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PMP lesson · Delivery Approach · Agile foundations · lesson 1 of 4 · about 7 minutes

The agile mindset: values and principles

Agile and hybridFree preview
Goal: After this lesson you can explain the four agile values and the key principles, and use them to choose answers in agile exam questions.

1The situation

Following the plan… to the wrong place

Three months after the MES dashboard launched, data shows that one big feature is used by fewer than 2% of users, while the most frequent complaint is a missing export button. The roadmap contains four more enhancements to the unused feature.

The team could follow the plan. Or it could respond to what it has learned.

The agile mindset is about learning fast and changing course when the evidence says so.

2Four values

The Agile Manifesto states four values. The items on the right still matter; the items on the left matter more:

People
Over process
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
Results
Over documents
Working results over comprehensive documentation.
Change
Over plan
Customer collaboration over contracts; responding to change over following a plan.
Agile is a mindset (values and principles), not just a set of ceremonies. “Doing Scrum” without the mindset rarely delivers the benefits.

3The four values

We value MORE……than (still valuable)
Individuals and interactionsoverprocesses and tools
Working software (working results)overcomprehensive documentation
Customer collaborationovercontract negotiation
Responding to changeoverfollowing a plan

The right side still matters. The left side matters more when the two conflict.

Both sides have value; agile prefers the left when they conflict.

4How it looks on the exam

Exam-style question 1. Analytics show that a feature which took a quarter of development effort is used by fewer than 2% of users, while a simple export function is the most requested item. The backlog contains four more enhancements to the low-use feature. What should the project manager do?
A. Continue the planned enhancements
B. Remove the feature immediately
C. Commission a long market study first
D. Bring the data to the product owner and support re-prioritising the backlog toward the most valuable outcomes
Show the answer and the decode
Answer: D.
In simple English
Evidence contradicts the plan.
What is the question really asking?
The agile response.
Key words / trigger
“fewer than 2% … most requested”
PMP logic
Respond to change: the PO re-prioritises using validated learning.
Why the wrong answer looks attractive
Following the approved roadmap feels disciplined, but it ignores evidence.

5Remember this

Your memory card

  • Four values: people, working results, collaboration, responding to change
  • Key principles: early value, welcome change, sustainable pace, simplicity, reflection
  • Agile is a mindset, not only ceremonies
  • Agile still meets governance and compliance, in a tailored way
The full lesson in the PMCLEAR app also has:
  • the rest of the lesson (Key principles, Agile ≠ no rules)
  • a worked example
  • the common traps (wrong vs right)
  • 2 exam-style questions with the decode
  • a 3-question quick check
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