AgilePM Foundation Level Interview Questions

The Agile PM Foundation Level certification is designed to deliver agile projects in any business that requires standardization, rigor, and visibility in project management while also allowing for agility’s empowerment, speed, and change. This exam is designed for people who want to work as Agile project managers. We will give you all of the information you will need to pass this exam, including exam details and study materials.

1.) What Benefits Do Agile Metrics Provide?

Agile metrics are a set of standards that may be used to assess a team’s productivity across the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The following are some examples of agile matrices:

Work Category Allocation: This provides crucial information on which tasks should be prioritized and how much time should be spent on each.

A cumulative flow graph is created by examining a certain procedure.

Delivering business value: This determines a team’s efficiency. Various corporate objectives are ascribed numerical values.

Sprint burndown: On a Scrum scale, this graph shows which Sprints have been implemented and which have not. Sprint can be used to keep track of the work that has been completed.

2.) How would you rate the last project you worked on?

In an interview, discussing past appointments and job history is fairly normal, and your response will provide the interviewer with a little more insight into you. It’s crucial to pick the correct example. You should select a project with which you are familiar and comfortable delving into the specifics. The interviewer is more interested in how you completed the task rather than whether you completed it.

3.) How do you go about managing a project?

When asked this question in an interview, the interviewer is interested in learning about your project management attitude. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your flexible management style and leadership abilities.

When asked this question, the first thing to say is about the last successful project you managed and how you implemented agile management methodology.

The next step is to portray yourself as a team player. Rather than a one-man army, most firms seek an inspiring, engaging project manager who can work with a team.

Last but not least, you should demonstrate flexibility by demonstrating that each project is unique and that you apply different methodologies for different tasks.

4.) What does it mean to be proactive as a project manager?

To be a proactive manager, you must be able to analyze potential threats and take action or develop solutions to reduce the risk. A proactive manager can keep track of all issues and make tiny changes that result in increased efficiency and productivity. They hold meetings with their staff and professional allies on a regular basis to discuss their challenges and stay on top of the situation.

5.) What risks do you believe a manager faces while working on a project?

Here are some of the most typical dangers to be aware of when managing a project:

• Cost
• Schedule
• Performance
• Market risks
• Strategic risks
• Legal risk
• Operational risk
• Governance
• External risk

6.) How well do you understand Kanban?

The Kanban approach is a collection of ideas and practices for project management and improvement. This strategy makes multiple small, progressive changes to a project over time, resulting in larger-scale improvements.

It is beneficial to write the entire scenario at once in order to gain a better understanding of the project’s workflow, development, flaws, and overall functioning.

7.) What is the Definition of a Scrum Cycle?

Here you must explain that teams work in three to four-week time periods or cycles called sprints. Each sprint requires the teams to fulfill micro targets as well as modify and assess their team’s compatibility.

8.) What methods do you use to provide status updates?

The interviewer wants to know how accountable you are in this inquiry. You will keep to your schedule and produce results on time if you provide regular status reports. Explain your reporting method and how often you do it. Say specifically that you provide reports whether or not they are requested. You must persuade the interviewer that you are trustworthy and capable of taking on responsibility.

9.) How do you communicate with others in a project?

Within the team, agile management necessitates good and effective communication. Different teams and projects necessitate different communication channels. Personal connection (team meetings), trustworthy electronics (cell phones, radio), and written communication (email, letter) are all useful methods of team communication.

10.) How will you handle a team member who isn’t performing well on a project?

The interviewers want a manager who can assist someone in improvising while still being firm enough to let them go if there is no room for growth. You must persuade the interviewers that you can assist such an individual is acting and thinking in their own unique style. Tell them about your techniques, such as pairing weak employees with stronger ones in order to help them reach their full potential. You should set up proper follow-ups and motivate them by praising and applauding their achievements.

11.) How do you set priorities for your goals?

Prioritizing your duties is a lengthy process that is absolutely necessary. Here are some suggestions to help you prioritize:

Make a list of the members of your team and keep track of their responsibilities.
Know your deadlines and what’s most important.
Calculate the worth of each goal.
Be adaptable and willing to improvise.
Estimate the time and effort required for each assignment and assign responsibilities to your team.

12.) What are your plans for dealing with a difficult stakeholder or client?

Clients and stakeholders play a critical role in a project, and their approval is crucial. They can be tough to deal with at times due to their position of power. Here are some ideas to make your interaction with them go more smoothly:

• Recognize their concern.
• Accept their authority and set your ego aside.
• Attend them and solicit their advice.
• Make a relationship with them by speaking well of them.
• Suppress any unfavorable feelings you have for them.
• Always be truthful and honest in your decisions.

13.) How will you handle a project that has deviated from its original plan?

