CAPM Agile Frameworks and Methodologies Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. ``` Kanban Board: Backlog | To Do (3) | In Progress (2) | Testing (5) | Done WIP Limits: - To Do: 5 - In Progress: 3 - Testing: 3 ```
The team notices that work is piling up in the Testing column. The WIP limit for Testing is 3, but currently there are 5 items. What should the team do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates think moving items backward (Option C) or forward (Option A) will help, but Kanban strictly enforces finishing work in the current column before pulling new work from upstream.
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
✓
Focus the team on completing testing items until the WIP limit is met.
When a WIP limit is exceeded, the team should swarm on the bottleneck to complete the items in that column, thereby reducing work-in-progress and restoring flow. In Kanban, exceeding a WIP limit signals a constraint that must be resolved by finishing existing work, not by adding more. This aligns with the core principle of limiting WIP to improve throughput and cycle time.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Move items from Backlog to To Do to increase throughput.
Why it's wrong here
Adding more items to To Do increases upstream pressure on an already-breached Testing limit, worsening the pile-up. Pulling new work is correct only when downstream columns sit below their WIP limits. The immediate action is to stop starting and help finish the five testing items.
- ✗
Ignore the WIP limit and continue as is.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the WIP limit abandons the constraint that exposes bottlenecks, letting cycle time and defect rates climb unchecked. Deliberately exceeding limits is defensible only during a short, explicitly agreed expedite. The team should instead swarm on Testing and halt new pulls until the count returns to three.
- ✗
Move some testing items back to In Progress.
Why it's wrong here
Pushing work backwards into In Progress does not reduce the Testing count; the five items remain in the system and the breach persists. Returning items to an earlier column is legitimate when work was pulled prematurely and never actually started. Here the team must stop starting new work and swarm on Testing.
- ✓
Focus the team on completing testing items until the WIP limit is met.
Why this is correct
The WIP limit of 3 is exceeded, so the team must stop starting new work and swarm on the five testing items until the column returns to its limit. Completing existing work restores flow and satisfies the constraint the stem identifies.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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