Throughput

5 minutes 5 Questions

Throughput is a key performance indicator that measures the average amount of work items completed per time interval, which could be measured daily, weekly, or per iteration. By monitoring throughput, teams can gain insights into their efficiency, adjust their expectations accordingly and spot trends or outliers. If the throughput decreases over time, it could signal an issue that needs to be inspected and adapted. This concept encourages organizations to continuously improve their work processes and practices.

Guide: Understanding and Answering Questions on Throughput in Scrum

Why it is Important:
Throughput in scrum is a key performance metric used to measure the work completed by a team during a sprint. It's a vital tool in assessing the team's productivity and capability.

What it is:
Throughput is the amount of work, usually measured in story points, completed within a specific time frame. It shows the speed at which a scrum team is delivering completed work.

How it works:
Throughput is calculated by dividing the total number of story points delivered by the total time taken. This results in a rate that shows the amount of story points delivered per unit of time.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Throughput

Understand the basic definition and calculation of Throughput.
Illustrate utilization of Throughput in determining team productivity.
Be able to differentiate Throughput from other Scrum metrics such as Velocity and Cycle Time.
Know the pros and cons of using throughput as a metric.

Please note, always read the question carefully! Exam questions might test your understanding of the concept in different ways and contexts.

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Question 1

A team's throughput has been stagnant while their work in progress has increased over time. What should management do to improve the situation?

Remove any non-essential tasks from the team's backlog. Implement Work in Progress (WIP) limits to encourage the completion of tasks. Prioritize new tasks with higher urgency. Give the team a break and cease all work. Expand the team to take on more tasks. Increase the duration of sprints.

Correct Answer: Implement Work in Progress (WIP) limits to encourage the completion of tasks.

WIP limits encourage teams to focus on completing tasks, reducing the number of tasks in progress. This helps improve throughput by ensuring tasks are not left unfinished.

Question 2

A development team has recently started using a new project management tool and noticed a decrease in throughput. What should management do in this scenario?

Ask the team to submit daily reports on their work. Evaluate if the tool is creating an additional overhead and consider alternatives or customizations. Ask the team to spend more time on the tool. Change the sprint duration. Demand that the team quickly adjusts to the new tool. Hire more developers.

Correct Answer: Evaluate if the tool is creating an additional overhead and consider alternatives or customizations.

The decrease in throughput may be due to the need to adapt to a new tool. Evaluating its impact and customizing it to better suit the team's needs will help improve throughput.

Question 3

A development team has achieved an optimal throughput and the stakeholders want to maintain it. What should management do to sustain this throughput?

Increase the scope of user stories. Regularly review processes and address any bottlenecks or areas for improvement. Keep the team's processes static and unchanged. Add more team members to increase capacity. Implement financial incentives for high throughput. Set even higher goals for the team.

Correct Answer: Regularly review processes and address any bottlenecks or areas for improvement.

To maintain optimal throughput, continuous review of processes and addressing potential bottlenecks or issues is important. This ensures that the team can adapt to changing project requirements and continue delivering at their best level.

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