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Agile Interview Questions

The document discusses top agile interview questions and answers. It begins by defining agile testing and how it differs from traditional waterfall processes. Agile testing involves frequent delivery of features and testing occurring simultaneously with development. Waterfall involves testing at the end. It then discusses pros and cons of agile methodology, including faster delivery, stakeholder involvement, and flexibility, but also potential difficulties determining effort upfront and less documentation. Finally, it covers various agile methodologies like Scrum and Kanban, practices like pair programming, and tools like burn-down charts for tracking progress. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, communication, and adaptability for agile teams.

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lasith bhanuka
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© © All Rights Reserved
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
341 views

Agile Interview Questions

The document discusses top agile interview questions and answers. It begins by defining agile testing and how it differs from traditional waterfall processes. Agile testing involves frequent delivery of features and testing occurring simultaneously with development. Waterfall involves testing at the end. It then discusses pros and cons of agile methodology, including faster delivery, stakeholder involvement, and flexibility, but also potential difficulties determining effort upfront and less documentation. Finally, it covers various agile methodologies like Scrum and Kanban, practices like pair programming, and tools like burn-down charts for tracking progress. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, communication, and adaptability for agile teams.

Uploaded by

lasith bhanuka
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Top Agile Interview Questions & Answers

1. What is Agile Testing?


The first question of agile interview question tests your knowledge about the basic of agile testing. Agile testing is a practice based on the principles
of agile software development. It includes all members of an agile team with specific skills and a certain expertise to ensure the timely delivery of a
product with the release of additional features at frequent intervals.
2. How is Agile Methodology different than Traditional Waterfall process?
This is the most commonly asked agile interview question. In agile methodology, features of the software are delivered frequently, so that the testing
activity is done simultaneously with the development activity. Testing time is shortened as only small features are need be tasted at once.

Source
While, in the waterfall model, testing activities take place at the end of the entire development process. Testing time, in this case, is as long as the
entire product is to be tested in one go. Waterfall methodology is a closed process where all stakeholders are not involved in the development process
whereas agile methodology requires the involvement of various stakeholders including customers. Learn more about agile vs waterfall.
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3. What are the pros and cons of Agile Methodology?
This is one of the most frequently asked agile interview questions.
Pros of the agile methodology:
 Speedy and continuous delivery of the software ensures customer satisfaction.
 All the stakeholders (customers, developers, and testers) are involved in the process which leads to technical excellence and good design.
 It facilitates close interaction between business people and developers.
 Its flexibility ensures the adaptation to changing circumstances. Changes added at the last moment or at a later stage of development can be
incorporated without any problem.
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However, it does have some disadvantages too:


 Sometimes when software deliverables are large ones, it is tough to determine the effort level required at the beginning of the software development
lifecycle.
 In agile methodology, documentation and designing take a back seat.
 The decision-making crucial for the development process comes with seniority and experience. Hence, freshers can hardly manage to find a place in
the agile software development process.
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4. What kind of projects is suitable for the Agile Methodology?
The traditional methodology is suited for projects with predefined, clearly stated requirements while agile development methodology is suitable for
projects with dynamic requirements where frequent changes in the product come up on a regular basis.
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5. What are the different types of Agile Methodologies?
An agile interview question and answers guide will not be complete without this question. There are several types of agile development
methodology. Scrum is one of the most popular and widely used agile methods. Other types of agile development methodology are; development
like Crystal Methodology, DSDM(Dynamic Software Development Method), Feature-driven development(FDD), Lean software development and
Extreme Programming(XP).
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6. Difference between extreme programming and scrum?


Scrum teams usually have to work in iterations which are known as sprints which generally last up to two weeks to one month long while XP team
works in the iteration that lasts for one or two weeks.
XP teams are more flexible as they can change their iterations while Scrum teams do not allow any change in their iterations.
The product owner prioritizes the product backlog but the team decides the sequence in which they will develop the backlog items in scrum
methodology. Whereas XP team works in strict priority order, features developed are prioritized by the customers.

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7. Can you explain the lean methodology in detail?

