PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that velocity has dropped due to too many interruptions. What agile technique should the Scrum Master recommend to address this?
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
✓
Implement a Work in Progress (WIP) limit to reduce multitasking
Implementing a Work in Progress (WIP) limit reduces multitasking by limiting the number of tasks team members work on simultaneously, directly addressing interruptions. Option A (adding buffer time) does not prevent interruptions. Option C (more frequent retrospectives) is a ceremony and not a direct countermeasure. Option D (increasing sprint duration) does not reduce interruptions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add buffer time to each task estimate
Why it's wrong here
Adding buffer time to task estimates is an ineffective strategy for addressing frequent interruptions. While it might superficially appear to provide more leeway, it merely masks the underlying problem without resolving the source of the interruptions. This approach can also encourage Parkinson's Law, where work expands to fill the available time, reducing overall efficiency and failing to improve focus or flow within the sprint.
- ✓
Implement a Work in Progress (WIP) limit to reduce multitasking
Why this is correct
Implementing a Work in Progress (WIP) limit directly addresses the issue of multitasking and its associated interruptions by restricting the number of items a team can work on simultaneously. This forces the team to focus on completing fewer tasks before starting new ones, thereby reducing context switching and the cognitive load caused by frequent task-switching. By promoting a "stop starting, start finishing" mentality, WIP limits enhance flow, improve quality, and make interruptions more visible and manageable.
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Conduct more frequent retrospectives
Why it's wrong here
Conducting more frequent retrospectives, while valuable for continuous improvement, does not directly reduce interruptions. Retrospectives are forums for inspecting the past sprint and adapting future processes, meaning they identify problems and potential solutions. However, they are not the mechanism that implements the solution; they facilitate the discussion and decision-making, but a separate, concrete action is required to mitigate interruptions.
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Increase the sprint duration to accommodate interruptions
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the sprint duration to accommodate interruptions is generally counterproductive and often exacerbates the problem rather than solving it. Longer sprints can lead to a false sense of security, delaying the identification and resolution of root causes for interruptions, and potentially increasing the overall number of disruptions over a longer period. This approach fails to address the underlying inefficiencies and can reduce urgency and focus within the team.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Leading Teams and Empowering Team Members
Key term
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps teams deliver complex projects in small, iterative chunks called sprints.
Key term
Sprint Retrospective
A Sprint Retrospective is a time-boxed meeting at the end of a Scrum sprint where the team reflects on their process and identifies improvements for the next sprint.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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