PMI-ACP Practice Test 16 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which TWO of the following are characteristics of a good product vision?

Accepted Answer

It is concise and easy to understand.. Option B is correct because a good product vision must be concise and easy to understand so that everyone—developers, stakeholders, and customers—can quickly grasp the product's purpose and direction without wading through complexity. Option E is correct because an effective vision inspires the team and stakeholders, providing a shared, motivating long-term goal that guides decisions and sustains engagement throughout the product's lifecycle. In contrast, option A is wrong because a vision is not a complete feature list; detailed features belong in the product backlog, not the vision. Option C is wrong because a vision should be high-level and business-oriented, not a detailed technical specification. Option D is wrong because the vision is owned by the Product Owner (with stakeholder input) and is meant to be stable over time, not updated daily by the Scrum Master.

Answer

It includes a complete list of all product features.

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It is written in a detailed technical specification.

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It is updated daily by the Scrum Master.

Question 2

A product owner wants to add a new requirement mid-sprint. According to Agile principles, what should the team do?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the change against the current sprint goal with the PO.. In Agile, the sprint goal is the commitment the team makes for the sprint, and changes that jeopardize it should be evaluated collaboratively. The correct action is for the team to assess the new requirement against the current sprint goal with the Product Owner, determining whether it can be accommodated without compromising the sprint's objective. This aligns with the Agile principle of welcoming changing requirements, even late in development, while maintaining focus and protecting the sprint's integrity. The PO and team decide together whether to adjust scope, swap items of equal size, or defer the change to the next sprint.

Answer

Accept the change and extend the sprint duration.

Answer

Refuse all changes immediately.

Answer

Ask the stakeholders to approve the change first.

Question 3

Which TWO of the following help ensure stakeholder alignment?

Accepted Answer

Frequent demonstrations of working software.. Option C (Frequent demonstrations of working software) is correct because regularly showing incrementally delivered, functioning software gives stakeholders concrete, verifiable visibility into progress and lets them validate that the product meets their needs, which builds shared understanding and alignment. Option E (Maintaining an open and transparent product roadmap) is correct because a visible, accessible roadmap communicates priorities, direction, and trade-offs so stakeholders share a common view of goals and can raise concerns early rather than after decisions are locked in. The remaining options do not support alignment: A (ignoring stakeholder requests) and B (isolating stakeholders from the development team) actively reduce communication and trust, while D (lengthy weekly status reports nobody reads) is a low-value, one-way communication channel that fails to create genuine shared understanding.

Answer

Ignoring stakeholder requests until the project is finished.

Answer

Keeping stakeholders isolated from the development team.

Answer

Sending lengthy weekly status reports that no one reads.

Question 4

Which artifact helps the team track progress towards the sprint goal?

Accepted Answer

Sprint Burndown chart.. The Sprint Burndown chart is the artifact specifically designed to track the team's progress toward the sprint goal. It plots the remaining work (typically in story points or hours) against time within the sprint, showing whether the team is on track to complete the sprint backlog by the end of the sprint. This makes it the primary empirical tool for inspecting and adapting daily progress toward the sprint goal.

Answer

Financial report.

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Product Backlog.

Answer

Project Charter.

Question 5

How can you best support a newly formed agile team in developing trust?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate team-building activities and retrospectives that focus on openness and safety.. Trust in a new Agile team is built through repeated, safe interactions that demonstrate reliability and openness. Facilitating team-building activities and retrospectives focused on openness and safety creates the conditions for trust to develop organically. Option C directly supports this by giving the team structured opportunities to be vulnerable and honest with each other.

Answer

Monitor their work constantly to ensure everyone is working.

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Assign them complex work immediately to see who excels.

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Create a formal document outlining everyone's roles and responsibilities.

Question 6

Which THREE strategies help a leader support a team in managing technical debt? (Choose THREE)

Accepted Answer

Facilitating discussions to include technical debt in sprint planning.. Option A is correct because a leader who facilitates discussions that bring technical debt items into sprint planning ensures debt remediation is prioritized and resourced alongside feature work rather than deferred indefinitely. Option B is correct because educating stakeholders on the long-term risks of ignoring technical debt—such as rising defect rates, slower delivery, and higher maintenance costs—builds the organizational buy-in needed to allocate capacity to remediation. Option C is correct because making technical debt visible on the product backlog gives it the same transparency and prioritization treatment as features, allowing the team and product owner to weigh its impact explicitly. Option D is not appropriate because relegating debt work to spare time treats it as optional and unsustainable, which typically leads to burnout and continued accumulation. Option E is not appropriate because waiting for a system failure is a reactive approach that ignores the compounding cost and risk of unmanaged technical debt.

Answer

Telling the team to work on debt only in their spare time.

Answer

Ignoring technical debt until it causes a system failure.

Question 7

A team member consistently criticizes ideas during retrospectives, creating a defensive atmosphere. How should the facilitator address this to improve psychological safety?

Accepted Answer

Discuss the impact of the behavior privately with the individual.. The facilitator should address the behavior privately with the individual, explaining how the constant criticism affects the team's psychological safety and retrospective effectiveness. A private conversation preserves the person's dignity, avoids defensiveness, and gives them a chance to adjust — which is the coaching-oriented, psychologically safe approach. Public confrontation or removal would escalate conflict and further damage safety.

Answer

Publicly reprimand the team member during the next meeting.

Answer

Ignore the behavior to avoid conflict.

Answer

Remove the team member from the project immediately.

