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Foundations OF Lean

Practise Disciplined Agile Foundations (DAF, PMI-authorized, replaces the retired DASM) (DAF) Foundations OF Lean practice questions — original exam-style scenarios with answer choices, explanations, and analysis of common mistakes.

54 questions13 easy26 medium15 hard

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What to know about Foundations OF Lean

Foundations OF Lean questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.

How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.

Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.

How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.

How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.

Watch out for

Common Foundations OF Lean exam traps

  • Answering from memory before reading the full scenario.
  • Missing a constraint such as cost, availability, security, scope or command context.
  • Choosing a broad answer when the question asks for the most specific fix.
  • Ignoring why the wrong options are tempting.

Question index

All Foundations OF Lean questions (54)

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1

What is the primary benefit of 'Standardized Work' in a Lean environment?

Medium
2

What is the primary purpose of 'Little's Law' in Lean?

Medium
3

Which THREE of the following represent ways to reduce handoffs?

Medium
4

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

Hard
5

What does 'Kaizen' represent in a Lean context?

Easy
6

Which THREE of the following strategies help in 'Optimizing the Whole'?

Hard
7

Which TWO of the following are potential side effects of failing to address bottlenecks in a process?

Hard
8

Why does Lean advocate for 'Small Batch Sizes'?

Medium
9

You are trying to improve flow in a cross-functional team. How does 'T-shaped' skill development support this?

Hard
10

Why does a 'Push' system often lead to lower quality?

Medium
11

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

Easy
12

If you have a 'bottleneck', how does increasing local efficiency at a non-bottleneck step affect the system?

Hard
13

Which THREE of the following are considered 'Waste' in the context of Lean software development?

Hard
14

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

Medium
15

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

Medium
16

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

Hard
17

When a team is using a 'Kanban' system, what is the best way to determine if WIP limits are too high?

Hard
18

When applying the principle of 'Optimize the Whole', how should you view a 'specialized' sub-team?

Medium
19

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

Easy
20

Why does Lean emphasize 'Visible Management' for project boards?

Medium
21

In a Lean environment, how do you handle a 'non-value-add but necessary' activity?

Hard
22

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

Easy
23

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

Hard
24

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

Medium
25

Which TWO of the following are primary benefits of limiting Work-in-Progress (WIP)?

Medium
26

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

Easy
27

When a team is 'swarming', what are they doing?

Medium
28

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

Hard
29

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

Easy
30

Which of these is a symptom of 'Overprocessing'?

Easy
31

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

Medium
32

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?

Medium
33

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

Medium
34

You are identifying 'non-value-add' work in your process. What is the most important first step?

Medium
35

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

Hard
36

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

Hard
37

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

Medium
38

Which TWO of the following are common types of 'Waste' (Muda) that teams should look for?

Easy
39

What is the relationship between 'Flow' and 'Value' in Lean?

Medium
40

How should a team handle an 'emergency' request in a Kanban system that is already at its WIP limit?

Hard
41

Which is a common symptom of a 'bottleneck' in a Lean workflow?

Easy
42

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

Medium
43

Which of the following best describes the 'Respect for People' principle?

Easy
44

Which TWO of the following are common pitfalls of 'Push' systems?

Medium
45

Which THREE of the following are foundational Lean thinking principles?

Easy
46

Which THREE of the following actions support the Lean principle 'Build Quality In'?

Medium
47

Which TWO of the following are essential components of a successful Value Stream Mapping session?

Medium
48

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

Easy
49

What is a 'Pull' system in Lean?

Easy
50

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

Medium
51

Your team is experiencing 'context switching' due to frequent interruptions. Which Lean-inspired action is most appropriate?

Medium
52

A team has a very high lead time. They notice that work sits in a 'Pending Approval' state for 80% of the total time. What should they do?

Medium
53

What is the primary Lean goal of 'Visual Management'?

Medium
54

A team has high 'wait time' between code completion and code review. How should they address this using Lean principles?

Hard

Frequently asked questions

What does the Foundations OF Lean domain cover on the DAF exam?
Foundations OF Lean questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 54 Foundations OF Lean questions in the DAF question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Foundations OF Lean questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.
Disciplined Agile Foundations (DAF, PMI-authorized, replaces the retired DASM) (DAF) Foundations OF Lean Practice Questions