Pass the Scrum Professional Scrum with Kanban PSK-I Questions and answers with ExamsMirror

The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams outlines four primary Kanban practices essential for Scrum Teams:

Visualization of the Workflow.

Limiting Work in Progress (WIP).

Active management of work items in progress.

Explicit policies for workflow management, often including the identification of bottlenecks​.

Inspecting and adapting the workflow is not explicitly listed as a Kanban practice for Scrum Teams. While inspection and adaptation are fundamental to Scrum (due to its reliance on empiricism), they are not specific to the set of Kanban practices integrated into Scrum​​.

Cycle Time is a lagging indicator, meaning it can only be measured after a work item is complete. Therefore, it cannot be used as a leading indicator of the length of the feedback loop (Option A). Additionally, Cycle Time is not typically used during the Daily Scrum to help Developers inspect and adapt their Sprint; rather, it is more often used to assess overall process efficiency

You always need a Scrum Master when applying Kanban practices in the Scrum framework. The role of the Scrum Master remains crucial, even when Kanban practices are incorporated, as they are responsible for ensuring that the Scrum framework is followed, including all the new practices introduced by Kanban. The Scrum Master helps facilitate the team's understanding and use of flow-based metrics and practices while maintaining the integrity of Scrum events, roles, and artifacts

Cycle Time in the context of Professional Scrum with Kanban is defined as the time it takes for a single work item to move from the start to the end of a specific process or workflow. This metric is crucial for understanding how efficiently a team can process individual work items through their defined workflow stages.

•Option A describes a broader measurement from the initial concept to customer feedback post-release. This could align more with the concept of Lead Time rather than Cycle Time.

•Option B correctly describes a possible measurement for Cycle Time — the time a work item spends in one specific column (workflow stage). This is in line with the definitions provided in the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams, where Cycle Time can measure time within distinct parts of the workflow.

•Option D accurately reflects the definition of Cycle Time, which measures the elapsed time from when work starts on an item until it is completed.

•Option C describes "Throughput," which is a measure of the number of items delivered over a specific time period (e.g., daily or weekly). This is not related to Cycle Time but is a separate flow metric often used alongside Cycle Time to understand team performance and capacity better(

Thus, Option C is the correct answer as it does not correctly describe Cycle Time. This explanation is verified with resources from Scrum.org that define Cycle Time within the scope of ProfessionalScrum with Kanban practices.

The Work Item Aging Chart is the best chart to determine when a specific Sprint Backlog item that has been started will be finished. This chart provides a visual representation of how long each work item has been in progress, without being completed. It focuses on items that are currently active and helps teams identify which items are aging too much in the workflow, which might require attention to ensure they are completed promptly. The Work Item Aging Chart helps to quickly identify items that might be taking longer than expected, making it ideal for forecasting when a started item willbe finished

The Definition of Workflow clarifies how value moves through the system, establishes a shared understanding of when work items are considered to be in progress and completed, and enhances transparency, particularly around WIP limits. This provides structure to the Kanban system within Scrum and helps the team optimize their flow and maintain consistency. References: The Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams​​.

Little's Law is a formula used to understand the relationship between system throughput, work-in-progress (WIP), and lead time. While it can be used to analyze and optimize the flow of work, it is not specifically designed for forecasting a Scrum Team's output.

Scrum Teams typically use techniques like story point estimation and historical velocity to forecast their output.

The best answer is option A, which outlines the core Kanban practices for Scrum:

•Visualizing Flow: Helps the team see the state of work items at a glance.

•Limiting Work in Progress (WIP): Prevents overloading the team and promotes focus on completing work.

•Actively Managing the WIP: Ensures the team continuously monitors and manages the amount of work in progress.

•Inspecting and Adapting the Workflow: Regularly reviewing and adjusting the workflow to improve efficiency and effectiveness

Supplementing Scrum with Kanban practices encourages team collaboration and swarming. Kanban practices such as visualizing the workflow, limiting WIP, and focusing on flow metrics foster an environment where team members are more likely to collaborate closely to resolve bottlenecks and ensure a steady flow of work. This collaboration, often called "swarming," involves team members working together on fewer items to complete them faster, thereby enhancing team dynamics and efficiency

The essential flow metrics for Scrum Teams utilizing Kanban are:

Throughput: Measures the number of items completed within a time period.

Lead Time: Time from when an item enters the system to when it exits.

Cycle Time: Time it takes to complete a work item once it starts.

Work in Progress (WIP): The number of items currently in progress but not completed.

These metrics are foundational in understanding and optimizing flow within Kanban systems used alongside Scrum​​. "Work Item Age" and "Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)" are useful metrics but are not listed as primary flow metrics in Kanban for Scrum Teams.