PMI-ACP Course

Domain VI. Problem Detection and Resolution

10% of the exam (12 questions)

Eng. Mahmoud Nassar YouTube channel

IBM Agile Coach, Kanban Agile Coach
PMP®, PMI-ACP®, CSM®, 6Sigma yellow belt
Domain VI. Outline
1. Domain VI. Tasks (5 Tasks)
2. Understanding Problems
3. Creating a Safe and open Environment
4. Detecting Problems
5. Lead time and Cycle Time
6. Trend analysis
7. Control Limits
8. Managing Threats and Issues
9. Others
10. Questions
Domain VI. Problem Detection and Resolution (5 Tasks)

Continuously identify problems, impediments, and risks; prioritize and resolve in a timely manner; monitor and communicate the
problem resolution status; and implement process improvements to prevent them from occurring again.

1. Create a safe and open environment to surface problems

2. Engage team in resolving threats and issues
3. Resolve issues or reset expectations
4. Maintain a visible list of threats and issues
5. Maintain a threat list and add threat remediation efforts to the backlog
Understanding Problems
Understanding Problems
Creating a Safe and open Environment
Detecting
Problems

• Cycle Time and Lead Time

• Trend Analysis
• Control Limits
Lead Time and Cycle Time
Lead Time and Cycle Time on a Kanban Board
Cycle Time, WIP and Throughput
Defect Cycle Time
Escaped Defects
 The difference between planned and
actual values

Cost variance
Variance
Analysis
Schedule variance

Other tracking items

 Lagging metrics provide measurements
of past experiences

Trend Leading metrics provide a view

Analysis into the future

Trend analysis aims to predict

performance or problems
Control Limits
Managing Threats and Issues
 Agile teams seek to balance
delivering the highest-value features
and mitigating the biggest risks.
Stories are ranked based on
Risk-adjusted business value and risk level
Backlog
The PO assign the ROI to the items
in the backlog
 Expected monetary value is the worth of
a risk event

Expected
Monetary EMV =risk impact x risk probability
Value

Done for each risk in a probability

impact matrix
 Risk Burndown Chart

• Visual communication of risk

events
• Severe these for each risk are
plotted on top of one another to
show the cumulative severity of
the project
• Overtime risk should diminish so
the chart diminishes as well
 We make mistakes – mistakes happen

We prefer to fail conservatively

Failure Modes We prefer to invent rather than research

We are creatures of habit

We are inconsistent
 We are good at looking around

We are able to learn

Success Modes
We are malleable

We take pride in our work

 Balance discipline with tolerance

Start with something concrete and tangible

Copy and alter

Watch and listen

Success Support both concentration and communication

Strategies Match work assignments with a person

Retain the best talent

Use rewards that preserve joy

Combine rewards

Get feedback
Problem Solving
 Problem Solving

PROBLEM SOLVING IS PROBLEM SOLVING

CONTINUOUS DISCUSSED IN DAILY
IMPROVEMENT STANDUP, ITERATION
REVIEWS,
RETROSPECTIVES,
..ETC.
5 Questions on
Domain VI
 Question 1

Story A is valued at $4,570, Story B is valued at $7,540, Story C is valued at $10,720, and Story D
is valued at $12,340. Of these four stories, what is the customer's top priority?

A. Story A
B. Story B
C. There isn't enough information.
D. Story D

© 2015 IBM Corporation 28

 Question 2

Your team completed four stories in iteration 3, seven stories in iteration 4, and five stories in
iteration 5. As agile practitioner, what should you do about this?

A. Hold an urgent meeting with the team.

B. Engage the team to address the problem.
C. Nothing. There is no problem here.
D. Work on your own skills at removing impediments.

© 2015 IBM Corporation 29

 Question 3

You see that in the last month your team's throughput has gone up but their cycle time remains
the same as the previous month. What must have happened?

A. Their WIP must have increased

B. They must have taken a lot of vacations that month
C. They must have lowered their WIP limits
D. Their velocity must have improved

© 2015 IBM Corporation 30

 Question 4

The members of an agile team are trying to understand how long will it take for the project to be
completed. To answer this question, they are analyzing the burndown chart, the cumulative flow diagram,
and the schedule performance index of the project. Which analysis technique is the team using?

A) SWOT analysis
B) Trend analysis
C) Schedule analysis
D) Variance analysis

© 2015 IBM Corporation 31

 Question 5

Which Kanban key performance long it takes them to deliver work? indicator allows teams to
make reliable commitments about how

A) WIP
B) Defects
C) Velocity
D) Cycle time

© 2015 IBM Corporation 32