PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): key terms

Flashcards for this exam PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) guide Class dates

• Acceptance CriteriaConditions a product or backlog item must satisfy to be accepted by the product owner or customer.Foundational
• Adaptive ApproachA development approach in which requirements are elaborated and refined iteratively as the project proceeds.Foundational
• Affinity EstimatingTechnique of quickly grouping many items into size categories by placing them relative to one another.Intermediate
• Agile ContractingContract approaches that accommodate changing scope while managing buyer and seller risk.Advanced
• Agile ManifestoThe 2001 Manifesto for Agile Software Development, stating four values and twelve principles.Foundational
• Agile Practice GuidePMI and Agile Alliance guide on applying agile approaches, published with PMBOK 6 in 2017.Intermediate
• Agile PrinciplesThe twelve principles behind the Agile Manifesto.Foundational
• Build-Measure-LearnLean Startup feedback loop: build an experiment, measure results, learn, then pivot or persevere.Intermediate
• Burndown ChartChart showing remaining work versus time in an iteration or release.Foundational
• Burnup ChartChart showing completed work rising over time against a separate total scope line.Foundational
• CapacityThe amount of work a team can take on in an iteration given availability.Foundational
• Classes of ServicePolicies that define how different types of work items are treated in a Kanban system.Advanced
• Coding StandardXP practice of agreeing to common coding conventions so the code looks as if one person wrote it.Intermediate
• Collective Code OwnershipXP practice in which any team member can change any part of the codebase.Intermediate
• ColocationPlacing many or all active team members in the same physical location to enhance teamwork.Foundational
• Cone of UncertaintyConcept that estimate uncertainty is greatest early in a project and narrows as information is gained.Intermediate
• Conflict ManagementApproaches to resolving disagreements: withdraw/avoid, smooth/accommodate, compromise/reconcile, force/direct, and collaborate/problem-solve.Foundational
• Cost of Delay (CoD)The economic impact of delaying delivery of a piece of work.Intermediate
• Cross-Functional TeamA team whose members collectively have all skills necessary to create value each iteration.Foundational
• CrystalFamily of human-centric agile methods by Alistair Cockburn, scaled by team size and project criticality.Advanced
• Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)Stacked area chart showing the number of work items in each workflow state over time.Intermediate
• Cycle TimeThe elapsed time from when work starts on an item to when it finishes.Foundational
• Cynefin FrameworkSense-making framework by Dave Snowden classifying situations as clear, complicated, complex, chaotic, or confused.Intermediate
• Daily ScrumA 15-minute event for Developers to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog.Foundational
• Decision-Making TechniquesGroup methods for reaching decisions, such as unanimity, majority, plurality, autocratic, fist of five, and Roman voting.Intermediate
• Definition of Done (DoD)A formal description of the state of the Increment when it meets the quality measures required for the product.Foundational
• Definition of Ready (DoR)An optional team agreement on criteria a backlog item must meet before it can be selected for a Sprint.Intermediate
• Design ThinkingHuman-centered approach to innovation: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.Foundational
• DevelopersThe Scrum accountability for people committed to creating any aspect of a usable Increment each Sprint.Foundational
• Disciplined Agile (DA)PMI's hybrid, tool-kit approach that helps teams choose their way of working (WoW) based on context.Advanced
• Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)Agile project framework emphasizing fixed time and cost with prioritized, flexible features.Advanced
• Emotional Intelligence (EI)The ability to identify, assess, and manage one's own emotions and those of others and groups.Foundational
• Empathy MapA collaborative visualization of what a user says, thinks, does, and feels.Intermediate
• EmpiricismThe principle that knowledge comes from experience and decisions are based on what is observed.Foundational
• EpicA large body of work that can be broken down into smaller stories or features.Foundational
• Extreme Programming (XP)Agile software development method created by Kent Beck emphasizing technical excellence and frequent releases.Foundational
• Feature-Driven Development (FDD)Agile method organized around designing and building client-valued features.Advanced
