DASSM PMI Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Disciplined Agile (DA) is described as a process-decision toolkit that provides tailored guidance to help teams and organizations optimize their way of working in a context-sensitive manner. Unlike a rigid methodology, DA offers flexibility by allowing teams to choose from a variety of agile, lean, and traditional practices that best fit their situation. DA emphasizes that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach; rather, it empowers teams to make informed decisions based on their specific needs and circumstances. Option A focuses on project alignment, which is only one aspect of DA. Options C and D do not accurately reflect the comprehensive, adaptive nature of DA as a toolkit designed for broad applicability.

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In Disciplined Agile, process goals are not meant to prescribe how to achieve a particular objective but rather to provide guidance and flexibility. They offer a range of potential options and strategies that a team can choose from to achieve their objectives, allowing the team to tailor its approach based on its specific context and needs. Thus, the correct answer is "False," as process goals are intended to guide rather than dictate a specific way of achieving objectives.

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The concept ofLeanwas developed around eliminating three types of deviations or "wastes" (known as Muda, Mura, and Muri) that result in inefficient allocation ofresources. These deviations are:

Muda (Waste):Activities that do not add value to the customer.

Mura (Variability):Irregularities in production that cause delays, excess inventory, and inefficiencies.

Muri (Overburden):Overloading resources, whether human or mechanical, leading to errors, fatigue, and breakdowns.

Lean aims to optimize the use of resources by reducing waste, ensuring consistency, and avoiding overburdening. Options B (Meetings), C (Deadlines), and D (Data) do not align with the Lean philosophy's primary focus on resource efficiency.

References:

"Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation," James P. Womack & Daniel T. Jones.

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

The Lean governance mindset in the Disciplined Agile framework promotes principles that help teams align their work with organizational objectives while maintaining agility and responsiveness. Key elements of a Lean governance mindset include promoting transparency (B), being servant leaders (C), learning continuously (D), and leading by example (E). These elements encourage a culture where leaders support teams, foster openness and trust, and model the behaviors they want to see in others.

However, "letting the team manage the risks" (A) is not part of a Lean governance mindset. While teams are encouraged to take ownership of their work, risk management is typically a shared responsibility that involves collaboration between the team and the broader organization. In Lean governance, risks are managed in a way that aligns with the organization's overall risk tolerance and strategic objectives, rather than leaving risk management solely to the team.

This understanding aligns with the Disciplined Agile approach, which emphasizes governance as an ongoing process that integrates learning, leadership, and transparency.

The principle ofpragmatismin Disciplined Agile does not mean that the team will always do what the customer wants. Instead, it means that the team will make practical decisions based on the specific context, constraints, and overall business goals. The team may sometimes need to challenge or refine customer requirements to ensure that the solutions provided are feasible, valuable, and sustainable.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

Theteam leadisnot responsible for securing fundingfor the team. In a Disciplined Agile framework, funding responsibilities typically fall under the purview of management or a sponsor. The team lead focuses on enabling the team, removing impediments, facilitating collaboration, and coaching the team toward effective delivery practices.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The statement "The implementation of this blade will be standard across domains" isfalseabout the Business Operations process blade. In Disciplined Agile (DA), the Business Operations process blade involves strategies for providing services to the business and ensuring operational effectiveness, but its implementation will vary depending on the specific context, domain, and organizational needs. DA emphasizes tailoring practices to fit the unique circumstances of the organization, so a one-size-fits-all or standard implementation is not appropriate.

Options A (collaboration with Sales and Marketing), B (providing services to the business), and D (focusing on delighting customers) are true aspects of the Business Operations process blade.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

In theContinuous Delivery Leanlife-cycle model, a Disciplined Agile team needs to have high levels of skill and organization because this model involves continuous delivery of small, incremental changes. Teams must manage a smooth flow of work, maintain high quality through automation, integrate changes frequently, and respond rapidly to customer feedback. This requires sophisticated technical practices, strong cross-functional collaboration, and disciplined work management to ensure a continuous stream of value delivery.

