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CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question

Exhibit

Exhibit:
Kanban Board State:
To Do: [PBI-1, PBI-2, PBI-3, PBI-4] (WIP limit: 5)
In Progress: [PBI-5, PBI-6, PBI-7] (WIP limit: 3)
Done: [PBI-8, PBI-9] (WIP limit: unlimited)
The team wants to pull PBI-10 into In Progress.

Refer to the exhibit. The team wants to pull a new item into In Progress. What should they do first?

⚠ Common exam trap

CAPM often tests the misconception that WIP limits are optional guidelines that can be overridden when urgency strikes, when in fact they are a disciplined constraint whose violation undermines the entire Kanban method.

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

✓

Move an item from In Progress to Done.

In a Kanban system, WIP limits are constraints that must be respected — the team cannot simply pull a new item into In Progress when the column is already at its limit. The correct first action is to finish existing work by moving an item from In Progress to Done, which frees a slot and allows the new item to be pulled. This preserves flow, exposes bottlenecks, and honors the pull-based discipline central to Kanban.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Ignore the WIP limit and pull the item.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the WIP limit violates the explicit constraint the exhibit shows, so the board's flow rule is broken rather than satisfied. It tempts teams under delivery pressure who treat limits as advisory, but a WIP limit is a pull-system control that must be respected before any new work enters In Progress.
✓
Move an item from In Progress to Done.
Why this is correct
Kanban is a pull system: a new card may enter In Progress only when capacity frees up. Since the column sits at its WIP limit, the team must first complete an existing item and move it to Done, creating the slot.
✗
Increase the WIP limit for In Progress.
Why it's wrong here
Raising the WIP limit changes the board's configured constraint instead of resolving the blockage the exhibit depicts, so the underlying bottleneck persists. It tempts teams who assume capacity is the issue, but adjusting limits is a deliberate policy decision made during process review, not a first response to a full column.
✗
Add the item to To Do.
Why it's wrong here
Adding the item to To Do places it in the backlog column, which does not address the exhibit's constraint on In Progress and delays the pull the team wants. It tempts those treating To Do as a staging step, yet that column is for items not yet ready; the question asks what to do before pulling.

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CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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