Lean software development method follows the principle of “Just in time production”. It aims at increasing the speed of software development and
decreasing cost.
The basic idea of lean is to reduce non-value-added activities (known as “wastes”) in order to increase customer value. The agile process itself is a
lean method for software development lifecycle. However, activities like backlog grooming (when team review items on the backlog to ensure the
appropriate items are in the backlog, that they are prioritized well, and that the items at the top of the backlog are ready for delivery) code refactoring
(process of restructuring existing computer code – changing the factoring — without changing its external behavior) fits agile methodology more in
tune with lean principles.
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8. What is Kanban?
It is one of the common agile interview questions. Kanban is a tool which helps the team to keep a close eye the work i.e., to measure its progress.
Apart from the progress, the status of a development story can be seamlessly described with the help of ‘kanban board’.
Kanban board aids in writing the whole scenario of a project at a single place to give a perfect picture of the bottleneck, a task done, workflow
progress. It helps in the continuous delivery of the product without overburdening the team.
9. Is there any difference between incremental and iterative development?
Yes, the iterative methodology is a process of software development without any interruption. In this method, software development cycles
consisting of sprint and release are repeated until the final product is obtained. Whereas, the incremental model is a process of software development
where the product is designed, implemented and tested incrementally until the product is finished. It involves both development and maintenance.
10. What are burndown and burn-up charts in agile methodology?
To track the progress of an ongoing project, these charts are used. Burn-up charts indicate the work that has been completed while Burn-down chart
shows the amount of remaining work in a project.
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11. Can you explain pair programming and its benefits?
It is one of the general agile interview questions and answers guide. The combined effort in the team where one programmer writes the code and the
other one reviews it is called pair programming. There are several benefits of pair programming, it not only improves the quality of code but also
facilitates the knowledge transfer. It reduces the chance of mistakes as two people are simultaneously working on a code.
12. Do you know what is the scrum of scrums?
This is one of the most important Agile interview questions. The term “Scrum of Scrums” is used when there are multiple teams involved in a
project. It refers to the scaling of the daily Scrum meeting. In this scenario, each team is responsible for conducting and leading its separate scrum
meeting. However, to maintain coordination and communication among all the different teams, a separate meeting must be conducted wherein all the
teams participate. This is known as the “Scrum of Scrums.”
In this meeting, one team leader from every team (known as the “ambassador”),
will represent their team. The main idea behind this is to encourage Agile teams to
collaborate and coordinate their work with each other. 
13. What is the velocity of a sprint and how it is measured?
Velocity is one of the planning tool used to estimate the speed of the work and time
of completion of the project. The calculation of velocity is done by reviewing the
work team has successfully completed during earlier sprints; for example, if the
team completed 5 stories during a two-week sprint and each story was worth 3
story points, then the team’s velocity is 15 story points per sprint.
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14. According to you what are some qualities that a good agile tester must
have?
A competent agile tester must possess the following qualities:
 They should be capable of understanding the requirements quickly.
 An agile tester should be aware of all the agile principles and concepts and values as listed down in an agile manifesto.
 They should be able to prioritize the work based on the requirements.
 They should have excellent communication skills as continuous communication between business associates, developers and tester is a backbone of
the agile development process.
15. Can you list some responsibilities that a scrum team have to undertake?
This is one of the important agile interview questions. Major responsibilities that a scrum team has to include:
 Breaking down the requirements, creating tasks, estimating and distributing the created tasks. To put simply they are in charge of creating sprint
backlogs.
 They have to arrange daily sprint meeting.
 It is a responsibility of the team to ensure that every functional feature is delivered on time. They have to create a sprint burndown diagram to know
to get the exact estimate of work done and the work that needs to be done.
16. Mention the principles of Agile testing.
Not many people are aware of the importance of such Agile questions.
The principles of Agile testing are:
 Continuous testing – This ensures the continuous progress of the product. An interesting aspect of the Agile testing process is that unlike the
traditional methodologies where only the testing team is focused on product testing, it requires the entire team to participate equally in the testing
process. 
 Continuous feedback – With every test, the client feedback is encouraged to ensure that the product meets the business requirements of the client. 
 Simple and clean code – Whatever errors and defects arise during the testing phase are fixed within the same iteration by the Agile team. This
allows for simple, concise, and clean code. 
 Less documentation – Agile teams use a reusable checklist. Here, they are more focused on the testing process rather than the incidental details.
17. Differentiate between Agile and Scrum.
A critical agile interview question you need to be aware of. Agile and Scrum have their fair share of similarities and differences. Since Scrum is a
part of the Agile Methodology, both of them promote the completion of projects incrementally in small fragments. Also, both methodologies are
iterative in nature.
However, the main difference between Agile and Scrum is that the former has a broader spectrum. While Agile Methodology is used for project
management, Scrum is ideal for projects where the requirements change rapidly. In the Agile Methodology, leadership holds the most pivotal
position, whereas Scrum encourages the creation of a self-organizing and cross-functional team.
18. What are the crucial Agile Matrices? 
Some of the essential Agile Matrices are:
 Velocity – It is essential to keep track of the project’s velocity so that the Agile team can have a clear about your progress, capacity, and other
metrics. 
 Work category allocation – Allocating separate work categories provides a clear idea about where different team members are investing their time
and what is the order of priority of the various tasks in a project. 
 Defect removal awareness – When team members work proactively and correct the errors simultaneously as they develop and test a product, the
quality of the end product improves significantly.
 Cumulative flow diagram – It represents a workflow in which the x-axis represents time, and the y-axis depicts the effort of members. 
 Sprint burn-down matric – This allows the Agile team to track and monitor the completion of the work along with the sprint.
 Deliver business value – It is primarily concerned with the overall work efficiency of the Agile team. Only when all the team members are
productive that the Agile team can deliver business value to their clients. 
 Time coverage – The time required to develop and test each iteration is measured using the ratio between the number of lines in a code (test suite)
and the number of relative lines of codes.
 Defect resolution time – As the name suggests, it pertains to the time required to detect and fix bugs and issues. This is an elaborate process that
requires the Agile team to collaborate and deliver improved results in the most productive manner possible.
19. Explain “Zero Sprint” in Agile.
One of the important agile interview questions.

