PSK I

The Professional Scrum with Kanban certification, commonly known as PSK I, is Scrum.org’s certification regarding the application of Kanban practices to Scrum.
Those awarded with it are certified:

a fundamental understanding of applying Kanban principles to Scrum Teams
an understanding of the benefits this can yield

BASIC INFO

Duration: 60 minutes
Questions: 45; multiple-choice, multi-select, true/false
Passing score: 85%
Number of certification holders: 1,900+

ABOUT THE QUESTIONS

The questions on the PSK I exam consist of roughly the following two categories:

Understanding of the Kanban metrics and practices, such as Cycle Time and WIP limits
Understanding of the effects of applying Kanban practices and metrics to an existing Scrum environment

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PSK

PSK I is a Level I exam. It does however require a solid understanding of Kanban practices and metrics. As with all Scrum.org exams, it is possible to pass the PSK I exam without attending a dedicated training session. Attending a Kanban training, specifically KMP1, can be helpful to understand the metrics and practices of Kanban.

To prepare for the exam, the following actions are recommended:

Read the Scrum Guide multiple times until you are confident in your understanding of its terminology and the concepts it describes. Special focus should be placed on the roles, artifacts, and events. For assistance in understanding the Scrum Guide, my book may be helpful.
Read the Kanban Guide for Scrum Teams multiple times until you are comfortable with its terminology and concepts.
Read the paper Little’s Law for Professional Scrum with Kanban multiple times until you fully understand Little’s Law and its effects on WIP.
Take the free Scrum with Kanban Open assessment. The questions presented in it are part of the exam pool for the PSK I and representative of the questions overall in terms of formulation and style. A good rule of thumb is to practice it enough until you can pass it with a perfect score three times in a row, using less than 10 minutes each time.
If you are new to Scrum, take the free Scrum Open assessment until you can pass it with a perfect score three times in a row, using less than 10 minutes each time.
Use the practice quiz provided below.

PSK I PRACTICE QUIZ

126

PSK I

1 / 45

Which of the following statements describes the cross-functionality of a team?

Teams decide what they need to accomplish on sprint basis.

Teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team.

Teams have all competencies needed to accomplish the work without depending on others not part of the team.

2 / 45

The Service Level Expectation (SLE) contains at least two parts: a period of time and an associated probability.

FALSE

TRUE

3 / 45

As per Little’s Law, WIP is proportional to Cycle Time.

FALSE

TRUE

4 / 45

During the Daily Scrum, which metric is primarily inspected for tracking flow?

Throughput

Cycle Time

Work Item Age

WIP Limit

5 / 45

Which of the following statements is accurate about the Developers deciding to allocate an amount of their capacity to unplanned work? (Choose the best answer.)

Reserving capacity for unplanned work should not be done.

The value of the Sprint Goal decreases as less work is dedicated to the objective.

The importance of the Sprint Goal increases. It can help the Development Team maintain their focus as new Product Backlog items are pulled into their Sprint Backlog.

6 / 45

Under Scrum with Kanban, the Scrum Master defines the WIP limits.

TRUE

FALSE

7 / 45

Which of the following statements about the definition of “Workflow” are correct? (Choose all that apply)

Every Scrum Team must create one

It includes policies

It must include a work started point

It includes at least one active ("In-Progress") state

It includes a definition of individual units of customer value

It may not exceed the Sprint boundary

8 / 45

What actions can a Scrum Team take if the cycle times are too long?

The Scrum Team should consider having more items in progress

The Scrum Team should consider increasing velocity

The Scrum Team should consider increasing throughput

The Scrum Team should consider lowering WIP

9 / 45

How can Work in Progress (WIP) limits help a Scrum Team? (Choose the best answer.)

Collaboration increases.

Provide shorter feedback loops.

Value is realized more quickly.

All of the answers.

They lead to a more sustainable pace.

10 / 45

A Cycle Time Scatterplot can help you visualize which of the following? (Choose the best answer.)

All of the answers.

General Cycle Time trends.

Groups of Cycle Time outliers.

Individual Cycle Time outliers.

11 / 45

Which of the Kanban metrics are most useful in the Daily Scrum? (Choose the best two answers.)

Throughput

Cycle Time

Work Item Age

WIP

12 / 45

The SLE should be based on the Scrum Team’s historical cycle time.

TRUE

FALSE

13 / 45

The Developers have ownership of the definition of “Workflow” regardless of whether it encompasses flow inside and/or outside of the Sprint.

FALSE

TRUE

14 / 45

Which of the following metrics is likely considered during a Sprint Retrospective of a team using Scrum with Kanban? (Choose the best answer.)

Metrics and charts such as cumulative flow, scatterplot, and work item aging.

All other options are correct.

Work in Progress (WIP) Limits.

Workflows.

Current policies.

15 / 45

Which of the following statements accurately describe the relationship between Sprint and Kanban? (Choose the best two answers.)

It is easier to achieve Sprint objectives when applying Kanban practices.

Sprints are examples of cycles and cadence.

Sprints are examples of a policy that shows the team’s way of working.

16 / 45

Should the development team actively manage the Work Items in progress? (Choose the best answer.)

Yes, at least every Sprint Planning

Yes, at least every day during the Daily Scrum

17 / 45

A Scrum Team’s workflow is the team’s policy for how items move through different states towards “Done”.

FALSE

TRUE

18 / 45

At the Sprint Planning of their first Sprint, the Scrum Team has no SLE, what should the team do?

Create a forecast and inspect and adapt it throughout the next Sprints are more is learned.

