Interview Q&A

spect Scrum Kanban Extreme Programming

(XP)

Framework

Type

Prescriptive, timeboxed

(Sprints)

Flow-based,

continuous delivery

Engineering-focused

gile methodology

Roles PO, Scrum Master, Dev

Team

No defined roles Coach, Developer,

Customer (on-site)

Work

Planning

Sprint Backlog (2–4

weeks)

Continuous pull

from board

Iterations, similar to

Sprints

Change

Policy

No changes during a

Sprint

Changes allowed

nytime

Change-resistant within

iteration

Focus Delivery + team

process

Visualizing flow and

limiting WIP

Code quality and

engineering discipline

Practices Daily Scrum, Sprint

Planning, Review,

Retro

Visual board, WIP

limits, Cycle Time

Pair programming, TDD,

CI/CD, Refactoring

Example:

support team may prefer Kanban for flexibility, while a product dev team building new

features might favor Scrum or XP for structure and code quality practices.

In Scrum, scope creep is managed by controlling what goes into a Sprint — not by

freezing the entire project.

How it’s handled:

• Sprint scope is locked once planning ends. No changes mid-Sprint without

discussion and agreement.

• Product Backlog remains flexible, so new ideas or requirements are added there

— not injected into the current Sprint.

• The Product Owner (PO) decides what gets prioritized for future Sprints.

Example:

If a stakeholder requests a new login method during the Sprint, the PO thanks them, adds it

to the Product Backlog, and it’s considered in the next planning session — not immediately

worked on.

Follow On:

Answer: Fibonacci scale: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc. Focus on effort, complexity, and risk — not time.

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Follow On:

Definition:

The Product Backlog is an ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product,

serving as the single source of work for the Scrum Team.

How to maintain it:

• Continuously refine items for clarity, detail, and priority.
• Regularly update it based on feedback, market changes, and stakeholder input.
• Collaborate with the team to ensure shared understanding.

Real-World Example:

For a streaming platform, the backlog might start with high-level features like “Watchlist” and

“User Reviews”. As sprints progress, these are broken down into more detailed items like

“Add to Watchlist Button” or “Review Moderation Rules”.

Purpose:

Sprint Planning sets the direction for the upcoming Sprint. The team collaboratively decides

what can be delivered and how the work will be accomplished.

Key outcomes:

• A clear Sprint Goal.
• A selected set of Product Backlog Items (PBIs) for the Sprint.
• A high-level plan for delivering those items.

Real-World Example:

In a team building a customer support chatbot, the Product Owner presents the most

valuable backlog items. The team discusses capacity and agrees to focus on implementing

“Chatbot FAQ logic” and “User intent recognition.” These become the Sprint backlog.

Scrum Team is composed of three primary roles:

• Product Owner – Responsible for maximizing the value of the product and

managing the Product Backlog.

• Scrum Master – Acts as a servant-leader, facilitating the Scrum process and

removing impediments.

• Development Team – A cross-functional group that builds the product increment

each Sprint.

Example:

In a software startup developing a new mobile app, the Product Owner gathers customer

needs and prioritizes them. The Scrum Master ensures daily stand-ups run smoothly and

helps remove blockers like server access issues. The Development Team (UI/UX designers,

front-end and back-end developers) work together to deliver usable features every two

weeks.

Follow On:

login screen might be a 2-point story (simple, well understood). A feature with integrations

nd security considerations may be 8 points due to complexity and risk.

Pro Tip:

void estimating in hours — it introduces false precision. Focus on relative effort, not

duration.

Answer: travel app team uses Value vs. Effort to prioritize. “In-app booking” has high value and moderate effort, while “Flight status tracking” has high effort and low impact — so the former gets scheduled first.

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Top challenges:

Follow On:

• Team alignment across multiple squads
• Coordination of dependencies
• Shared ownership of product vision
• Overhead from meetings multiplying with team size
• Consistent backlog management
• Resistance to organizational culture change

Example:

If 10 Scrum teams are working on the same e-commerce platform, ensuring consistent UI

standards and integrating features becomes increasingly difficult without coordination

frameworks like Scrum-of-Scrums or SAFe.

Effort is typically estimated using relative sizing methods:

✅ Story Points (most common)

✅ Planning Poker (a team-based game using consensus to estimate)

✅ T-shirt sizes (S, M, L, etc., for quick high-level sizing)

Story Points consider:

• Complexity
• Amount of work
• Risks or unknowns

Example:

A login screen might be a 2-point story (simple, well understood). A feature with integrations

and security considerations may be 8 points due to complexity and risk.

Pro Tip:

Avoid estimating in hours — it introduces false precision. Focus on relative effort, not

duration.

Team members independently assign story points, then discuss differences.

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Techniques to prioritize:

• MoSCoW (Must, Should, Could, Won’t)
• Kano Model (Basic, Performance, Delighter)
• Value vs. Effort Matrix
• Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) in SAFe

Factors to consider:

• Customer value
• Business impact
• Risk reduction
• Dependencies

Follow On:

• Technical feasibility

Example:

A travel app team uses Value vs. Effort to prioritize. “In-app booking” has high value and

moderate effort, while “Flight status tracking” has high effort and low impact — so the former

gets scheduled first.

What didn’t?

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Purpose:

The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute timeboxed event for the Development Team to inspect

progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the plan.