• Five WhysRoot cause technique of asking 'why' repeatedly, typically about five times, to move from symptom to underlying cause.Foundational
• Given-When-ThenA structured format for writing acceptance criteria and test scenarios, used in behavior-driven development.Intermediate
• Hybrid ApproachA combination of predictive and adaptive elements chosen to fit the project and its environment.Intermediate
• ImpedimentAnything that blocks or slows a team's progress toward its goal.Foundational
• Incremental DevelopmentApproach that delivers a solution in successive usable pieces, each adding functionality.Foundational
• Information RadiatorA highly visible display of project information placed where people can easily see it.Foundational
• INVESTMnemonic for good user stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable.Foundational
• Iron Triangle InversionAgile reframing of the triple constraint in which time and cost are fixed and scope is variable.Intermediate
• Iterative DevelopmentApproach that develops a solution through repeated cycles, refining it based on feedback each time.Foundational
• Just-in-Time (JIT)Producing what is needed, when it is needed, in the amount needed.Foundational
• KaizenJapanese term for continuous, incremental improvement involving everyone.Foundational
• Kanban BoardA visual board with columns representing workflow states and cards representing work items.Foundational
• Kanban GuideConcise definition of Kanban by Daniel Vacanti and John Coleman (2020), focused on optimizing flow.Intermediate
• Kanban MethodDavid J. Anderson's evolutionary approach to improving knowledge work using kanban systems.Intermediate
• Kano ModelModel classifying product features by their effect on customer satisfaction: basic (must-be), performance (one-dimensional), and excitement (delighters).Intermediate
• Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS)Framework for scaling Scrum to multiple teams working on one product, created by Craig Larman and Bas Vodde.Advanced
• Law of Diminishing ReturnsPrinciple that after a point, adding more input yields progressively smaller output gains.Intermediate
• Lead TimeThe elapsed time from when a request is made (or committed) to when it is delivered.Foundational
• Lean ThinkingManagement philosophy derived from the Toyota Production System focused on maximizing customer value while minimizing waste.Foundational
• Little's LawQueueing theorem stating average cycle time = average WIP / average throughput.Intermediate
• Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF)The smallest unit of functionality that delivers meaningful value to customers and can be released.Intermediate
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)The version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning with the least effort.Foundational
• Mob ProgrammingPractice in which the whole team works on the same thing, at the same time, at one computer.Intermediate
• MoSCoW PrioritizationPrioritization technique classifying requirements as Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have (this time).Foundational
• Motivation TheoriesTheories explaining what drives people at work, including Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor, McClelland, and Vroom.Intermediate
• MudaJapanese term for waste: any activity that consumes resources without adding customer value.Foundational
• Non-Functional Requirement (NFR)A requirement describing conditions or qualities the solution must have, such as performance, security, usability, or availability.Foundational
• Osmotic CommunicationInformation flowing into the background hearing of team members so they absorb relevant information passively.Intermediate
• Pair ProgrammingXP practice in which two developers work together at one workstation: a driver who writes code and a navigator who reviews.Foundational
• Parkinson's LawThe observation that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.Intermediate
• PersonaA fictional, research-based archetype representing a user group's goals, behaviors, and pain points.Foundational
• Planning PokerConsensus-based estimation technique in which team members privately select cards and reveal them simultaneously.Foundational
• Power/Interest GridA stakeholder mapping tool that classifies stakeholders by level of authority (power) and concern (interest).Foundational
• Predictive ApproachA development approach in which scope, schedule, and cost are determined in detail early in the life cycle.Foundational
• Product BacklogAn emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product; the single source of work undertaken by the Scrum Team.Foundational
• Product RoadmapA high-level, time-based view of how a product is expected to evolve toward its vision.Foundational
• Product VisionA concise statement describing the long-term purpose and desired future the product aims to create.Foundational