There are a few indicators that a project has veered off course, and they are as follows:

• The budget is over the allotted amount.
• The project will take longer than expected.
• No initial objectives have been met or articulated.
• The project’s scope is continually shifting.
• If you can relate to any of these scenarios, the project is most likely off track. You must take immediate steps to get it back on track in this case.

Here are a few measures that will assist you in doing so.

• Determine the source of the issue.
• To make up for a lost time, work more efficiently and for longer periods of time.
• Try to stay true to the original vision or goal.
• Reevaluate how diverse resources and manpower are managed.

14.) What steps can you take to ensure that you and your team are meeting the client’s expectations?

One of a project manager’s most significant roles is to guarantee that the client’s expectations are met, if not exceeded. Keep track of past successful projects you’ve managed, as well as the processes and actions you took during those projects, so you can respond with instances of how you met customer expectations if this issue arises. In project management, there is a system to follow that includes numerous elements that, if followed with flexibility, can result in the project being labeled a success. You may also describe any tools or resources that you have used or intend to utilize in the future.

15.) How can you and your team develop a good working repo?

Relationships and effective coordination are required for a project to stay on track and finish successfully. Even if a project fails, as a project manager, you should concentrate on honing your skills by looking for opportunities to learn from failure. A project manager creates a report of the project after it is completed, showcasing the process, describing what went wrong, and making future improvisations to the plan.

A project manager’s role is to ensure that his team members’ professional knowledge and progress, and only then can the team’s results improve. To ensure overall growth, having one-on-one meetings with team members where you give them targets, objectives, and take feedback is a good idea.

16.) What are the Agile Methodologies’ Flaws?

The interviewer will not always inquire about the agile model’s benefits and characteristics. You should be prepared by understanding its flaws and loopholes.
It is impossible to predict how much effort will be required to finish an activity. In the event of huge projects, it might become extremely complicated.
Customer demands cannot be addressed if the client’s requirements are misconstrued, resulting in conflict.
A team’s leader has the most power and is the only one who can make major choices. The rest of the team has little or no input into the decision-making process. As a result, the employee’s professional advancement opportunities are limited, if not non-existent.

17.) Can Agile Techniques Be Used in Software Testing? 

Agile methodology is a fluid procedure that may be used in a variety of professional fields because it is as flexible as the individual who implements it. Wherever there is a lack of coordination, accurate information, and correct workflow, agile project management approaches are appropriate. This approach is beneficial in domains such as biophysics, biochemistry, and biomedicine.

18.) What exactly do you mean when you say “Scrum of Scrums”?

This is one of the most often asked topics in agile project management interviews.

Assume there is a project in progress, with six teams of six members each working on distinct project objectives. A scrum meeting is a meeting held by each team within itself. This is done to keep track of the task’s progress. A separate meeting, on the other hand, is convened to coordinate the efforts of all the teams. A scrum of scrums is a series of meetings designed to maintain proper team collaboration. This meeting is attended by a team leader from each team, who is known as an ambassador.

19.) Define the terms Agile and Scrum in your own words.

Scrum is just one way to use agile approaches. The agile approach is a broad style of project management.

Agile is a step-by-step method for completing a project by segmenting it. Scrum is a well-defined plan for efficiently executing the agile process.

20.) Use an example of a Scrum impediment to demonstrate your point.

Impediments are any roadblocks or roadblocks that a scrum team meets during their work process. The following are some examples of impediments:

• There aren’t enough people on the team or there aren’t enough resources.
• Inadequate external or internal support
• Lack of information and unpolished skills
• Weather and terrain are examples of natural influences.
• It’s critical to explain to the interviewer how you intend to handle all of these issues.

21.) What Are the Essential Functions of an Agile Project Management Team?

In an agile project management team, there are four major roles: team leader or project manager, project owner, product owner, and team members. A project manager’s job is to coordinate and oversee all of the operations that must be completed in order for a project to be completed effectively. To execute his job correctly, he needs the help of his teammates as well as the project and product owner.

The entire project team, including the manager, project owner, and product owner, are considered team members. Their role is to carry out the project manager’s tasks and finish them successfully within the deadline. The project owner is the client to whom the project will be assigned after it has been completed successfully.

22.) What are the Most Recent Agile Project Management Tool Advancements?

It is critical for an agile manager to keep up with the latest developments and market trends in the project management tool. This is critical since the agile management solution is constantly updated to reflect technological improvements. These are some of the market trends: –

• Artificial intelligence and data processing has had a significant impact on management software.
• Agile project managers all over the world are learning more about artificial intelligence and how to utilize it in agile project management to improve the process.
• Various methodologies, such as the hybrid project management technique, have been developed to carry out agile project management.

23.) How well do you understand the Agile Manifesto and its guiding principles?

