Self-Organizing Teams

5 minutes 5 Questions

In agile environments, one important concept is Self-Organizing Teams. This means that the team themselves decide how they will carry out their work rather than being directed by others outside the team. They are empowered to manage their own workload and to make decisions in their area of accounta…

Guide: Self-Organizing Teams in PMI-ACP Examination

What is a Self-Organizing Team?
A self-organizing team is a concept in project management where the team members have the autonomy to decide among themselves who does what, when, and how.

Why is it Important?
It promotes a sense of ownership and accountability among team members which leads to improved productivity and better decision making. This autonomy also results in enhanced innovation, job satisfaction, and team morale. In the PMI-ACP exam, expect questions testing your understanding of this concept in practical Agile project environments.

How does it Work?
In a self-organizing team, the leadership style is often decentralized, with decision-making power not held solely by a leader or manager. Instead, the team collaboratively makes decisions and plans work based on their skills, interests, and the project requirements.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Self-Organizing Teams
1. Understand the Concept: It's crucial to comprehend what a self-organizing team entails and its benefits to project management.
2. Essential Characteristics: Remember, in a self-organizing team, decision-making is decentralized and team members organize and manage their work themselves.
3. Answer from an Agile Perspective: Emphasize on qualities such as flexibility, adaptability, collaboration and shared responsibility when answering. Agile teams value 'individuals and interactions' over 'processes and tools'

Test mode:

Exam (Timed)

Practice (With explanations)

Start practice test

PMI-ACP - Self-Organizing Teams Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Self-Organizing Teams

Question 1

A self-organizing team is having difficulty achieving its sprint goals. The team tends to lose focus and isn't progressing at the desired speed. What is the best solution?

Randomly rotate team members between different projects to foster motivation Disallow team members from taking breaks until they achieve the sprint goals Create a set of detailed and strict rules for the team to follow Assign a team leader to micromanage every team member's tasks Facilitate a team retrospective to identify and address challenges and areas for improvement Criticize the team members and demand faster performance

Correct Answer: Facilitate a team retrospective to identify and address challenges and areas for improvement

In Agile Project Management, self-organizing teams emphasize collaboration, communication, and ongoing improvement. A team retrospective allows team members to discuss the problems and find solutions to improve their performance, which is essential for Agile methodologies.

Question 2

A self-organizing team has identified a recurring pattern of missed technical deadlines. What action best promotes team autonomy while addressing this challenge?

Create a technical debt backlog and let the team prioritize addressing it during sprint planning Schedule additional technical training sessions and adjust sprint commitments based on the learning curve Establish weekly technical reviews with senior developers to assess progress and update deadlines based on team capabilities Implement mandatory code review sessions where team members collectively evaluate and adjust technical approaches

Correct Answer: Create a technical debt backlog and let the team prioritize addressing it during sprint planning

Creating a technical debt backlog and allowing the team to prioritize it during sprint planning is the optimal solution because: Strengths of this approach: - Maintains team autonomy by letting them manage their own workload - Addresses technical issues systematically through the backlog - Integrates problem-solving into existing agile ceremonies - Empowers team decision-making - Promotes sustainable development practices Why other approaches are less effective: Weekly technical reviews with senior developers: - Reduces team autonomy by introducing external oversight - Creates dependency on senior developers - May undermine team's self-organizing nature Mandatory code review sessions: - Forces a specific solution rather than letting team choose approach - May not address root causes of missed deadlines - Imposes process rather than enabling self-organization Scheduling additional training: - Assumes skill deficiency is the primary issue - Adds extra overhead that may further impact deadlines - Takes a prescriptive approach rather than letting team determine solution

Question 3

A self-organizing team has discovered that their most experienced developer tends to make architectural decisions alone. What approach best aligns with self-organizing team principles?

Allow the experienced developer to continue making decisions while documenting them extensively for the team's reference Establish regular architecture review sessions where all team members can contribute and learn Rotate the architecture decision-making responsibility among team members based on a fixed schedule Create a separate architecture committee that includes external experts to validate all decisions

Correct Answer: Establish regular architecture review sessions where all team members can contribute and learn

Regular architecture review sessions where all team members can contribute and learn is the best approach because: - It promotes collective ownership of architectural decisions - Enables knowledge sharing across the team - Builds team capability and resilience - Aligns with self-organizing principles by involving everyone - Creates opportunities for mentorship and learning Why other options are less effective: Having one person make all decisions centralizes knowledge and creates dependency on a single team member, which goes against self-organizing principles. Rotating architectural decisions on a fixed schedule may lead to inconsistent approaches and doesn't ensure decisions are made by those with the right expertise at the right time. Creating an external architecture committee removes autonomy from the team and contradicts self-organization by adding an external governance layer.

🎓 Unlock Premium Access

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner + ALL Certifications

🎓 Access to ALL Certifications: Study for any certification on our platform with one subscription
3862 Superior-grade PMI Agile Certified Practitioner practice questions
Unlimited practice tests across all certifications
Detailed explanations for every question
PMI-ACP: 5 full exams plus all other certification exams
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed: Full refund if unsatisfied
Risk-Free: 7-day free trial with all premium features!

Start Your Free 7-Day Trial