CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question
In Kanban, the team is experiencing frequent bottlenecks at the testing stage. Which practice should they adopt to improve flow?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse adding more testers (Option C) as a quick fix for a bottleneck, but the CAPM exam emphasizes that Kanban focuses on limiting WIP to expose and address constraints rather than simply adding resources.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Limit the WIP at each stage, especially testing.
In Kanban, limiting Work in Progress (WIP) at each stage is a core practice to expose bottlenecks and improve flow. By capping the number of items allowed in testing, the team prevents work from piling up, forcing them to finish existing tasks before pulling new ones. This directly addresses the frequent bottlenecks by making the constraint visible and actionable, enabling the team to focus on completing testing rather than starting more work.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the batch size of work items.
Why it's wrong here
Larger batches increase work in progress and lengthen cycle time, worsening the testing queue rather than relieving it. Kanban counters bottlenecks by reducing batch size to shrink queue depth and speed feedback. Increasing batch size is tempting when throughput looks low, but it is the correct lever only for amortising fixed setup costs in batch-processing contexts.
- ✗
Conduct daily stand-up meetings.
Why it's wrong here
Daily stand-ups improve communication and surface impediments, but they do not alter the workflow or limit work in progress, so the testing queue persists. Kanban improves flow by making policies explicit and capping WIP at the bottleneck. Stand-ups are tempting as a visible agile ritual, and they are correct for coordination and transparency, not for resolving a capacity constraint.
- ✗
Add more testers to the testing phase.
Why it's wrong here
Adding testers raises capacity, yet the stem asks which Kanban practice improves flow; the bottleneck simply shifts downstream unless the constraint is explicitly managed and WIP limited. Kanban addresses flow through explicit policies and work-in-progress limits. Adding testers is tempting because it directly targets the visible queue, and it is right when testing is genuinely under-resourced.
- ✓
Limit the WIP at each stage, especially testing.
Why this is correct
Explicit WIP limits cap the number of items allowed at each workflow stage, so testing cannot be flooded with more work than it can process. This exposes the bottleneck, forces upstream stages to slow down, and pulls work through testing at a sustainable rate, improving overall flow.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CAPM question from scratch — 451 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CAPM exam.