PMP Guide — Empowering Project Managers
PeopleAgileMediumECO: People Task 1.4

PMP Practice Question: PeopleAgile, Medium

You are coaching a newly formed agile team for a financial services project. Three team members have deep expertise in the legacy systems but no agile experience, while two members are experienced agile practitioners but new to the domain. During the first sprint, you notice the legacy experts are reluctant to break work into small increments and prefer to complete entire features before showing anything. The agile practitioners are frustrated by this approach. The team is struggling to complete even simple stories. How should you address this?

← All questions
📖

Study this topic

Breaking Into Project Management: PMP Certification for Career Changers

Career changers face unique challenges pursuing PMP certification. Learn how to meet eligibility requirements, build pro

More People Questions

View all →
1
MediumAgile

During sprint planning, your development team commits to 45 story points based on historical velocity. However, your product owner insists they must complete 60 story points this sprint because of a commitment made to a key stakeholder. The product owner argues that the team 'just needs to work harder' and threatens to escalate to senior management if the team doesn't comply. The team looks to you, the Scrum Master, for guidance. How should you respond?

2
MediumAgile

Your agile team has a new member, Sarah, who joined two weeks ago. Sarah has strong technical skills but comes from a traditional waterfall background. During the current sprint, you notice Sarah working in isolation, not updating the task board, and not asking for help despite her story being blocked. In the standup, she reports 'everything is fine' even though you can see she's struggling. Other team members have offered help, but she politely declines. What is the most effective way to help Sarah adapt to the agile team environment?

3
MediumAgile

Your agile team has been consistently meeting sprint commitments, but during a recent retrospective, team members admitted they have been padding estimates significantly to ensure they never miss a commitment. The team's capacity allows them to complete stories early, but they wait until late in the sprint to pull in additional work to avoid looking like they overcommitted. The product owner is frustrated because the team could be delivering more value. What should you do to address this behavior?