Work without an SLE

Calculate the historical cycle time of Sprint 0

19 / 45

Which of the following is required by Scrum? (Choose one answer.)

Product Backlog

User Stories

Face-to-face communications

Planning Poker

20 / 45

Which of the following is an example of an existing Work in Progress (WIP) limit in Scrum?

The Sprint Goal.

There is no such component in the Scrum framework.

The definition of "Done".

The Product Backlog.

The Sprint Backlog.

The Burn-down chart.

21 / 45

Which of the following most accurately describes “flow” in Scrum with Kanban?

The flow of value passing through states

The flow of work passing through states

22 / 45

Throughput is the key measure for how frequently inspection and adaptation can take place.

FALSE

TRUE

23 / 45

The Work Item Aging chart displays how long ago each item was pulled into its first “work in progress” stage.

TRUE

FALSE

24 / 45

What is the most appropriate occasion for the Scrum Team to make policy changes to their Work in Progress (WIP) limits? (Choose the best answer.)

Anytime during the Sprint.

WIP Limits should not be modified.

During the Daily Scrum.

During the Sprint Retrospective.

25 / 45

Little’s Law states that to the average cycle time is equal to the average throughput divided by the average work in progress (WIP).

TRUE

FALSE

26 / 45

Which of the following describe ways in which applying Kanban can enhance the Scrum Team’s ability to deliver value? (Choose the best two answers.)

It enables the team to reduce cycle times and create shorter feedback loops for empiricism.

It leads to a reducing product cost ratio.

It allows for a reduction in the overall time needed in meetings.

It helps optimizing the flow of value throughout the product development system

27 / 45

Which of the following statements best describes the Work Item Age? (Choose the best answer.)

The amount of elapsed time between when a work item entered the Sprint Backlog and the current time.

The amount of elapsed time between when a work item "started" and the current time.

The amount of elapsed time between the start of the Sprint and the current time.

The amount of elapsed time between when a work item entered the Product Backlog and the current time.

28 / 45

The Sprint length can be considered equivalent to the batch size of Scrum with Kanban.

FALSE

TRUE

29 / 45

Overall efficiency is guaranteed to increase when batch sizes are reduced.

TRUE

FALSE

30 / 45

Which of the following four are considered the basic metrics of flow when using Scrum with Kanban? (Choose four answers.)

Lead Time.

Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD).

Cycle Time.

Work Item Age.

Work in Progress (WIP).

Throughput.

31 / 45

Which of the following metrics is most influential during the flow based Sprint Planning? (Choose the best answer.)

Points Delivered metrics.

Work Item Age metrics.

Throughput metrics.

Cycle Time metrics.

32 / 45

Which of the following are valid uses for a work item’s Cycle Time metric? (Choose the best three answers.)

Serve as a lagging indicator to the length of feedback loop for that Work Item.

Helping the team inspect and adapt their process.

Influencing the team’s Service Level Expectation (SLE).

Helping the team inspect and adapt their Sprint in the Daily Scrum.

Serve as a leading indicator to the length of feedback loop for that Work Item.

33 / 45

In Kanban, the limits should apply to the number of value-generating work items, rather than to their respective sub-tasks.

FALSE

TRUE

34 / 45

Which of the following statements best describes the Service Level Expectation (SLE)?

It is a commitment of the service quality.

It describes how items progress through every state in the workflow.

It is a forecast for how long an item will take to finish.

A commitment for how long an item will take to finish.

35 / 45

Which three statements best describe a Scrum Team’s definition of “Workflow”? (Choose the best three answers.)

It describes how value flows through the system.

It helps management track a work item’s percentage of completeness.

It creates transparency over policies related to Work in Progress (WIP) Limits.

It is used as a check off list for state that each work item must go through before it is considered ‘done’.

It provides a common understanding of when the Scrum Team considers work to be started and finished.

It provides policies that create quality gateways between development handoff phases.

36 / 45

Who is responsible for crafting the Sprint Goal?

Scrum Team

Product Owner

Project Manager

Developers

Scrum Master

37 / 45

In Scrum with Kanban, is “WIP Limit” considered an optional practice?

TRUE

FALSE

38 / 45

Which of the following charts is best suited to determine when a specific item in progress will likely be finished? (Choose the best answer.)

Work Item Aging chart.

Throughput chart.

Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) chart.

Control chart.

Gantt chart.

39 / 45

An increment is a body of inspectable, done work that supports empiricism at the end of the Sprint.

FALSE

TRUE

40 / 45

Which of the following statements best describes “flow” as understood in Kanban? (Choose the best answer.)

The movement of customer value throughout the product development system.

The movement of tasks between workflow stages.

An undesirable effect of too much work being present in the system.

A software development technique.

41 / 45

A flow based Sprint Review inspects and adapts the flow of value.

TRUE

FALSE

42 / 45

Using Scrum with Kanban removes the need for the role of the Scrum Master.

TRUE

FALSE

43 / 45

Which of the following is described as the essence of Scrum?

A small team of people that is highly flexible and adaptive

The Developers

The Scrum Master and the Product Owner

44 / 45

What is the most appropriate action to take for a Developer once a WIP limit is reached in one of the workflow stages? (Choose the best answer.)

Start a new work item but raise the exception at the Retrospective.

Help other team members with work already in progress.

Do nothing because the limit permit further activity.

Discuss what to do next with the Product Owner.

45 / 45

Which flow based event adds the inspection of flow metrics and analytics to help determine what improvements the Scrum Team can make to its processes?

Daily Scrum

Sprint Planning

Sprint Review

Sprint Retrospective

Your score is