DAF Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

If a team is using the 'Agile' lifecycle, what is their primary focus?

Accepted Answer

Continuous delivery of value. The Agile lifecycle in Disciplined Agile is centered on delivering value to customers in short, incremental cycles. The primary focus is on continuous delivery of value, which means frequently producing working, potentially shippable increments that meet stakeholder needs. This approach allows for rapid feedback and adaptation, aligning with Agile principles.

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Risk mitigation only

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Cost reduction

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Long-term planning

Question 2

A team is working on a project with high technical uncertainty. Which approach should they adopt?

Accepted Answer

Adopt an iterative approach with frequent spikes to learn. When a project faces high technical uncertainty, the most effective approach is to reduce that uncertainty through rapid, iterative learning. Option B advocates an iterative approach with frequent spikes—time-boxed investigations or prototypes—which directly addresses unknowns by testing assumptions early and often. This aligns with agile and lean principles, where uncertainty is managed by short feedback loops rather than rigid planning. By learning quickly, the team can adapt the plan based on empirical evidence, thereby reducing risk and increasing the likelihood of delivering value.

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Follow the original plan strictly to reduce risk

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Outsource the uncertain parts of the project

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Delay the uncertain work until the end of the project

Question 3

Which THREE of the following are foundational principles of the Disciplined Agile toolkit that guide the 'Choose Your WoW' process?

Accepted Answer

Choice is good.. The Disciplined Agile toolkit is built on the principle that 'Choice is good' (A), meaning teams should be free to select from a range of techniques and practices rather than being forced into a single prescribed method. 'Context counts' (C) is also foundational because DA recognizes that the best way of working depends on the team's unique situation, including organizational culture, team size, and problem domain. 'Be pragmatic' (E) is the third core principle, emphasizing that teams should focus on what actually works in practice rather than dogmatically following theory. Options B and D are incorrect because DA explicitly rejects strict methodology adherence and the idea that one size fits all; instead, it promotes tailoring the way of working (WoW) to the team's specific context.

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Follow the methodology strictly.

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One size fits all.

Question 4

A team has a very large backlog of items. How should they manage it?

Accepted Answer

Regularly prioritize and refine the backlog. A large backlog should be managed through regular prioritization and refinement so that the most valuable items rise to the top and are ready for the team to pull. DA treats the backlog as a living artifact that is continuously groomed rather than a static list. This keeps the team focused on the highest-value work and prevents the backlog from becoming an unusable wish list.

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Have the project manager manage the backlog in secret

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Delete half of the backlog to reduce the workload

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Keep everything in the backlog and work on it sequentially

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of 'Inventory' waste in software development?

Accepted Answer

Code that is written but not yet tested or deployed.. In Lean and DevOps, 'Inventory' waste refers to work that has been started but not yet completed and delivered — anything sitting in a queue waiting for the next step. Code that is written but not yet tested or deployed is the classic software equivalent of unsold stock on a warehouse shelf: it has consumed effort but delivers no value until it flows through the pipeline. The longer it sits, the more it accumulates risk (merge conflicts, stale assumptions, defects) and the more it costs to eventually finish.

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The project management software license fees.

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The time developers spend in training.

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The office space rent.

Question 6

Why does DA avoid prescriptive workflows?

Accepted Answer

Because teams need to tailor their WoW to their context. DA avoids prescriptive workflows because it recognizes that every team operates in a unique context shaped by its culture, technology, regulations, and customer needs. A prescriptive workflow would force teams into a one-size-fits-all process that may not fit their reality. Instead, DA provides guidance and a toolkit of practices so teams can tailor their Way of Working (WoW) to their specific situation.

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To allow team leads to manage projects

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Because documentation is unnecessary

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To reduce the cost of training

Question 7

What is the primary role of an 'Agile Coach' in a DA team?

Accepted Answer

To help the team learn and improve their WoW. An Agile Coach helps the team improve their way of working, not just manage the work.