• Project Life CycleThe series of phases a project passes through from its start to its completion.Foundational
• Psychological SafetyA shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking such as speaking up, admitting mistakes, or asking questions.Intermediate
• Pull SystemA system in which work is pulled into a stage only when capacity is available, rather than pushed.Foundational
• Relative EstimationEstimating items by comparing them to each other rather than in absolute units.Foundational
• Release PlanningPlanning activity that determines which features or stories will be delivered in upcoming releases.Intermediate
• Retrospective TechniquesFacilitation formats for running retrospectives, such as Start-Stop-Continue, Sailboat, 4Ls, and Mad-Sad-Glad.Intermediate
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)A knowledge base of integrated principles, practices, and competencies for applying Lean, Agile, and DevOps at enterprise scale.Foundational
• ScrumA lightweight framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems.Foundational
• Scrum of ScrumsA coordination technique in which representatives from multiple Scrum teams meet to manage dependencies.Intermediate
• Scrum TeamA small, cohesive, self-managing unit of one Scrum Master, one Product Owner, and Developers.Foundational
• ScrumbanA hybrid of Scrum and Kanban practices.Intermediate
• Self-Managing TeamA team that internally decides who does what, when, and how.Foundational
• Servant LeadershipLeadership style that focuses on understanding and addressing team members' needs and development to enable high performance.Foundational
• Situational LeadershipLeadership model in which the leader adapts style (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) to followers' competence and commitment.Intermediate
• SpikeA timeboxed research or prototyping effort to reduce uncertainty or answer a technical question.Foundational
• SprintA fixed-length event of one month or less in which ideas are turned into value.Foundational
• Sprint RetrospectiveScrum event to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness.Foundational
• Stacey MatrixModel plotting agreement on requirements against certainty about technology to classify work as simple, complicated, complex, or anarchic.Intermediate
• Story MappingTechnique by Jeff Patton that arranges user stories along a user journey (backbone) and by priority (vertical) to plan releases.Intermediate
• Story PointsA unit of relative estimation representing the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of a backlog item.Foundational
• Story SplittingBreaking a large user story into smaller stories that each still deliver value.Intermediate
• Sustainable PaceWorking at a pace the team can maintain indefinitely without burnout.Foundational
• SwarmingMultiple team members working together on one item to finish it faster.Intermediate
• T-Shaped SkillsDeep expertise in one area combined with broad ability to contribute in other areas.Intermediate
• T-Shirt SizingRelative estimation technique using sizes such as XS, S, M, L, and XL.Foundational
• TailoringDeliberate adaptation of the approach, governance, and processes to suit the project's context.Intermediate
• Team CharterDocument recording team values, agreements, and operating guidelines.Foundational
• Theory of Constraints (TOC)Management philosophy by Eliyahu Goldratt holding that every system is limited by at least one constraint.Advanced
• TimeboxA fixed, maximum period of time for an activity or event.Foundational
• Triple ConstraintThe classic model that scope, time, and cost are interdependent, with quality affected by all three.Foundational
• Tuckman LadderModel of team development stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.Foundational
• User StoryA short description of functionality told from the user's perspective, typically 'As a <role>, I want <goal>, so that <benefit>'.Foundational
• VelocityThe amount of work, usually in story points, a team completes per iteration.Foundational
• Vertical SliceA piece of functionality that cuts through all architectural layers to deliver end-to-end value.Intermediate
• Virtual TeamA group of people with shared goals who fulfill roles with little or no time spent meeting face to face.Foundational
• Visual ManagementLean practice of making work, standards, and abnormalities visible at a glance.Foundational
• Wideband DelphiConsensus estimation technique in which experts estimate anonymously, discuss differences, and iterate.Intermediate
• WIP LimitA constraint on the number of work items allowed in a workflow state or system at one time.Foundational
• Work in Progress (WIP)Work items that have started but are not yet finished.Foundational
• Work Item AgeThe elapsed time since an item started that is still in progress.Intermediate