In Agile Methodology, Zero Sprint refers to the first step that comes before the first sprint. So, it is more like a pre-step to the first sprint. Thus, Zero
Sprint would include a host of activities that are to be completed before starting a project, including setting up the development environment,
preparing backlog, and other such tasks that are usually done before beginning the actual development process. 
20. What is the ideal duration of a Scrum Sprint?
The duration of a Scrum Sprint or the Scrum Cycle primarily depends on the project size and the team working on it. A Scrum team may consist of
3-9 members, and it takes about 3-4 weeks to draft and complete a Scrum script. Going by this calculation, the average duration of a Scrum Sprint is
four weeks.
21. Explain the role of the Scrum Master.One of the popular agile interview questions. The Scrum Master is the leader and supervisor of the
Scrum team. The main job of the Scrum Master is to ensure that the team abides by the Agile values and principles and follows the agreed-upon
processes and practices. Some of the most crucial responsibilities of the Scrum Master are:
 To eliminate all the obstacles that could hamper the productivity of the Scrum team.
 To establish a productive and collaborative work environment for the Scrum team.
 To protect the team from the interruptions and distractions of the outside world.
 To maintain a good relationship between the team, clients, and all the other stakeholders involved in a project. 
 To supervise the operations of the Scrum team and motivating them as and when needed. 
22. Differentiate between “Sprint Planning Meeting” and “Sprint Retrospective Meeting.”
Although the two terms may sound similar, Sprint Planning Meeting and Sprint Retrospective Meeting are quite different from one another. A Sprint
Planning Meeting involves all the Scrum roles – product owner, scrum team, and scrum master – coming together to discuss the project priorities and
backlog items. Usually, the Sprint Planning Meeting is a weekly event that lasts for about an hour. A Sprint Retrospective Meeting, on the other
hand, is one where all the Scrum roles (product owner, scrum team, and scrum master) come together to discuss the good and bad elements of the
sprint and the sprint improvements. This meeting is generally an extension of the Sprint Planning Meeting and can last up to two to three hours.
Apart from these agile methodology interview questions, questions based on your previous experience in case you are already acquainted with agile
methodology can be asked by the interviewer. You might want to revisit your on-the-job learnings and prepare answers to questions like:
1.
1. How long were your sprints for the projects you have worked on?
2. What is the maximum number of scrum you have handled at a time?
3. What kind of project management tools were used for your project?
4. Have you used automated test tools earlier? How was your experience?
5. Did your iterations overlap?
23. Is agile development a framework?
Agile signifies all-embracing values for software development. It emphasizes the value of iterating rapidly and frequently to meet customers’
expectations. So, an agile framework is defined as an explicit software-development approach depending on the Agile philosophy expressed in the
Agile Manifesto.
24.What are Agile Methodology Frameworks?
It is one of the common Agile capital services interview questions. The Agile framework works on the Agile approach that offers data on the
particular Agile-development practices. The disparities in the software development processes lead to Agile frameworks. The Agile methodology
frameworks are also known as processes or methodologies. They lay the basis of Agile transformation. Some of the prominent Agile methodology
frameworks used are  Scrum, Disciplined Agile, The crystal method, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Feature Driven Development (FDD), Lean
Software Development (LSD), Rapid Application Development (RAD), Scrumban, and Kanban.
25.How to enhance the impact of Agile?
You can include this question when preparing for the Agile capital services interview questions. Considering the increasing adaptation of Agile in
many organizations, Agile’s impact renders the desired outcomes of effective agile transformation. The four metrics included in the Agile impact
framework are customer satisfaction, operational performance, employee engagement, and financial performance.
Organizations can assess the Agile impact by determining how Agile teams enhance the customer experience. Alternatively, you can do that by
comparing the new values generated by Agile teams with the traditional waterfall output’s value.
26.How do you deal with distributed teams in Agile?
Dealing with distributed teams is significant in many organizations. So, this one is one of the frequently asked Agile interview questions. The
following tips help you to deal with distributed teams in Agile. (i) Uniformly distribute work and maintain apparent task allocation. (ii) Recruit self-
reliant and dedicated individuals to fulfil the vision.  (iii) Create co-located teams and let them invent ways to share the work. (iv) Capitalize on
collaboration technology to increase teamwork efficiency. (v) Arrange daily stand-up meetings to explore potential roadblocks and decrease
dependencies.
27.How are Agile and DevOps different?
Many leading organizations ask these types of Agile interview questions. Agile and DevOps both started their journeys to enhance the software
development process. Agile prioritized working on software development rather than rigid processes. DevOps prioritized production and
development. They both share a fundamental concept, but they target diverse stakeholders with unique business objectives. Each of them addresses
dissimilar yet critical parts of software development. Agle sets the stage for DevOps and provides ways to develop software faster. On the other
hand, DevOps focuses on quality and offers teams to deploy frequently.
28.How does Agile save you money?
It is one of the popular Agile interview questions and answers from a business perspective. Agile processes are cost-effective. They are well-
known for quality assurance, scope optimization, and cost saving. It only focuses on developing only the required aspects to save time and let
businesses generate more revenue. The quality of deliverables is guaranteed when the iteration terminates. Agile reduces the completion time by
motivating the compartmentalization of work. Agile delivery is faster because it focuses on high-priority tasks. Communication transparency
guarantees faster product delivery. So, time saved ultimately saves money.
29.When should you use Agile project management?
It is one of the common Agile interview questions and answers when it comes to enhancing organizational work efficiency. Agile characteristics
like iteration, adaptability, short time frames, and continuous delivery make it suitable for project management. So, Agile is suitable for continuing
projects and projects where some details are unknown at the outset. Agile project management is therefore useful when a project lacks clear timelines
or resources. For example, designing a new product may create some challenges. Implementing an Agile methodology allows frequent product
testing, quick iteration, and smooth communication with stakeholders.
30.Which is the best Agile method?
This is one of the common agile questions when studying different Agile methods. Scrum is the best and most extensively used Agile methodology
globally. The Scrum framework addresses two critical pain points of software development i.e. speed and altering client requirements. This approach
executes the software development project in phases and each phase is called a Sprint.
31.How agile methodology is more advantageous compared to traditional methodologies?
The key difference between Agile and traditional approaches is the order of project phases – gathering requirements, planning, designing,
development, testing, and UAT. The sequence of the project development phase is linear in traditional development methodologies, whereas it is
iterative in Agile. Testing is undertaken after the development phase completes in Agile methodology. Testing and development occur
simultaneously in traditional methodologies. Client involvement is less in traditional development than in Agile development. Traditional
methodologies are less secure.
32. How agile methodology works in testing?
It is one of the advanced level Agile questions. Testing happens early and frequently in Agile development. Rather than waiting for development to
be completed before testing starts, testing takes place constantly as features are added. The tests are prioritized similarly to user stories. Testers target
to complete as many tests as possible.
33.What is included in the Agile Testing Lifecycle in Scrum?
The Scrum Agile testing lifecycle includes the following points. (i) Contributing to user stories according to the system’s expected behaviour 
(ii)Release planning as per test defects and effort. (iii)Sprint Planning according to user defects and stories. (iv)Sprint execution with continuous
testing. (v)Regression testing after the Sprint planning completes. (vi)Reporting Test Results. (vii)Automation Testing
34.When to choose Agile methodology?
It can be considered as expert-level Agile questions and answers. Agile methodology can be chosen in the following scenarios. (i) The developers
are ready to lose work of a few days or hours when implementing a new feature. (ii) When limited planning is needed to begin the project. (iii) When
there is more focus on what has to be done and less focus on scheduling and documentation. (iv) When requirements and priorities need to be easily
adjusted all through the project to fulfil the stakeholders’ needs.
35.What are the risks of using agile methodology?
Certain organizations may ask these types of Agile questions and answers in interviews. Here are the three key risks of using Agile
methodology. (u) Budget risks –It denotes that occasionally, it’s difficult to accurately estimate the cost of a new product’s development during its
early stages. (ii) Scope creep risk –It assumes scope changes during the development that leads to changing deliverables, shifting timelines, and
budget increases. (iii) Less predictability -Agile adopts constant changes and it is occasionally challenging to provide long-term predictions. This risk
deals with changing the deadlines for the vendor.
The Steps of Agile Methodology
Agile methodology aims to deliver more regular product launches and shorter project cycles than traditional project management. The Agile
interview questions and answers mentioned above will help you understand the methodology in detail. Candidates can also create Agile interview
questions and answers pdf for better access to questions for revision. 
You may employ a variety of Agile models, including Kanban and Scrum, which are two among the most popular. However, any Agile approach
will adhere to the same fundamental steps, which are as follows:
1. Planning the project 
As with any other project, you should have a clear understanding of the final product, its value to the customer or company, and the way it will be
accomplished before work starts.
You may create a project goal here, but keep in mind that Agile project management’s goal is to make it simple to address modifications and
modifications to the program. As a result, the scope of the project shouldn’t be viewed as impervious to change.
2. Developing a product roadmap
An outline of the characteristics that make up the finished product is called a master plan. Due to the fact that you will develop each of these distinct
features during each sprint, this is an essential part of the Agile planning phase.
You will also create a product inventory at this time, which is a checklist of all the features that will go into the finished item. Later, while planning
sessions, you can select items from this checklist.
3. Planning the release
In traditional project management, there is one date that matters the most. The final date after all the planning and development is when you release
the product. Agile, on the other hand, employs reduced development periods, also known as ‘sprints’, with features being delivered at the conclusion
of each cycle.
You will develop a comprehensive strategy for product releases before the project begins, and at the start of each sprint, you will review and
reevaluate the plan.
4. Planning sprint
The parties must have a sprint strategy meeting before the start of each sprint to decide what the role of each individual be and how it will be
accomplished. To ensure that everyone on the team completes their allocated responsibilities throughout the sprint, it’s critical to distribute the
workload fairly.
A visual record of your workflow is also necessary for team transparency, shared knowledge, and the detection and elimination of bottlenecks.
5. Planning daily tasks
Hold quick daily meetings to assist your team to complete their responsibilities throughout each sprint and determine if any adjustments are
necessary. Each colleague will briefly discuss their upcoming daily tasks. These daily sessions should be brief. 
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To prepare for an upcoming interview where Agile questions and answers may be asked, it is necessary to understand all aspects of Agile
methodology and go through the Agile interview questions and answers pdf thoroughly.

