BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile

Specimen Paper

Record your surname / last / family name and initials on the answer sheet.

Specimen paper only 20 multiple-choice questions – 1 mark awarded to each

question. Mark only one answer to each question. There are no trick questions.

A number of possible answers are given for each question, indicated by either A. B. C. or
D. Your answers should be clearly indicated on the answer sheet.

Pass mark is 13/20

This is a specimen paper only. The full exam is 40 multiple choice questions with a pass mark
of 26/40.

Copying of this paper is expressly forbidden without the direct approval of BCS,
The Chartered Institute for IT.

This professional certification is not regulated by the following United Kingdom

Regulators - Ofqual, Qualifications in Wales, CCEA or SQA

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
1 What does it GENERALLY mean when software development is delivered using a
linear software development life cycle?

A All activities to develop the software happen in iterations of small batches.

B The activities of software development occur sequentially from analysis, through
delivery to testing.
C The testing activities related to software development occur prior to any code being
written and delivered.
D The software is created incrementally by building each component, starting from
any database then proceeding with business logic and presentation layer.

2 Which of the following does NOT appear in the 12 Principles of Agile?

A We resist changes to requirements, particularly late in development.

B The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a
development team is face-to-face conversation.
C At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes
and adjusts its behaviour accordingly.
D Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

3 Which of the following actions would be BEST undertaken in order to build

motivated teams?

A Have line managers evaluate their staff and assign people to teams based on skills
and performance.
B Allow teams to self-organise into teams with all the skills that are required and hold
each other accountable.
C Have practice leads identify the most capable people from each discipline and
assign them to capability roles within teams.
D As people join the organisation they should be allocated to the team that has the
highest need for people.

4 Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of a timebox?

A To deliver objectives while maximising value.

B To deliver objectives while minimising cost.
C To agree objectives and allocate task.
D To agree objectives and estimate duration.

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
5 Which of the Seven Lean Wastes of Software Development BEST describes the
use of documentation that is excessive in its detail?

A Overproduction.
B Extra processing.
C Motion.
D Transportation.

6 When an Agile team is delivering a solution, which of the following BEST describes
the preferred means of interaction with customers and users?

A The team should directly communicate with customers and users on the delivery of
goals identified by the Product Owner.
B The customers and stakeholders should tell the team exactly what requirements
they want delivered.
C The team should only interact with the Product Owner and only the Product Owner
should interact with customers.
D The team should not interact with customers or users, as this should be managed
by the relevant support team.

7 Which aspect of Agile working directly supports the ability to react to change?

A Delivering in phased releases and having lessons learned meetings.

B Using short cycle times of delivery where feedback is regularly received.
C Having a manager work directly with the team that manages the delivery plan.
D Ensuring user research is carried out after each major release of the product.

8 When an Agile team has created an iteration or sprint plan with an Agile Product
Owner, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A The team has forecasted what items they expect to be able to deliver.
B If an item is undeliverable they will discuss this with the Product Owner.
C If the Product Owner identifies a higher priority they can discuss this with the team.
D All work for that iteration or sprint is now fixed and no changes can be made.

9 Which of the following statements BEST describes a self-organising team?

A They decide what items to be delivered provide value.

B They should decide if they need to work in the office or from home.
C They decide who should get promoted within the organisation.
D They decide how to deliver items of work that will build the solution.

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
10 If every event in Scrum is an opportunity to inspect and adapt, which of the following
pairs of events contribute to continuous improvement?

A The sprint review and sprint planning.

B The retrospective and sprint planning.
C The retrospective and backlog refinement.
D The daily scrum and retrospective.

11 Which of the following BEST describes how Agile team members contribute to the
team's working pace?

A Team members should push themselves to take on more work with each iteration.
B Team members should only commit to work they know they can achieve.
C Team members should await tasks being allocated to them.
D Team members should avoid overlap with other roles.

12 Which of the following statements CORRECTLY describes an Agile way of

working?

A Each developer completes all work on the item assigned to them.

B All code work is done by programmers before handing to quality assurance for test.
C Only the coding work is done and all testing is left until integration.
D The team will collaborate in groups to deliver all the work for each item.

13 Which of the following CORRECTLY describes incremental delivery?

A The solution is delivered in a series of iterations, usually financially-bound, with

each iteration delivering a more expensive version of the solution or product.
B The main solution is delivered all at once, with additional iterations being developed
if market demand is identified.
C The solution is delivered in a series of iterations, usually time-bound, with each
iteration delivering a version of the solution or product.
D The main solution is delivered all at once, with additional iterations being developed
when budget becomes available.

