DAF Foundations OF Lean — 20 Questions

Question 1

What is the primary Lean goal of reducing the number of handoffs between specialized teams?

Accepted Answer

To minimize the opportunity for information loss and waiting.. Handoffs are major sources of information loss and waiting waste.

Answer

To increase the total number of specialized team members.

Answer

To improve organizational visibility.

Answer

To reduce the cost of payroll.

Question 2

Which of the following is considered 'Waste' (Muda) in a software development process?

Accepted Answer

Developing features that the customer will never use.. Unused features are 'Inventory' or 'Overproduction', both are forms of waste.

Answer

Performing automated unit tests.

Answer

Conducting a sprint demo.

Answer

Collaborating on design documents.

Question 3

Your organization uses a large 'Project Management Office' to approve every change. How does this affect flow according to Lean principles?

Accepted Answer

It introduces a queue, increasing cycle time.. Centralized, bureaucratic approval acts as a 'queue' and introduces significant delay waste.

Answer

It has no impact on total cycle time.

Answer

It improves flow by ensuring high-quality decisions.

Answer

It increases technical debt.

Question 4

You are managing a process where work consistently stalls at the 'Testing' stage. What is the most effective way to address this bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

Shift team focus to assist in the Testing phase to clear the backlog.. Pulling resources to the bottleneck or limiting inputs to it is standard Lean practice.

Answer

Outsource the Testing phase to a third party.

Answer

Increase the speed of the development phase to clear the backlog faster.

Answer

Remove the Testing phase from the workflow.

Question 5

During a retrospective, the team notices they spend 30% of their time fixing defects in previously delivered code. Which Lean principle does this violate?

Accepted Answer

Build Quality In.. Building quality in is a core Lean principle; rework is pure waste.

Answer

Respect People.

Answer

Optimize the Whole.

Answer

Deliver Fast.

Question 6

A team has identified 'task switching' as a primary source of waste. What is the most effective Lean practice to address this?

Accepted Answer

Establish strict WIP limits for each workflow state.. Limiting WIP is the direct mechanism to prevent multi-tasking.

Answer

Host more frequent brainstorming meetings.

Answer

Assign a dedicated task-manager to monitor progress.

Answer

Rotate team members daily to ensure skill diversity.

Question 7

You observe that a team often waits for external approvals, causing significant lead time delays. How should you apply Lean thinking to mitigate this?

Accepted Answer

Delegate approval authority to the team for routine tasks.. The goal is to eliminate waste by shifting responsibilities or automating the approval process.

Answer

Change the reporting structure of the external stakeholders.

Answer

Ask the team to work on other tasks while waiting.

Answer

Increase the frequency of status reporting emails.

Question 8

Your team is experiencing high WIP levels during the development phase. Which Lean technique should you apply first to identify the primary cause of this congestion?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a Value Stream Mapping session to visualize handoffs and queues.. Value stream mapping helps visualize the flow and identify where work piles up due to bottlenecks.

Answer

Require developers to work overtime to clear the backlog.

Answer

Increase the team size to handle the overflow.

Answer

Implement a mandatory daily stand-up meeting extension.

Question 9

When applying the Lean principle of 'Optimize the Whole', what should you avoid doing?

Accepted Answer

Optimizing a sub-process without considering the impact on the overall value stream.. Sub-optimizing a local area at the expense of the system is the antithesis of 'Optimize the Whole'.

Answer

Identifying bottlenecks in the production pipeline.

Answer

Aligning team goals with organizational objectives.

Answer

Analyzing the end-to-end value stream.

Question 10

What does a cumulative flow diagram (CFD) help a team visualize?

Accepted Answer

The stability and distribution of work in progress.. CFDs show WIP, throughput, and lead time trends over time.

Answer

The specific team member assigned to each ticket.

Answer

The total budget remaining for the project.

Answer

Individual team member performance.

Question 11

What is the primary benefit of 'Small Batch Sizes' in software development?

Accepted Answer

Faster feedback loops and reduced risk.. Smaller batches flow faster, reduce risk, and provide earlier feedback.

Answer

More time to attend meetings.

Answer

Lower total cost of labor.

Answer

Less documentation required.

Question 12

Your organization wants to transition to a 'Pull' system. What is the most important prerequisite?

Accepted Answer

Establishing and enforcing WIP limits.. Without WIP limits, a 'Pull' system cannot function; it just becomes a 'Push' system.

Answer

Eliminating all meetings.

Answer

Moving to a cloud-based development environment.

Answer

Hiring more experienced team members.

Question 13

A team discovers that their cycle time is highly variable. What is the most likely culprit from a Lean perspective?

Accepted Answer

Lack of process standardization.. Process variation is often caused by lack of standardization or unpredictable interruptions.

Answer

Having a very small backlog.

Answer

The use of an electronic board.

Answer

Too many team members.

Question 14

Your team is struggling with 'gold plating' (adding unnecessary features). How does this affect the value stream?

Accepted Answer

It increases lead time without providing additional customer value.. Gold plating adds unnecessary complexity and effort, which increases lead time and reduces flow efficiency.

Answer

It reduces lead time by keeping developers productive.

Answer

It has no impact on the value stream.

Answer

It improves the overall quality of the product.

Question 15

What is the primary Lean motivation for 'deferring commitment' until the last responsible moment?

Accepted Answer

To make decisions based on better, more current information.. Deferring allows for better information gathering and avoids wasted effort on invalid assumptions.

Answer

To allow stakeholders to change their minds frequently.

Answer

To keep the team busy with administrative work.

Answer

To save money on project overhead.

Question 16

If you observe a high rate of 'blocked' items on your Kanban board, what is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Swarm on the blocked item to clear the impediment immediately.. Blocking indicates an external dependency or an issue that requires immediate swarming to resolve.

Answer

Remove the blocked items from the board.

Answer

Wait until the next daily stand-up to discuss the blocks.

Answer

Start new work to keep the developers busy.

Question 17

You notice that the team's 'Cycle Time' is increasing despite no change in the amount of work. What should you investigate?

Accepted Answer

The presence of hidden queues between workflow states.. Increasing cycle time usually points to hidden queues or inefficiencies in the workflow.

Answer

The team's office lighting.

Answer

The number of coffee breaks taken.

Answer

The team's motivation level.

Question 18

Which of these is the best definition of 'Value' in Lean?

Accepted Answer

Anything the customer is willing to pay for.. Value is defined by what the customer is willing to pay for.

Answer

The number of tasks completed in a sprint.

Answer

The total effort hours spent by the team.

Answer

The number of lines of code written.

Question 19

A team is frustrated by 'rework'. Which Lean practice helps address this at the source?

Accepted Answer

Building quality in through practices like TDD and automated testing.. Building quality in (e.g., TDD, automated testing) prevents defects from occurring.

Answer

Assigning a dedicated person to track defects.

Answer

Reducing the scope of the project.

Answer

Increasing the testing phase duration.

Question 20

When analyzing a Value Stream Map, what does an 'invisible' queue represent?

Accepted Answer

Work waiting in an inbox or system that is not explicitly tracked.. Invisible queues often exist in email inboxes or ticketing systems, causing significant hidden delays.

Answer

Future work that hasn't been started.

Answer

Work that has been completed but not yet verified.

Answer

The time spent in planning meetings.