Question 8

What is the primary function of the 'Product Vision'?

Accepted Answer

To define the long-term purpose and goal of the product.. The Product Vision is a concise, aspirational statement describing the long-term purpose, target customers, key benefits, and differentiators of the product. It aligns the team and stakeholders on the 'why' behind the product and guides prioritization decisions. It is not a feature list, budget tracker, or meeting agenda—those are artifacts of other processes.

Answer

To list every feature to be built in the product.

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To track the budget spent on the development team.

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To provide the specific daily meeting agenda.

Question 9

A team has high velocity but the quality of the product is declining. The team feels that speed is the only metric that matters to management. How should you address this as an Agile practitioner?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team and stakeholders on the Agile principle of sustainable development and the cost of technical debt.. When velocity is high but quality is declining, the root cause is usually pressure to prioritize speed over sustainable development, often driven by management's focus on velocity as the sole metric. The Agile practitioner's role is to coach both the team and stakeholders on the Agile principle of sustainable development and the long-term cost of technical debt. This addresses the systemic issue rather than masking symptoms, and it aligns with the Agile values of technical excellence and continuous improvement.

Answer

Reduce the team's story point estimates to make it appear that velocity remains high.

Answer

Ignore the quality issues to keep velocity high, as requested by management.

Answer

Mandate that no new features can be added until all defects are resolved.

Question 10

During sprint planning, a team discovers that their velocity has decreased by 20% over the last two iterations. What should the team do first?

Accepted Answer

Review the retrospective notes from the last two sprints to identify systemic blockers.. A 20% velocity drop over two iterations is a systemic signal, and the retrospective notes from those sprints are the team's own record of what changed — blockers, impediments, and experiments. Reviewing them first lets the team identify recurring root causes before adjusting plans or estimates. This is the empirical, data-driven first step consistent with agile practice.

Answer

Increase the story point estimates to account for the decrease.

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Reduce the team size to improve communication overhead.

Answer

Commit to the same number of story points to pressure the team to improve.

Question 11

A team is working on a project with a very strict, non-negotiable deadline. How do you handle this?

Accepted Answer

Negotiate the scope to deliver the most valuable features by the date.. When faced with a strict, non-negotiable deadline, the Agile approach is to negotiate scope to deliver the most valuable features by the date. This respects the fixed constraint (time) while maximizing business value through prioritization and iterative delivery.

Answer

Cancel the project.

Answer

Work overtime.

Answer

Change the definition of 'Done'.

Question 12

Which THREE of the following help maintain a sustainable pace?

Accepted Answer

Implementing WIP limits to prevent overload. Option B is correct because implementing WIP (Work In Progress) limits constrains the amount of work in the system at any one time, preventing team members from being overloaded and enabling a steady, sustainable flow of delivery. Option C is correct because ensuring the team does not consistently work overtime avoids burnout and preserves a constant, repeatable level of effort, which is the essence of a sustainable pace. Option E is correct because allowing for regular reflection and adjustment (as in Scrum retrospectives) lets the team inspect its process and adapt its workload and practices to keep the pace maintainable over time. Option A is not correct because mandating consistent weekend work directly undermines sustainability by driving overtime and burnout. Option D is not correct because increasing sprint goals every time creates ever-growing pressure and an unsustainable escalation of commitments.

Answer

Mandating consistent weekend work

Answer

Increasing sprint goals every time

Question 13

During a sprint, the team realizes that following the original plan will result in a product that does not meet the user's current needs. Which Agile principle should guide the team's next move?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the customer to pivot and adapt the plan based on the new information.. The Agile principle of responding to change over following a plan directs the team to collaborate with the customer and adapt when new information shows the original plan won't meet current needs. Pivoting with the customer keeps the product valuable and treats the plan as a living artifact rather than a contract.

Answer

Consult the project contract and adhere strictly to the initial scope document.

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Wait for the formal change request process to be completed before doing any new work.

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Stick to the original plan until the end of the sprint to remain consistent.

Question 14

A stakeholder demands a 'fixed-price, fixed-scope' contract. How can you demonstrate an Agile mindset to influence this stakeholder?

Accepted Answer

Show the stakeholder the cost of change if the scope is fixed.. Demonstrating an Agile mindset to a fixed-price/fixed-scope stakeholder means using data and transparency to show the trade-offs. Option D — showing the cost of change when scope is fixed — makes the economic consequences of rigidity visible and opens a conversation about alternatives like fixed-price/variable-scope or incremental delivery. This is a collaborative, evidence-based approach rather than an adversarial one.

Answer

Agree to the terms but plan to change them later.

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Refuse to work on the project.

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Submit a formal complaint to the executive board.

Question 15

Which THREE actions demonstrate effective stakeholder engagement? (Choose THREE)

Accepted Answer

Involving stakeholders in collaborative decision-making processes.. Option B is correct because involving stakeholders in collaborative decision-making processes builds shared ownership and leverages their expertise, which is a core practice of effective stakeholder engagement. Option C is correct because keeping stakeholders informed of progress and potential impediments maintains transparency and trust, allowing them to respond to risks early. Option D is correct because regularly aligning with stakeholders on product goals and priorities ensures their needs and expectations remain synchronized with the team's direction. Option A is incorrect because engaging stakeholders only during major problems is reactive and erodes trust. Option E is incorrect because excluding stakeholders from all meetings isolates the team and prevents necessary feedback and alignment.

Answer

Only speaking to stakeholders when there is a major problem.

Answer

Excluding stakeholders from all meetings to protect the team.