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Conclusion
With that, we come to the end of our list of agile interview questions and answers guide. Although these agile interview questions are selected from a
vast pool of probable questions, these are the ones you are most likely to face.
These were the must-know questions and answers revolving around the agile methodology. Most companies practice agile development in one form
or another, thanks to the features it has to offer. If you wish to make a flourishing software development career, what are waiting for? Master agile
methodology. Explore more about Agile software development, check out upGrad’s Executive PG Programme in Software Development –
Specialisation in Full Stack Development.
Why do companies adopt Agile methodology?
Agile is popularly used by organisations since it can help improve the performance of teams and enhance product quality and the levels of customer
satisfaction. Teams can quickly adapt to changes in product requirements better without impacting overall deliverables and timelines. In Agile, teams
work in shorter, iterative cycles aiming at continuous improvement based on customer requirements. Agile also helps companies optimise technical
debt, enforce better project control, and increase the versatility of the project. It also helps reduce risks and empowers companies to better respond to
market dynamics which steers projects to successful completion. Overall, by adopting Agile, organisations can aim for faster ROI.
Is Waterfall better than Agile methodology?
Waterfall and Agile are very different methods of project management that suit different project requirements. Agile is more suitable for projects
where the stakeholders are very closely involved in every step of the project. On the other hand, the Waterfall model is more suitable for projects
where you have a clear understanding of the project outcome right from the start; it does not offer too much flexibility and is a more structured
model than Agile. Agile, as the name suggests, is best suited for teams that aim to move fast with a project and experiment in a specific direction
despite not certainly knowing the outcomes of a project.
Should you go for Scrum certification?
There are many benefits of becoming a certified Scrum master. According to experts, it takes less time to become a certified Scrum master and lead
projects compared to the time to become a project manager. Besides, Scrum masters are in huge demand nowadays, and these skills are highly
valuable when you are aiming to enhance your earning potential. A Scrum master certification can also help you steer ahead in your career
progression by helping you demonstrate exemplary leadership skills and management expertise. Certified Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Master,
SAFe Scrum Master, Certified Scrum Developer, and Scrum@Scale Practitioner are some of the most valuable certifications you can pick from.
WHY DELVE INTO AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT? 
Fast and efficient software development is vital for most companies today, as they’ve to survive in an ever-changing business
environment. Fortunately, more and more companies are recognizing the benefits of agile software development.  In contrast to
traditional software development methodologies, agile methods allow you to adapt quickly to changing needs. They maximize process
efficiency, provide a framework for the creation of high-quality products, and help you get a minimum viable product version ready as
soon as possible. Sounds good, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re already contemplating testing the methodology or just wish to get a
better understanding of it, we’re sure you’ve got a lot of questions. Don’t worry: we’re armed with the same number of responses. Let’s
get started!
WHAT EXACTLY IS AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT? 
1. Agile is all over the news today. Isn’t it just a fancy buzzword? 
Yes, it is! However, in many cases its use makes sense, especially when it comes to digital product development.
2. OK, I believe you. But is this method only used in the IT sector?
Not exclusively! You’re right in the sense that the model itself has grown out of this industry, but today, 40% of companies are working
on its introduction – including the financial and telecommunications sectors. Being agile can mean many things: we can be agile as
individuals, teams, organizations, but we can also be agile athletes and thinkers. However, in order to succeed, clearly defined goals
are definitely a must when opting for this methodology!
3. I see! But what exactly is agile software development?
Agile software development is a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Manifesto for Agile
Software Development and the 12 Principles behind it. It’s that group of software development methods where the project is broken
down into small milestones. New product versions are created during each development cycle, i.e., each step involves the expansion of
the system with an additional function. 
4. So there isn’t only one agile method? 
Good point! There are several agile development methods. These are the most popular ones: 
 Scrum
 Lean
 Kanban
 Extreme Programming (XP)
 Crystal
 Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
 Feature-Driven Development
5. It’s great that there are so many choices, but how do I decide which one to use?
The decision always depends on the corporate goals. Agile software development is not a one-size-fits-all solution, as no two projects
or businesses are alike. Different methodologies exist to meet different corporate and testing goals/needs. Consequently, it’s important
to carefully consider which methodology best fits the specific needs of your project before making a decision.
6. How’s a software created using the agile approach? 
Agile software development is usually an iterative process, meaning that specification, design, development and testing phases
overlap. The software is not developed as a complete unit, but step by step, in smaller units, where each step involves the expansion of
the system with an additional feature. This process always results in fully integrated and tested programs, but takes only one step
forward from week to week. In contrast to traditional models (e.g., waterfall model), here, the emphasis is usually on the early
development of a rough-and-ready system, which is then further refined.
7. Waterfall model? What’s that? 
The Waterfall Model is one of the oldest project management methodologies. In this case, development is broken down into several
sub-processes: each phase must be completed before the next phase can begin and there’s no overlapping in the phases. It’s
characterized by a linear sequential flow without any iterations, hence, it’s quite rigid. If the project needs a revision, one has to reckon
with delayed deadlines and increased costs. However, its advantage is that it allows for departmentalization and control. Therefore,
besides software development, it lends itself well to product development as well. Due to its simple and easy-to-manage structure, it’s
often used in smaller and well-defined projects. 
8. You’re mentioning the word iteration for the second time… what exactly does this term mean?
Iteration is a process that’s performed once or over and over again in order to come up with the best possible solution. But what does
this mean in practice? The Development Team initially subdivides the product into sub-functions and adds a function during each
iteration. Furthermore, the team corrects errors found during the previous iteration. Then, after each development cycle, they collect
feedback and experiences based on which they improve, refine and further expand the product over the next cycle. As a result, the
product will get better and more complete over each cycle.
9. Why is agile development better than traditional methods? 
It enables a user-centric workflow: the software is brought to market relatively quickly. Consequently, lessons learned from user
feedback and statistics can be quickly incorporated into the software being developed.
10. So… the users tell me what the product should look like? 
Well, yes and no. They don’t tell you what the product should look like, but what they need and what they find useful in that particular
application. And all this determines what the product should look like. Agile software development therefore helps to make the
application user-centered rather than function-oriented.
11. Does this mean that agile software development is a guarantee for a successful product?
Agile software development alone doesn’t guarantee success. However, it provides an opportunity to better adapt your software to the
needs of your target audience as well as to occurent changes in these needs.
12. Do I understand it right, is agile software development faster than traditional methods?
Yes, there’s a good chance that it’ll lead sooner to a software that can be presented to users. As compared to traditional methods, agile
software development enables you to create a simple software version, which is suitable for collecting user feedback much sooner.
This way, you can quickly and easily incorporate the lessons into the next product version.
13. Does this mean that users get a semi-finished product?
They will never receive a semi-finished product, but an application with basic functions. This may initially mean only one function. An
example would be the image sharing function of Instagram. This is the minimum viable version of the product, i.e., the MVP. Although
this product version has only few features, it can be presented to users early on, so you can gather valuable feedback.
AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE
14. How long does agile software development usually take?
Whether it’s web or mobile application development, development time always depends on the complexity of the given project.
However, the big advantage of agile software development over the traditional model is that your app can reach users much sooner.
15. And how do you schedule a project in agile development?
Together with your quote, you’ll receive an approximate plan for your project schedule, which will be based on the estimated
completion time and the size of the dedicated team. Of course, we also take unique needs into account: for example, if you’re pressed
for time, we increase the size of the project team in order to reduce lead times.
16. Great, but how does agile development work in practice? Who does what? 
If the task is to turn an idea into a usable application, the team usually consists of the following experts: 
 UX designer: detects and tests user journeys.
 UI designer: designs application screens and various design elements.
 Developer: translates design plans into a usable application. 
 Tester: ensures that the product is created according to the plans.
 Project manager: oversees the project and facilitates the communication between the client and the project team. 
 Decision maker: represents the client’s business goals.
17. I understand pretty much now and I feel that this methodology is quite nice and useful, but the thing is that we’ve never used
anything like this at my company. What should we do?
If your colleagues are open-minded enough, it’s worth taking the time to learn the processes. The best solution is to look
for experts who can help you master the methodology.
18. Alright, but agile software development seems quite complex to me. How are we going to track what’s happening with the
project?
As already mentioned, one of the biggest advantages of agile software development is that it’s an iterative process, which requires
constant interaction between the team, the Product Owner and the client. For example, using the Scrum methodology, you’ll get an
idea of where the project is going and what’s going to happen in the next two weeks during bi-weekly Demo meetings. However, we
also give you the opportunity to track progress on a daily basis with our Nostromo project management application.
19. Product Owner? Who’s that? 
The main task of the Product Owner is to maximize the value of the product created by the Development Team. That is, he or she
represents user and business interests.
20. Does this mean that I should hire a Product Owner?
Not necessarily. Ideally, the Product Owner strengthens the customer’s team. However, this is rarely the case in reality. So as long as
there’s a dedicated product manager in your team, there’s nothing to worry about! 
21. What’s going to be our task? 
You’ll have to make the decisions, however, our team of experts will definitely help and guide you through the process. To what extent
you get involved in working together is partly up to you. Here at Digital Natives, for example, you can work together with our team of
experts on a daily basis, and even move into our office for a week each month as several of our clients have already done.
22. Sounds good, but we aren’t tech-geniuses. Is this a problem?
No at all! Nor is it a problem if you aren’t design-savvy. We’re here to help you in making technology and design related decisions.
Believe us, our project managers are real masters in translating technical questions into easy-to-understand language. 
23. What if I want to scale? Does agile software development still work?
Of course, an agile software is as easy to scale as a product built with the traditional model. Or, we can also say it’s just as difficult.
AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT & COSTS – WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR? 
24. I’ve heard that the agile methodology can even save money. Is this true?
Indeed! Agile development allows you to create only those functions that are really needed. That way, neither money nor time is
wasted. Furthermore, continuous feedback helps you to better understand your target audience and the market, which can increase the
effectiveness of your marketing strategy and reduce your costs at the same time.
25. That’s great! But how much will agile software development cost me?
Agile methodology itself? Nothing. The cost of your product or project, of course, depends on the complexity of the product. Since it’s
almost impossible to predict the resource requirements of an application, we at Digital Natives usually bill on the basis of ‘time and
materials’, that is, the time spent on the project.
AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT – COMMON CONCERNS
26. So you’re real “agile gurus” then? What does it take to become one? 
It depends on what you mean by an agile guru. We at Digital Natives have been working with agile methodologies for over ten years.
We’ve tried a lot of methodologies and now we’re aware of how to select the best methodology for a specific project while taking into
account the potential benefits and drawbacks.
27. Do you have any feedback from your previous clients about this?
Maybe the best feedback is that we have a lot of returning clients and that a lot of them recommend us to other companies as well. For
this reason, we work almost only on the basis of inquiries, we don’t have almost any direct sales activities. And we’re proud of that!
1. What are different types of Agile Methodology?