14 Which of the following is a recognised Agile Scum role?

A Agile Coach.
B Product Manager.
C Development Team.
D Team Lead.
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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
15 Which of the following actions WOULD NOT normally be included in a retrospective
activity?

A Identifying any areas of skills within the team that could be developed.
B Assessing if there are any improvements in how the team is applying Agile.
C Discussing and assessing issues around the interpersonal relationships in the team.
D Understanding the part of the product that should be delivered next.

16 During backlog refinement, when ensuring an item is ready to be delivered by an

Agile team, which practice would the team NOT adopt to refine the item?

A Specification by example.
B Detail all requirements.
C Impact mapping.
D Story mapping.

17 Select the CORRECT option to complete the following sentence.

“Agile teams can improve the velocity they achieve during delivery by…”

A Improving estimation and collaboration techniques.

B Forecasting more work during planning sessions.
C Increasing the number of people on the team.
D Carrying out more analysis on items during refinement.

18 Which of the following would NOT be considered a practice that would help a team
achieve continuous delivery?

A Continuous integration.
B Three Amigos sessions.
C Versioning requirements documents.
D Test-driven development.

19 Which of the below frameworks creates a sense of urgency by Work in Progress

limits?

A Scrum.
B Kanban.
C LeSS.
D Extreme Programming.

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
20 Which of the following options SHOULD help organisations avoid scaling issues?

A Decompose products into independent goals.

B Employ system integration consultants.
C Send their staff on an Agile training course.
D Hire multiple Agile coaches.

End of Paper

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
 BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile
Answer Key and Rationale

Question Answer Explanation / Rationale Syllabus

Sections
1 B Requires identification of a description of a linear approach such 1.1
as Waterfall.
2 A This is not a principle of Agile, the other answers are. 1.4

3 B Requires an understanding of the concept of ‘self-organising 2.2

teams’ and its connection with motivation.
4 A Timeboxing ensures Agile teams are working to agreed 4.2
objectives, but in a manner which maximises value.
5 A This is overproduction, as the detail, and perhaps the 3.3
documentation itself, is not required.
6 A Agile teams value customer collaboration over contract 4.1
negotiation, so distractors are examples of non-collaborative
ways of working.
7 B Requires an understanding of the correlation between regular 5.1
feedback and the ability to change, and how this feedback is
generated by an Agile way of working.
8 D The distractors describe scenarios where change occurs and 5.2
should be reacted to. The key is not true and a common
misconception of the rules of Scrum.
9 D Asks for an understanding of how self-organising teams deliver 6.2
solutions.
10 B Requires knowledge and understanding of how improvement 6.3
opportunities are identified and actioned in Scrum events,
underpinned by the Pillars of Scrum.
11 B The principle of sustainable pace requires the Agile team to vary 6.6
only the scope of what is delivered based on highest business
value. Overcommitting to task would be very problematic as this
minimum may not be delivered and the pace would not be
considered sustainable.
12 D The Agile mindset requires teams to collaborate and focus on 6.7
delivery of working products i.e. autonomy and purpose.
13 C This is the correct definition as per the reference text. 6.9

14 C The three Scrum roles are Product Owner, Scrum Master and 7.1
Development Team.
15 D The purpose of a retrospective is for the team to reflect on how 8.1
to become more effective, as described in each of the
distractors. Technical product road-mapping would not be an
appropriate objective.
16 B Distractors are all appropriate techniques for refining backlog 8.2
items. Detailing all requirements is a common practice used for
linear delivery methods.
17 A Requires an understanding of velocity, what factors influence 8.3
improvements in velocity, and the relationship with estimation
and collaboration.

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023
Question Answer Explanation / Rationale Syllabus
Sections
18 C The distractors are all commonly used, well known techniques 8.4
that aid continuous delivery. Versioning requirements
documents is not an Agile practice.
19 B Candidates will need to recognise that applying WIP limits is a 9.1
fundamental part of the Kanban framework.
20 A The adoption of scaling tools is widespread, so candidates need 9.2
awareness of them. However, the Agile Manifesto discourages
use of tools so there should be an awareness of techniques that
can aid scaling without resorting to tools and methods ,such as
SAFe, LeSS and Scrum@Scale.

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Copyright © BCS 2023
BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile Specimen Paper
Version V1.1 May 2023