This is a highly valuable notion for implementing agile management practices. There are 12 manifestos and four principles. You must describe them as precisely and plainly as possible. To better illustrate the values of the principles, concentrate on the following pointers.

Instead of dreading change, be adaptable and embrace it.
Customer collaboration methods that are easy to use
Showcase the active project on a regular basis.
It is necessary to engage in positive, well-organized, and self-motivating engagement.

24.) How would you define increment?

One of the most common agile manager interview questions is this one. When a sprint is completed, the sum of all the backlog items for that product is referred to as an increment. Because an increment is cumulative, it includes all previous values.

25.) How will you sort out ineffective project ideas as an Agile project manager?

When you work in a group, there are numerous points of view that you must consider before making a decision. Because no decision can be made without a majority vote, a majority opinion will be chosen. There will be team members who do not share your viewpoint, and their suggestions will be useless to the project. This problem should be handled with caution so that no one feels excluded.

26.) What is the best way to conduct a Sprint Retrospective?

A sprint retrospective is a meeting called by the sprint master to go over the results of the previous sprint. The following sprints can be improved and better prepared by reviewing the prior sprint and accounting for the errors. Team members can discuss the positive and negative parts of the previous sprint, as well as internal affairs and creative ideas, at such a meeting.

27.) What is your Sprint Planning Process?

Sprint planning is an essential component of agile management. It should be a lengthy and thorough procedure including all project stakeholders.

Once the team is ready, it’s critical to remind them of the project’s direction and what the sprint will lead to as the project manager.

Then there’s the risk assessment procedure. Each assignment is discussed with each team member so that they are aware of their responsibilities and associated dangers.

Once all of the risks have been identified and the plan has been implemented, all of this information should be uploaded to an online database so that the project’s progress can be tracked in real-time.

28.) What are the differences between burn-down and burn-up charts?

These charts are used by Agile to keep track of the progress of ongoing projects. The burn-down chart indicates the remaining tasks in a project, whereas the burn-up chart illustrates the completed work. The following are the four types of burn-down charts:

• Burn-down graph for a product
• Burn-down chart for sprints
• Publish a burn-down chart
• Burn-down chart for defects

29.) What is the Agile methodology’s definition of velocity?

Velocity is a planning technique used to assess the speed of work and the time required to complete a project, according to a commonly asked Agile business analyst question. This analyst does this computation by reviewing the work that was completed successfully in previous sprints.

For instance, if the team completes five stories in a two-week sprint, each with three-story points, the team’s velocity is 15 story points per sprint.

30.) In an Agile methodology, can you tell the difference between epics, user stories, and tasks?

This is the response to the interview question about Agile development:

User Stories – They define the actual business requirement, which is generally created by the business owner.
Tasks – The development team divides the business or product requirements into tasks in order to complete them.

31.) What do an Agile Scrum master’s responsibilities entail?

Regardless of the size or industry of the firm, the following are key Scrum Master responsibilities:

• Removing barriers that hinder the Scrum team’s productivity
• Creating a collaborative and productive work environment
• Keeping the team safe from the outside world’s distractions
• Keeping a positive relationship with the client, the staff, and all stakeholders
• Supervising the Scrum team’s activities, firefighting.

32.) What exactly do you mean when you say “refactoring”?

Refactoring is a process that involves changing or modifying the internal structure of software without affecting its external behavior or functionality. Developers make changes to the code or experiment with it in order to enhance and improve the software’s underlying structure. Red-Green refactoring is one of the most popular and commonly used refactoring strategies in agile software development. The refactoring process improves the readability, understandability, and cleanliness of the code. Refactoring on a regular basis makes it easier to extend and maintain code.

33.) What is the difference between a Spike and a Zero Sprint in Agile?

Spike: In software development, it refers to a too vast and complex user story that cannot be approximated unless the development team does a timed investigation. These tales can be used for a variety of purposes, including study, design, exploration, prototyping, and so on. Spikes are typically used to tackle some of the project’s technical and design concerns.

The first step or pre-preparation step that comes shortly before the first sprint is known as the zero sprints. It covers everything from setting up a programming environment to creating a backlog.

34.) Other than Scrum, name three major Agile frameworks for product development.

Other than Scrum, there are three main Agile frameworks:

• Kanban
• Test-Driven Development (TDD)
• FDD (Feature-Driven Development)

35.) What is the “Planning Poker” strategy?

Planning Poker, often known as Scrum Poker, is a consensus-based technique that not only assists agile teams in estimating the time and effort required to finish each initiative on their product backlog but also detects issues ahead of schedule and within a user story. It shortens the meeting, makes it more productive, and generates estimates with the participation of the entire team. It is mostly used to avoid other participants’ influence and push each person to think independently and express their opinion.