Different types of Agile methods or frameworks widely used in the world for software development and project development are
listed below: 

 Scrum: It is used to establish hypotheses, test them, reflect on the experience, and also make adjustments. It heavily depends on
feedback, self-management, small teams, and work broken out into sprints. It relies on incremental development.  
 FDD (Feature-Driven Development): It generally involves creating software models every two weeks and also needs development
and design for each and every model feature. It is basically a lightweight iterative and incremental software development process
whose main purpose is to deliver stable and working software on time.  
 Lean Software Development: It is basically a way of minimizing waste and maximizing value. It is more focused on process
efficiency for optimum results in customer value. It is totally based on two guiding principles i.e., respect for people and continuous
improvement. 
 XP (Extreme Programming): Its main purpose is to produce higher-quality software and higher quality of life for the development
team. It is considered low-risk, flexible and a way to develop software and ensures that clients get what they require. In this
methodology, the software is tested right from day one, collecting feedback so as to improve the development process.  
 DSDM (Dynamic Software Development Method): It generally focuses on the full project lifecycle and the main aim is to ensure
good governance as the foundation for project management. It is user-driven and believes that modifications to the project are
always expected. It also provides a full roadmap to deliver products on time and within budget.  
 ASD (Adaptive System Development): It represents the idea that projects should always be in a state of continuous adaptation,
and has a cycle of three repeating series i.e., speculate, collaborate, and learn.
 Crystal Methodology: It mainly focuses on individuals and their interactions rather than processes. It is considered one of the most
lightweight and flexible approaches to developing software. It is a family of agile methodologies that include different variants such
as crystal clear, crystal yellow, crystal orange, and crystal red. 
 Kanban: Kanban projects are generally managed through a board or table (Kanban Board). This Kanban board is a tool that helps
team members to keep an eye on workflow for measuring its progress and includes all the information that is needed to be done on
the product at each stage along with its path of completion. Its main purpose is flexibility in task management, continuous
improvement, and enhanced workflow.  

2. What are advantages and disadvantages of Agile Process.

Advantages 

There are several advantages of using the Agile Process as given below: 

 Adapt well with changing requirements 


 Face-to-face conversation with team members and customers 
 Focuses on technical excellence and good design 
 Fast and continuous development  
 Enables collaboration and interaction between client and project team 
 Ensure and promote customer satisfaction 
 Faster feedback from customers or end-users 
 Quick identification and elimination of errors found in the code  
 Division of agile project into sprints or iterations i.e., short and repeatable phases typically 1-4 weeks long  
 Quick delivery of products  
 Easy to manage with more flexibility  
 The end goal can be unknown: Agile is beneficial for projects where the goal is not defined and as the project progresses, the goal
becomes more evident. 

Disadvantages 

There are several disadvantages of using Agile Process as given below: 

 Lack of formal documentation and designing 


 Difficult to estimate resource requirement and effort  
 Not good for small development projects 
 Costly as compared to other development methodologies 
 Requires more time and energy from everyone 
 Risk of ever-lasting project 
 Difficult to scale large projects 
 Difficulty in testing and test construction.

