Free Scaled Agile SAFe-DevOps Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 3

The lead time for a particular step in a value stream is the time from when the work is ready from the previous step to work completion. It includes both the process time and the wait time at that step. Lead time is an important metric to measure the efficiency and flow of a value stream, as it indicates how long it takes for a unit of work to move through a step. Reducing lead time can help eliminate waste, improve throughput, and increase customer satisfaction1

Two important items to monitor in production to support the Release on Demand aspect in SAFe are the number of concurrent users and the system performance. The number of concurrent users is the number of users who are accessing the system at the same time. It is an indicator of the demand and popularity of the system, as well as the potential load and stress on the system resources. The system performance is the measure of how well the system responds to user requests and meets the nonfunctional requirements, such as availability, reliability, scalability, and security. Monitoring the number of concurrent users and the system performance helps to support the Release on Demand aspect in SAFe by providing valuable information for the following purposes:

• To optimize the release strategy and timing, based on the user behavior and preferences
• To ensure the system can handle the expected and unexpected user traffic, and to scale up or down the system resources as needed
• To detect and resolve any issues or incidents that may affect the user experience and satisfaction
• To evaluate the impact and value of the released features, and to identify areas for improvement or innovation 5

The Boundaries and Limitations portion of the DevOps Transformation Canvas is used to capture improvement items that require the support of other people or teams. These are items that are outside the scope or control of the current team or value stream, but are necessary for achieving the DevOps vision and goals. They help to identify dependencies, risks, and stakeholders that need to be engaged or aligned

One aspect of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline is Continuous Integration. Continuous Integration (CI) is the practice of merging all development versions of a code base several times a day and verifying them with automated tests. CI helps to improve the quality and consistency of the code, and to accelerate the delivery and deployment of new functionality. CI is the second aspect in the four-part Continuous Delivery Pipeline of Continuous Exploration (CE), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment (CD), and Release on Demand. CI consists of four activities: develop, build, test end-to-end, and stage12

Refactoring is the activity of improving the internal structure or operation of a code or component without changing its external behavior. The goal of software development is the continuous delivery of business value to users and stakeholders. Constantly changing technology and evolving business objectives make maintaining and continuously increasing business value difficult. Refactoring enables an emergent design, ensuring the system continues to meet future business needs. Refactors are a particular type of Enabler story in SAFe, and, like any other Story, they must be estimable, verifiable, and valuable, as well as accepted by the Product Owner. SAFe emphasizes the importance of keeping all work visible, including refactoring. Like user value work, refactoring must be planned for, estimated, and prioritized. Therefore, developers should create and estimate refactoring Stories in the Team Backlog, and work on them according to their WSJF1

Under the Respond activity in the context of DevOps, the practice of Rollback is often included. Rollback is a key response mechanism used to quickly revert a system to a previous stable state in the event of a failure or issue in the production environment. This practice is critical for maintaining system stability and minimizing downtime.

The Continuous Exploration aspect in SAFe primarily supports the key stakeholder objective of aligning business and technology. This phase focuses on exploring market needs and defining solutions that deliver the most significant customer and business value within the constraints of technology and feasibility. It helps ensure that the development efforts are in sync with business goals and market demands, thereby fostering alignment between various stakeholders..

The recommended way to prioritize improvement items for the DevOps transformation is to use Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF). WSJF is a prioritization model that considers the cost of delay, job size, and economic value of each improvement item. It helps to identify the most urgent and valuable items that can be delivered in the shortest amount of time