Agile, what is the primary benefit of co-located teams compared to distributed teams?
- Co-located teams always deliver higher quality code
- Co-located teams benefit from richer informal communication, faster feedback, and easier collaboration (Correct answer)
- Co-located teams cost less due to reduced tooling requirements
- Co-located teams are required for DA certification compliance
Correct answer: Co-located teams benefit from richer informal communication, faster feedback, and easier collaboration
DA acknowledges that co-located teams gain richer communication through spontaneous conversation, body language, and instant feedback that distributed teams must actively compensate for.
Question 3: In DA, which practice helps distributed teams compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication?
- Increasing formal documentation to replace verbal communication
- Using video calls, virtual collaboration tools, and intentional overlap hours (Correct answer)
- Reducing the frequency of meetings to avoid time zone issues
- Assigning a dedicated scribe to document all informal discussions
Correct answer: Using video calls, virtual collaboration tools, and intentional overlap hours
DA recommends distributed teams use video conferencing, digital collaboration boards, and planned working hour overlaps to replicate as much of the richness of in-person communication as possible.
Question 4: What does Disciplined Agile say about the ideal size of an agile delivery team?
- Teams should have exactly 7 members for optimal performance
- Teams of 5–9 people are generally optimal, but context determines the right size (Correct answer)
- Larger teams are always better because they have more combined skill
- Team size is irrelevant as long as a strong team lead is present
Correct answer: Teams of 5–9 people are generally optimal, but context determines the right size
DA acknowledges that while 5–9 members is a common guideline for balanced communication and capacity, the right size depends on the team's context, domain complexity, and organizational structure.
Question 5: According to Disciplined Agile, what is a 'T-shaped' team member and why does DA value this profile?
- Someone who specializes deeply in one skill and has broad knowledge across other areas, enabling flexible collaboration (Correct answer)
- Someone who has two deep specializations and no general skills
- Someone who manages both technical and business requirements
- Someone who works across two teams simultaneously
Correct answer: Someone who specializes deeply in one skill and has broad knowledge across other areas, enabling flexible collaboration
T-shaped professionals have deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar) and broad familiarity with adjacent disciplines (the horizontal bar), enabling greater team flexibility and collaboration.
Question 6: In DA, what role does 'psychological safety' play in enabling team performance and continuous improvement?
- It ensures team members never experience stress during sprint reviews
- It creates an environment where people feel safe to experiment, speak up, and learn from failures without fear (Correct answer)
- It protects the team from external stakeholder demands during a sprint
- It is a compliance requirement for DA-certified organizations
Correct answer: It creates an environment where people feel safe to experiment, speak up, and learn from failures without fear
DA recognizes psychological safety as foundational for learning cultures — without it, teams hide failures, avoid experiments, and suppress the honest feedback needed for improvement.
DA DA Team Dynamics & Collaboration Practices 2
In DA, what does 'swarming' refer to in a team collaboration context?