3. Explain Agile Testing? What are the principles of Agile Testing?

Agile testing, as the name suggests, is a software testing process where software is tested for any defects, errors, or other issues. It is
considered a core part of the development process as it enables testers and developers to work together as a team that in turn
improves overall performance. It also helps in ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality products. Testing is usually performed
so that testers can identify and resolve the problems early and at every point in the development process.

Principles of Agile Testing  There are eight main principles of Agile Testing as given below:

 Continuous Testing: Testing should be conducted continuously by the Agile team to ensure continuous development progress.  
 Continuous Feedback: This process generally encourages taking feedback from clients to make sure that the product meets the
requirements of the client or customer.  
 Team Work or collective work: Not only testers but developers, business analysts can also perform software testing or application
testing.  
 Clean Code: Quality of software is maintained as the team tests the software to ensure that the code is clean, simple, and tight. All
errors and defects that are found during the testing phase are fixed quickly within the same iteration by the Agile Team.  
 Less Documentation: This process usually involves the usage of reusable checklists instead of lengthy documentation.  
 Test-Driven: In other conventional methods, testing is only performed after the implementation but in agile testing, testing is done
during the implementation so that errors or any issues can be removed on time.  
 Customer Satisfaction: During the agile testing process, development progress is being shown to clients or customers so that they
can adapt and update their requirements. This is done to ensure customer satisfaction.  
4. What good qualities an Agile Tester should have?

There are several good qualities an Agile tester should have. Some of them are listed below:  

 Positive attitude and solution-oriented 


 Focused towards goal 
 Excellent communication skills  
 Understand and fulfill customer requirements 
 Basic knowledge about the Agile process and its principles 
 Critical and creative thinking 
 Share ideas effectively 
 Plan and prioritize work on the basis of requirements 
 Cope up with change

5. What do you mean by refactoring?

Re-factoring is basically an activity that involves alteration or modification of the internal structure of software without any change
in its external behaviors or functionality. In this, developers make some changes or tinker with code to enhance and improve the
internal structure of software. One of the most popular and widely used refactoring techniques in the agile software development
process is Red-Green. The refactoring process makes the code more readable, understandable, and clean. The continuous habit of
refactoring helps to make it easier to extend and maintain code. 

6. What's the difference between sprint backlog and product backlog?

Sprint Backlog: It is generally owned by the development team. It only contains those features and requirements that are related to
the specific sprint only. It is considered a subset of the product backlog. It is compiled of everything that must be done to complete
a particular sprint. It only includes items that can be completed during each agile sprint. It is specific to the sprint goal only in a
particular sprint. 
Product Backlog: It is generally owned and maintained by the project owner. It usually contains each and every feature of the
product as well as the requirements of the product. It is compiled to everything that must be done to complete the whole process. It
just breaks down every item into a series of steps. It is more specific to the end goal of the product.  

7. What is Spike and Zero Sprint in Agile?

Spike: It generally refers to a too large and complex user story in software development that cannot be estimated until the
development team runs a timeboxed investigation. These stories can be used for various activities like research, design, exploration,
prototyping, etc. Spikes are usually created to resolve some technical issues and design problems in the project.  

Zero Sprint: It generally refers to the first step or pre-preparation step that comes just before the first sprint. It includes all activities
such as setting a development environment, preparing backlog, etc. 

8. What’s the difference between Agile methodology and Traditional methodology of Software Development?

Agile Software Development: It is an iterative approach that is used to design complicated software. In this method, project teams
are allowed to be more flexible and ensure that the final is fulfilling the customer’s requirements. It develops customer-centric
products and delivers in shorter sprints. 

Traditional Software Development: It is a linear approach that is used to design simple software. In this method, all the phases of
the process usually occur in sequence. It is more suitable for projects where the possibility of changes is negligible in the scope.

Agile Software Development  Traditional Software Development 


This approach is more focused on teamwork, flexibility, This approach is more focused on upfront planning and gives
customer collaboration, and features.  importance to factors like cost, scope, and time.
In this, testing is usually done parallel to the development
In this, testing is usually done at the end of the development activity.
activity.
In this, testing is done on small features. In this, testing is done on the whole application.
It involves various stakeholders including customers in the
It does not involve all stakeholders in the development process.
development process.
In this methodology, testers and developers work together as In this methodology, testers and developers work separately.
Agile Software Development  Traditional Software Development 
a team to achieve a goal. 
They collaborate with customers in each and every step
They collaborate with customers only at the requirement phase.
throughout the process.
Agile processes are more focused and flexible as compared
The traditional process is less flexible as compared to the agile process.
to traditional processes. 
This method is more suitable for large or more complex
This method is more suitable for small or less complex projects.
projects. 

9. What do you mean by the term “velocity” in Agile?

A velocity is basically a measurement unit that measures or calculates how much work an agile development team can successfully
complete in a single sprint and how much time will be required to finish a project. It is widely used as a calibration tool that helps
development teams to create accurate and efficient timelines. It is also used to identify problems and measure the improvements
that occur with time.

10. What do you mean by Daily Stand-Up meeting?

A daily stand-up meeting is a day-to-day meeting among all the members of the agile team. Its main purpose is to know the current
progress and performance of every team member that works on Scrum tasks. The meetings take place mostly in the morning and
usually involves product owners, developers, and the scrum master. 

These meetings usually take place for the following reasons: 

 To know what was done yesterday and what is the plan for today. 
 To provide a better understanding of goals. 
 To make sure that every team member is working toward the same goal. 
 To bring problems of team members into focus so that problems can be addressed quickly.  
 To bring everyone up to date on the information and help the team to stay organized. 

11. What is Incremental and Iterative Development?

Iterative Development: It is basically a software development process where software development cycles (sprint and releases) are
repeated until the final product is obtained. On the basis of feedback from customers or users, the product is again developed in
cycles or releases and sprints i.e., adding new functionality in a repetitive manner. 
Incremental Development: It is basically a software development process where development works are sliced into increments or
pieces or portions. In this, the software is developed and delivered in pieces or increments and each piece has a complete set of
functionalities. The increment can either be small or large, and each increment is coded and tested fully. After testing each
increment, they all are integrated so that they work as a whole. 

12. What is a Product Roadmap?

A product roadmap, as the name suggests, is a powerful tool that describes how a product is likely to grow over time. It is a holistic
view of product features that create the product vision. It also indicates what development is building, business goals that the new
product will achieve, problems that the product will solve, etc. A product roadmap is owned by the product manager. It also
encourages the development team to work together to achieve the desired goal for the successful delivery of the product.

