CAPM - Agile Frameworks/Methodologies (20% of the exam) - Section 3.1

Explain the values and principles of the Agile Manifesto and identify when an adaptive approach is more appropriate than a predictive one.

Explain the four values and twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto and the mindset of delivering value early through short, iterative feedback loops. Recognise that an adaptive approach suits projects with high uncertainty and evolving requirements, where responding to change is valued over rigidly following a fixed plan.

Agile ManifestoAgile values and principlesAdaptive approachIterative delivery

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleAgile Frameworks/Methodologiesmedium

Midway through the Kingfisher mobile-app project, a regulator publishes new rules that overturn several features the team had already scheduled. The team works to the Agile Manifesto. The product owner asks which Manifesto value most directly guides how the team should treat this late shift in requirements. Which value applies?

  • AWorking software over comprehensive documentation
  • BIndividuals and interactions over processes and tools
  • CResponding to change over following a plan Correct
  • DCustomer collaboration over contract negotiation
Welcoming a mid-project requirement change rather than defending the original plan reflects the Manifesto value of responding to change over following a plan. The Agile Manifesto lists four value statements of the form X over Y, and the one that governs adapting when requirements shift is responding to change over following a plan, because it favours acting on new information rather than protecting the earlier schedule.

Why A is wrong: This value is tempting because a regulatory change often triggers document rework, but it addresses favouring a running increment over heavy documentation, not how to react to changing requirements.

Why B is wrong: This value is attractive because the team must talk through the new rules together, yet it concerns valuing people and communication over rigid tooling, not the response to a mid-project change.

Why C is correct: A regulator overturning scheduled features is exactly a change to embrace rather than resist, so welcoming that shift over sticking to the original plan is the value that applies.

Why D is wrong: This value is plausible because the change may touch agreed terms, but it addresses working with the customer over haggling on the contract, not the team's stance toward evolving requirements.

See more CAPM practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Agile Frameworks/Methodologies

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the CAPM bank for this domain.

  • The requirements are stable and well understood, so the full scope can be baselined before work begins.

    Why it is wrong: Stable, well-understood requirements actually favour a predictive approach, so this factor points the opposite way and is wrong.

  • Defer the changes to a later release, because the signed requirements document is the team's contract and must govern the current iteration.

    Why it is wrong: This treats comprehensive documentation and the plan as fixed authority, which inverts the Manifesto value that prioritises responding to change, so it is wrong.

  • The team is co-located in one building, which lets them hold stand-up meetings without booking video calls.

    Why it is wrong: Co-location helps communication but it is not the driver of the predictive-versus-adaptive decision; a stable, well-understood project can also be co-located, so this does not justify adaptive over predictive.

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