Options A (Program), C (Scrum), D (SAFe), E (Continuous Delivery Agile), and F (Exploratory) also require specific skills but do not generally demand the same level of continuous and lean-oriented discipline as Continuous Delivery Lean.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

Even when a project follows a Scrum or Agile lifecycle, it still needs the Inception, Construction, or Transition phases as described in Disciplined Agile (DA). These phases provide a structured approach to project delivery. The "Inception" phase involves initial planning and alignment, "Construction" focuses on iterative development, and "Transition" ensures the final product is ready for release. While Scrum and Agile frameworks focus on iterative and incremental development, DA uses these phases to ensure a comprehensive approach to project management.

The Team Lead, in Disciplined Agile, is responsible for ensuring that the daily coordination meeting (often known as the daily stand-up) happens. While team members participate in the meeting and are responsible for their coordination, the Team Lead facilitates the process and ensures that it takes place consistently. This role helps maintain the cadence and discipline of the daily coordination meeting.

For a long-term project with potential for significant budgeting and tracking overhead, the Scrum Master should set up a long-standing team. According to the Disciplined Agile framework, long-standing teams are stable teams that remain intact across multiple projects or over a long duration. These teams are cross-functional, meaning they have all the necessary skills to deliver value and are more likely to develop high levels of collaboration and productivity over time. While cross-functional teams (B) are a necessary characteristic, "long-standing team" (A) is the best answer for a long-term project with significant overhead, as it implies continuity and sustained team dynamics. A project team (C) is typically formed for a short-term, specific project and disbanded afterward. A shared services team (D) provides specialized skills and services to various teams and is not typically suited for the dedicated effort required by long-term projects.

It is false to say that Disciplined Agile (DA) roles cover all possible roles in an organization. DA defines a set of primary roles (such as Team Lead, Product Owner, and Architecture Owner) and supporting roles for agile delivery teams. However, it does not prescribe all roles that might exist in an organization, such as executive leadership or specialized departments outside the agile delivery context.

DevOpsis a key competency in Disciplined Agile, aiming to create a smooth flow of work from development through to operations. This involves practices such as continuous integration, continuous delivery, and automated deployment, which help to reduce cycle time, improve feedback loops, and ensure the product is always in a deployable state. The focus is on integrating development and operations to deliver value to customers more rapidly and reliably.

Options B (using developers for operations), C (automating testing), and D (involving operational teams in development) are components of DevOps practices, but the primary goal is to establish a seamless workflow.

References:

PMI’s Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) curriculum materials.

"Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Optimizing Your Way of Working (WoW)", PMI.

The PMI Disciplined Agile framework presents various process choices in a goal diagram to allow teams to select the most appropriate practices for their context. However, not all choices are suitable for every situation. The goal diagram illustrates multiple options to provide flexibility, but teams need to assess their specific circumstances, constraints, and goals to determine which process choices are viable. Therefore, it is true that not all process choices may be viable in a given situation.

Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) is a four-step iterative process used for continuous improvement. It helps teams to better understand the effectiveness of their actions and identify opportunities for improvement. The cycle involves planning an action (Plan), executing it (Do), studying the results (Study), and acting on what is learned (Act). While reflecting on whether the team is working on the correct things (B) or improving plans (C) are parts of continuous improvement, PDSAis primarily aimed at understanding and improving the results of actions. Option D (providing justification when something goes wrong) is not the purpose of PDSA.

The Marketing process blade in Disciplined Agile is responsible for crafting an appealing roadmap of the organization's offerings in close conjunction with Product Management. Product Management helps define the product vision, strategy, and features, while Marketing ensures that these offerings are effectively communicated to the target audience. Options A (Portfolio management), C (Finance), D (Business Operations), and E (Control) do not primarily focus on this collaboration.

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