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To enforce the rules of the company

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To act as the project manager

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To perform the technical coding tasks

Question 8

Which DA role helps define the architecture?

Accepted Answer

Architecture Owner. In Disciplined Agile, the Architecture Owner is the role responsible for defining and evolving the architecture of the solution. This role collaborates with the team to ensure that architectural decisions support the team's goals and align with enterprise standards, and is a key part of the DA team structure.

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Team Lead

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Product Owner

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Scrum Master

Question 9

What is the primary benefit of the 'Guided Continuous Improvement' (GCI) approach in Disciplined Agile?

Accepted Answer

It allows teams to improve their way of working based on their unique context.. Guided Continuous Improvement (GCI) is DA's structured approach to helping teams evolve their WoW incrementally based on their own context, pain points, and goals. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all process, GCI uses retrospectives and guided workshops to identify improvements that fit the team's unique situation. This is the central mechanism by which DA remains flexible and context-sensitive.

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It forces every team to use the exact same metrics.

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It eliminates the need for retrospectives.

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It mandates the use of only one specific lifecycle.

Question 10

In Agile, what is a 'User Story'?

Accepted Answer

A description of a feature from the perspective of the user. A user story is a small, concise statement of a requirement from the user's perspective.

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A detailed 50-page requirement document

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A technical specification of the database schema

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A formal contract signed by the customer

Question 11

Which DA principle supports the idea that teams should improve their process incrementally?

Accepted Answer

Improve Process. The 'Improve Process' principle in DA states that teams should regularly reflect on and incrementally improve their way of working. It directly supports the idea of incremental process improvement rather than big-bang transformations. This principle encourages small, safe-to-fail experiments.

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Choice is Good

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Context Counts

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Enterprise Awareness

Question 12

A team is struggling with 'technical debt'. According to Disciplined Agile, which action is most appropriate to address this during the iteration?

Accepted Answer

Include 'refactoring' and 'testing' tasks within each iteration. Disciplined Agile advocates addressing technical debt continuously rather than deferring it. The most appropriate action is to include refactoring and testing tasks within each iteration, so that debt is paid down incrementally as part of normal delivery. This aligns with DA's principle of delivering consumable solutions and its guidance that quality is built in, not bolted on.

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Outsource the technical debt resolution to a different team

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Ignore the debt until the project is near completion

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Create a separate 'technical debt sprint' once a year

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of 'Tailoring' in the DA toolkit?

Accepted Answer

Choosing between different options for 'Explore Scope' based on team size.. Tailoring in DA means deliberately selecting among the documented options for a process goal based on the team's context — for example, choosing a particular 'Explore Scope' option because the team is small, co-located, and has easy customer access, versus a more formal option for a large distributed team. Option A is a textbook example: the choice is driven by a context factor (team size), which is exactly what tailoring means in the DA toolkit.

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Ignoring the DA toolkit and using a standard methodology.

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Increasing the number of meetings.

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Copying a high-performing team's process exactly.

Question 14

You are assessing the 'Coordinate Activities' process goal for a team that is struggling with knowledge silos. Which decision point should you focus on?

Accepted Answer

Share information.. The 'Coordinate Activities' process goal in Disciplined Agile includes decision points such as 'Share Information', which directly addresses knowledge silos. Focusing on 'Share Information' helps the team break down silos by improving communication, documentation, and cross-team visibility. This is the decision point most relevant to the described problem.

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Select the lifecycle.

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Align the team.

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Manage the budget.

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of an 'Agile' practice?

Accepted Answer

Holding a Daily Stand-up meeting. A Daily Stand-up is a canonical Agile practice: a short, time-boxed ceremony where the team synchronizes, inspects progress, and adapts the plan. It embodies Agile principles like frequent communication, self-organization, and transparency. The other options describe predictive, command-and-control, or bureaucratic practices that are antithetical to Agile values.

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Creating a detailed project plan for the next 2 years

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Requiring all changes to go through a formal committee

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Assigning tasks to individuals by the manager