13. What are different project management tools that are mostly used in Agile?

Different project management tools used in Agile are: 

 Icescrum 
 Rally Software 
 Agilent 
 Version One 
 Agilo 
 X-planner 

Advanced Agile Interview Questions


14. What is the difference between Agile and Scrum?

Agile: It is an approach mainly used for software development. In this methodology, complex projects are broken down into smaller
units that are achievable in a specific time frame. It always involves customers in the development process.  
Scrum: There are different agile methodologies, and Scrum is one of them. It promotes accountability, function, and teamwork
similar to Agile. In simple words, it is an improved way of Agile methodology and shares the same principles and values of Agile with
adding some of its own unique features.  
Agile vs Scrum
Agile and Scrum, both provide a flawless experience to customers in the software development cycle and share similar methods like
collaborative iterations. But still, both of them cannot be substituted for each other. It mainly depends upon the type of project,
budget, time, and feasibility to choose any one of them for project development.  There are several differences between them as
given below: 

Agile Scrum
It is a methodology that is used for software management and It is just a form of Agile that fully describes the process and its
project management. steps. 
It emphasizes the incremental and iterative model known as It is basically an approach or implementation of agile
sprints.  methodology. 
It is best suited for projects that usually involve a small team of It is best suited for projects that require constant handling of
experts. changing requirements.
It is a long-term process. It is a slow-term process. 
It requires simple and straightforward design and execution. It requires innovation, creating design, and execution.
In this, all tasks and issues are addressed and handled by entire
In this, all tasks are handled and managed by the project head. 
team members.
It emphasizes face-to-face communication to achieve desired
It focuses on delivering maximum business value.
goals.
It is a less rigid method with more flexibility for change.  It is a more rigid method with less flexibility for change. 

15. What do you mean by Pair Programming? Write its advantages.

Pair programming, as the name suggests, is a type of programming where two people write code together and work side-by-side on
one machine or computer. It is basically a technique mostly used in agile software development. In this type of programming, one
person writes code and another person checks and reviews each line of code. Both of them also switch their roles while doing work.  

Advantages of Pair Programming

  Develop higher-quality code 


 Reduce the risk of errors 
 An effective way to share knowledge  
 Enhanced productivity 
 Improved team collaboration 

16. What is Agile Manifesto? What are its values and principles?

The agile manifesto is basically a document consisting of values and principles that are expressed in Agile. It was created in early
2001. It simply consists of 4 values and 12 key principles. This manifesto helps the development team to work more efficiently and
provides a clear and measurable structure that promotes team collaboration, iterative development, etc. It is specially designed to
improve development methodologies. 
The 4 Agile Values   

1. Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools: It focuses on giving more attention and importance to
communication with clients.
2. Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation: It focuses on the completion of the project and making sure
that the project is completing the final deliverables.
3. Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation: It focuses on involving customers in all phases of the project so that
the final product doesn’t lack any requirement that the client needs. It is done to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
4. Responding to Change over Following a Plan: It focuses on changes and motivates the team to adopt the change quickly
so that higher quality products can be delivered. Therefore, agile works in short sprints so that changes can be utilized for
good.

The 12 Agile Principles  


1. Customer Satisfaction: First priority is to fulfill customer demands to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
2. Welcome Change: Changes are important for improvement therefore even late in the development process, changes can
be introduced and addressed throughout the development period.
3. Deliver Frequently: Products have to be delivered as soon as possible therefore focus on a shorter timescale.
4. Work Together: Both business stakeholders and team members work together through the development process for
better collaboration.
5. Motivated Team: For delivering high-quality products, team members are motivated and encouraged. Team members are
given the environment and support they need to perform effectively.
6. Face-to-Face:  Agile emphasizes Face-to-face communication which is the most effective and efficient way of conveying
information. It helps the team to communicate simple and complex information in an effective way.
7. Working Software: Delivering working software to the customer is the major concern of Agile. Working software or
product is the primary measure of progress towards the final product.
8. Constant Pace: Agile promotes sustainable development. All teams, sponsors, developers, and users that are involved in
the agile process should maintain a constant speed to deliver working software in a short timescale.
9. Good Design: Focuses on good design and technical details to improve quality and agility (quick and graceful).
10. Simplicity: Team focuses on tasks and features that are essential and reduces the amount of work and time spent on
complex features and tasks that are not essential. It is done to keep things simple.
11. Self-Organization: Agile team should be cross-functional and self-organized. It should not depend on the manager to
assign work, instead should find their own work and manage the responsibilities and timelines. Such teams not only help to
deliver good quality software but also provide the best designs, requirements, and architectures.
12. Reflect and Adjust: To improve the effectiveness of a team, the team reflects on how to become more effective and assess
their working style at regular intervals. This is done so that one can learn from their mistakes and take some steps to
improve their performance in the next iterations.

17. What are Burn-up and Burn-down charts in Agile?

Burn-up Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to display or represent the amount of work that has been completed and the total
amount of work for a sprint or iteration.   
Burn-down Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to display or represent the amount of work that is remaining to be completed in
the project. These charts are very simple and easy to understand.  

18. What are different types of Burn-Down charts?

Different types of Burn-Down charts are listed below: 

 Product Burndown Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to show story points of each completed sprint so that it depicts the
completion of requirements over time. It mainly shows how many of the product goals are being achieved by the team and how
much work is remaining. 
 Sprint Burndown Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to show the remaining works for the scrum team of a particular sprint. It
makes the work of the team visible and shows the rate at which work is completed and how much is remaining to be completed.  
 Release Burndown Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to show how a team is progressing against the work for a release. This
chart is updated by the scrum team at the end of each sprint. It is very essential to see what process is being made during each
sprint. 
 Defect Burndown Chart: It is a type of chart that is used to show the total number of defects that are being identified and fixed or
removed. 

19. Name three main Agile frameworks other than Scrum for product development.

Three main Agile Frameworks other than Scrum are: 

 Kanban 
 Test-Driven Development (TDD) 
 Feature Driven Development (FDD) 

20. What is “Planning Poker” technique?

Planning Poker, also known as Scrum Poker, is a consensus-based technique that not only helps agile teams to estimate the time
and effort that is required to complete each initiative on their product backlog but also identifies issues before time and within the
course of a user story. It makes the meeting more short, productive and creates estimates with the involvement of the whole team. It
is mainly used to avoid the influence of other participants, and force each person to think independently and give their opinion.  

21. What is a Sprint Planning Meeting, Sprint Review Meeting and Sprint Retrospective Meeting?
 Sprint Planning Meeting: In this meeting, the discussion takes place about features and product backlog items (user stories) that
are important to the team. This meeting is usually attended by the product owner, Scrum Master and Scrum Team. It is a weekly
meeting and usually lasts for about an hour. 

 Sprint Review Meeting: In this meeting, the Scrum team gives a demonstration of the product. After this, the product owner
determines which items completed and which are not completed. He also adds some additional items to the product backlog on the
basis of feedback from customers or stakeholders. Its main aim is to inspect the product being created in the sprint and modify it if
required. 

