PMI-ACP practice question 21 of 35

Following an upgrade, a software support team is overwhelmed by the number of tickets being submitted by end users. The team's manager is pushing the team to "work smart" by focusing on activities that deliver the most value in the least amount of time. What should the team do?

Full set: 482 questions
Answer options
A: Work longer hours to complete more of the support backlog.
B: Work support tickets in the order in which they were received.
C: Place tickets on hold until the team completes an analysis of the backlog to identify and resolve systemic issues. Correct answer
D: Add members to the support team.
Correct Answer:
C. Place tickets on hold until the team completes an analysis of the backlog to identify and resolve systemic issues.
Explanation

Option C aligns with Agile principles of identifying root causes and systemic improvements. After an upgrade, many tickets likely share common issues. By analyzing the backlog to identify patterns and systemic problems, the team can resolve multiple tickets simultaneously through single fixes. This "work smart" approach delivers maximum value with minimum effort - exactly what the manager requested. This reflects the Agile practice of continuous improvement and the lean principle of eliminating waste by addressing root causes rather than symptoms.

Why Incorrect

A. Working longer hours contradicts "work smart" - it's working harder, not smarter, and isn't sustainable.
B. First-in-first-out processing ignores value prioritization and doesn't address potential systemic issues affecting multiple users.
D. Adding team members increases cost without addressing the underlying problem; it's a resource-intensive solution, not "working smart."

References

1. Cohn

M. (2010). Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum. Addison-Wesley Professional

Chapter 14

pp. 245-248.

2. Poppendieck

M. & Poppendieck

T. (2003). Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit. Addison-Wesley

Chapter 3

pp. 41-43 (Eliminate Waste principle).

3. Schwaber

K. & Sutherland

J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. Section on Sprint Retrospective

p. 12. Available at: https://scrumguides.org/

4. Anderson

D. (2010). Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business. Blue Hole Press

Chapter 6

pp. 89-92.

5. Leffingwell

D. (2018). SAFe 4.5 Reference Guide. Scaled Agile Inc.

Section 3.4

pp. 156-158 (Problem-solving culture).

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