Effective format (common but not mandatory):

• What did I do yesterday?
• What will I do today?
• Are there any blockers?

Best Practices:

Follow On:

• Same time, same place daily.
• Focus on progress toward the Sprint Goal.
• Keep it short and to the point.

Real-World Example:

During a mobile app Sprint, a developer mentions a deployment delay due to a

configuration issue. The Scrum Master takes note and helps resolve it after the meeting —

preventing a bottleneck.

Scrum defines three key artifacts:

• Product Backlog – A prioritized list of everything that might be needed in the

product, maintained by the Product Owner.

• Sprint Backlog – A subset of the Product Backlog items selected for the current

Sprint, along with a plan for delivering them.

• Increment – The sum of all completed work that meets the Definition of Done at the

end of a Sprint.

Example:

If your product is an e-commerce website, the Product Backlog could include features like

"Add to Cart", "Payment Gateway", and "User Login". In the current Sprint, the Sprint

Backlog may include just “User Login” and “Add to Cart”. At the end of the Sprint, a working

login system is delivered as the Increment.

rchitect

• PI Planning instead of Sprint Planning for synchronization

Example:

telecom company using SAFe may have 12 Scrum teams working in sync toward a

Program Increment (PI) every 10 weeks, using shared roadmaps and synchronized planning

sessions.

Follow On:

utonomous?

Key enablers:

• Trust: Allow teams to own delivery without micromanagement.
• Clear goals: Provide vision, not step-by-step instructions.
• Cross-functionality: Ensure the team has all necessary skills.
• Scrum Master: Coaches the team, but doesn’t assign tasks.
• Encourage decision-making within the team.

Follow On:

Example:

Instead of telling the team who should build the new feature, let them decide who does what

based on skills and availability. The Scrum Master can step in only if the team is blocked.

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) builds on Scrum principles but provides structured

guidance for applying Agile at enterprise scale.

SAFe includes:

• Scrum at the team level
• Agile Release Trains (ARTs) to coordinate multiple teams
• Roles like Release Train Engineer (RTE), Product Management, Solution

Architect

• PI Planning instead of Sprint Planning for synchronization

Example:

A telecom company using SAFe may have 12 Scrum teams working in sync toward a

Program Increment (PI) every 10 weeks, using shared roadmaps and synchronized planning

sessions.

Follow On:

Key enablers:

• Trust: Allow teams to own delivery without micromanagement.
• Clear goals: Provide vision, not step-by-step instructions.
• Cross-functionality: Ensure the team has all necessary skills.
• Scrum Master: Coaches the team, but doesn’t assign tasks.
• Encourage decision-making within the team.

Follow On:

Example:

Instead of telling the team who should build the new feature, let them decide who does what

based on skills and availability. The Scrum Master can step in only if the team is blocked.

S, M, L, XL — useful for high-level estimation.

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Definition:

The Definition of Done is a shared understanding of what “done” means for a backlog item

or Increment. It ensures transparency and consistent quality.

Impact on quality:

• Prevents incomplete work from being marked as finished.
• Reduces rework by setting clear expectations.
• Ensures the Increment is potentially shippable.

Example DoD:

• Code is committed and peer-reviewed
• Unit tests are written and passed
• Integrated into CI/CD pipeline
• User story accepted by Product Owner
• No major bugs in QA

Real-World Example:

Without a DoD, a team may claim a feature is “done” even though it hasn’t been tested.

With a proper DoD, it won’t be considered complete until it’s fully tested, reviewed, and

accepted.

Follow On:

Purpose:

To inspect the Increment and adapt the Product Backlog based on feedback. It’s a

collaborative working session, not a demo-only meeting.

Key components:

• Presentation of what was "Done" in the Sprint.
• Discussion on what went well and challenges faced.
• Stakeholder feedback on the Increment.
• Review of the market or business context.

Real-World Example:

The team presents a new analytics dashboard to stakeholders. Marketing suggests a

change in how data is grouped. The Product Owner logs this feedback into the Product

Backlog for future refinement.

Sprint is a fixed-length (usually 1–4 weeks) timebox where a usable and potentially

shippable product increment is developed. The Sprint fosters focus, regular delivery, and

continuous improvement.

Example:

digital agency might run 2-week Sprints to deliver iterative updates to a client’s website.

fter each Sprint, the client gets a working piece — such as a new landing page — and

provides feedback that shapes the next Sprint.

Answer: login screen might be estimated as a 3-point story. A password reset flow involving emails nd error handling might be 5 points. Follow On:

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.

Answer: team uses a Kanban board with “To Do”, “In Progress”, and “Done” columns. Every day, they update task statuses so progress is clear and blockers are quickly identified.

What interviewers expect

• A clear definition tied to Agile in Agile & Scrum projects
• Trade-offs (performance, maintainability, security, cost)
• When you would and would not use it in production

Real-world example

In a production Agile & Scrum application, teams apply this when handling user-facing features or integration boundaries. For example, you might use it during a sprint where reliability and observability matter—logging metrics, validating edge cases, and documenting the decision in an ADR so future developers understand why the approach was chosen.

How to explain in the interview

1. Define the concept in one or two sentences.
2. Context — where it fits in Agile & Scrum architecture.
3. Example — a specific project, bug, or performance win.
4. Trade-off — what you gain vs what you sacrifice.

Tip: Practice aloud on Toolliyo mock interview or the Interview Q&A section before your real interview.