 Sprint Retrospective Meeting: This meeting takes place after the Sprint planning meeting. In this meeting, the Scrum team meets
again to inspect itself and discuss the past mistakes, potential issues and methods to resolve them. Main aim of this meeting is to
improve the development process. This meeting lasts for about 2-3 hours. 

22. What do you mean by the term “increment”?The increment is simply the sum or total of all the product backlog items that
were completed during a sprint and the value of increments of all previous sprints. It is the total work completed within the current
and previous sprints.

23. What are standard or common metrics for Agile? Explain.Agile Metrics are basically standard metrics that are used to
measure the work of the team. These metrics are used to determine the quality of work, productivity, progress, team health, etc. Its
main focus is on value delivered to customers and how much end-users were impacted by it.  
Standard Metrics for the Agile project 

 Velocity: It measures the amount of work done by the development team during a sprint. It gives ideas about progress, capacity,
etc. 
 Cumulative Flow Diagram: It is a flow diagram used to measure the current status of work in progress of the team. It is simply used
to track the progress of agile teams and manage flow stability. 
 Defect Removal Awareness: It is used to measure the ability of the development team to remove defects prior to release. It helps
to maintain the quality of products by a working team. 
 Work Category Allocation: It is used to measure where we are spending or investing our time so that we can adjust our priorities.  
 Sprint Burndown Metric: It is used to measure the total number of sprints or tasks that are completed as compared to estimated
scrum tasks. It usually tracks the progress being made on tasks during a Sprint.  
 Defect Resolution Time: It is used to measure the time taken by the team to identify and fix the defects or bugs in the software.
There are several processes involved in fixing bugs. 
 Time Coverage or Code Coverage: It is used to measure the time that is given to code during testing. It helps one to understand
how much code is tested and also helps in assessing the test performance. 
 Business Value Delivered: It is used to measure the efficiency of the working team. 

Scrum Master Interview Questions

24. What is Scrum? Write its advantages.

Scrum is a lightweight process framework that helps scrum teams to work together and manage product development to deliver
products in the shortest time. The product provided by the scrum team in the shortest period is known as a print. Its main aim is to
manage tasks within a team-based development environment. It is especially used to manage project development for software
products and can also be used in business-related contexts.  
Advantages of Scrum 

 Releases product quickly to users and customers 


 Ensures effective use of time and money and therefore saves cost 
 Best suited for fast-moving development projects 
 Ability to incorporates changes as they occur 
 Emphasizes creativity and innovation to increase business value 
 Large and complex projects are divided into small and easily manageable sprints

25. What are different roles in Scrum?

There are basically three different roles in Scrum as given below:  Scrum Master: Scrum Master is basically a team leader or
supervisor of a team who is responsible for ensuring that the scrum team executes committed tasks properly.  
Product Owner: The product owner is basically a stakeholder of the project who is responsible for managing the product backlog.
He is also responsible for defining a vision of what to build for the team. 
Development Team: It involves an individual person and each person is responsible for working collectively to complete a
particular project. It is the team that is responsible for developing actual product increments and meeting sprint goals.  

26. What do you mean by Scrum Master? What are the responsibilities of Scrum Master?

Scrum Master, also referred to as servant leaders, is a person who is a master of Scrum i.e., the person who is responsible for
managing and facilitating an agile development team and makes sure that the scrum framework is followed. Scrum master is also
referred to as coach of the team that helps team members to do and give their best as much as possible.  

Responsibilities of Scrum Master 

 Protect the team from distractions  


 Motivate and guide the team to achieve the sprint goal 
 Build a self-organized and motivated team 
 Increase efficiency and productivity of the team 
 Ensures that the team delivers expected value during the sprint 
 Ensures that the team follows values, practices, and principles of Scrum 
 Eliminate external blockers and manage internal roadblocks 
 Lead the meetings and resolve any kind of issues 

27. What are the main artifacts of Scrum Framework?

There are three main artifacts of Scrum Framework: 

 Product Backlog: It is a list of all requirements from clients or stakeholders that are needed in the product and should be
accomplished before the end of the project. 
 Sprint Backlog: It is a list of all finalized user stories, bug fixes, work items, etc., that are completed and selected by scrum to be
completed during the current sprint. 
 Product Increment: It is the version of the end product derived from the completion of each Sprint. 

28. Explain the terms User story, Epic, and Tasks in Scrum?

There are a lot of technical terms that are normally used in Scrum activities. Some of them are given below:  

 Epic: It is basically a large story that cannot be completed in a single sprint. Therefore, epics are sub-divided into multiple, smaller
user stories before they can be worked on. 
 User story: These are the smallest units that can be fitted and completed in one sprint. User stories are further broken down into
different tasks. 
 Tasks: These are detailed pieces of work that are necessary to turn user stories into workable components.  

29. What are the important tools that are mostly used in a Scrum Project? tools mostly used in Scrum Projects are: 

 Version One 
 Sprintster 
 Atlassian JIRA 
 RTC Jazz, etc. 

30. Explain TimeBoxing in Scrum.

Timeboxing is an important time management technique or tool that is used to limit the amount of time that is being spent to
complete a task. It simply allows a fixed unit of time for each and every task and this unit is known as a time box. The maximum
length of the time box is 15 minutes. It not only helps to improve focus but also results in an increase in productivity. There are
some events in Scrum and all these events are timeboxed which means all these events are allotted with a maximum and fixed unit
of time for the task. The events that are time-boxed are listed below: 

 Sprint 
 Sprint Planning 
 Daily Scrum 
 Sprint Review 
 Sprint retrospective 

31. Explain the term “impediments” in Scrum.


Impediments are something that blocks or stops the progress of teamwork. It causes the team not able to perform their task in a
better way and on time that in turn also slows down the velocity. It’s the responsibility of the Scrum master to remove or resolve
impediments. Impediments can be anything as listed below: 

 Missing resource 
 Strict boss or team member 
 Technical or operational issue  
 Power outage 
 Lack of understanding about agile or scrum 
 External issues such as war, weather, etc. 
 Business problems 

32. What is the main role of Sashimi in Scrum? Sashimi is basically a Japanese word whose meaning is pierced body. In scrum,
Sashimi is a technique that is simply used to check whether all functions (every phase of the software development cycle) are
completed or not after the product is displayed. Functions include requirement analysis, planning, design, development, testing, and
documentation. 

33. Explain the term “story point” in Scrum.Story point is basically a unit to estimate total efforts that are required to complete or
to do a particular task or user story. It gives more accurate measures, reduces planning time, predicts releases date more accurately.

34. What do you mean by Scrum of Scrums (SoS)?Scrum of Scrum, as the name suggests, is an Agile technique that involves
meeting more than one scrum team and integrating the work of each team working on the same project. In simple words, it
coordinates the work of multiple teams who need to work together to deliver complex solutions. In this meeting, members or
representatives of individual teams share their high-level updates about their respective team’s work. Its main is to ensure
coordination and integration of output from multiple teams by eliminating impediments if present.  

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