ICP Agile Planning & Estimation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is T-shirt sizing used for in Agile planning?
- Allocating physical workspace for team members
- Providing a quick, high-level relative estimation technique using sizes like S, M, L, XL (Correct answer)
- Determining the length of sprint ceremonies
- Ranking team members by productivity
Correct answer: Providing a quick, high-level relative estimation technique using sizes like S, M, L, XL
T-shirt sizing is a lightweight estimation method using familiar sizes (XS, S, M, L, XL) to quickly categorize backlog items by relative effort without precise numbers.
Question 2: What is the purpose of a sprint burndown chart?
- To track the total number of features released to production
- To visualize the remaining work in a sprint versus the elapsed time (Correct answer)
- To show the team's velocity trend over multiple sprints
- To document defects found during the sprint
Correct answer: To visualize the remaining work in a sprint versus the elapsed time
A sprint burndown chart shows how much work remains in the current sprint each day, helping the team see if they are on track to complete their commitment.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of backlog refinement (grooming)?
- To reassign user stories to different team members
- To review and demo completed work to stakeholders
- To review, clarify, estimate, and prioritize backlog items so they are ready for future sprints (Correct answer)
- To delete outdated items from the backlog immediately
Correct answer: To review, clarify, estimate, and prioritize backlog items so they are ready for future sprints
Backlog refinement ensures upcoming items are well-understood, appropriately sized, and prioritized so the team can plan future sprints efficiently.
Question 4: In Agile, what is the relationship between an Epic, a User Story, and a Task?
- They are three names for the same type of backlog item
- An Epic is broken into User Stories, which are further broken into Tasks during execution (Correct answer)
- Tasks are the largest unit, containing Epics which contain User Stories
- User Stories are created by stakeholders, while Epics and Tasks are created by developers
Correct answer: An Epic is broken into User Stories, which are further broken into Tasks during execution
The hierarchy flows from large to small: Epics decompose into User Stories, which are then broken into individual Tasks the team works on during a sprint.
Question 5: What does 'just-in-time elaboration' mean in Agile planning?
- Writing all detailed requirements upfront before any sprint begins
- Refining and detailing backlog items only shortly before they are needed, rather than months in advance (Correct answer)
- Immediately implementing any feature a stakeholder requests
- Creating documentation after each sprint retrospective
Correct answer: Refining and detailing backlog items only shortly before they are needed, rather than months in advance
Just-in-time elaboration delays detailed specification until items are near the top of the backlog, avoiding wasted effort on features that may change or never be built.
Question 6: How does MoSCoW prioritization help Agile teams during planning?
- It is a Russian Agile framework for offshore teams
- It categorizes backlog items as Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won't Have to guide scope decisions (Correct answer)
- It measures the monetary value of each backlog item
- It assigns team members to specific user stories based on skills
Correct answer: It categorizes backlog items as Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won't Have to guide scope decisions
MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won't) is a prioritization technique that helps teams and stakeholders agree on what is essential versus what is optional for a given release.
Question 7: What is a release plan in Agile?
- A fixed contract with the client specifying all deliverables
- A high-level forecast of which features will be delivered across multiple sprints to achieve a product goal (Correct answer)
- The Scrum Master's schedule for sprint ceremonies
- A document listing all known bugs to be fixed before release
Correct answer: A high-level forecast of which features will be delivered across multiple sprints to achieve a product goal
A release plan maps high-priority backlog items to future sprints to forecast when product goals can be achieved, while remaining open to change as the team learns more.
ICP Agile Planning & Estimation 2
What is T-shirt sizing used for in Agile planning?