Free Scrum SAFe-Practitioner Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 4

Systems thinking is a holistic approach to solution development, incorporating all aspects of a system and its environment into the design, development, deployment, and maintenance. It requires leaders and teams to understand the solution, the enterprise, and the value stream as a system. One of the principles of systems thinking is that optimizing a component of the system does not optimize the whole system. In fact, it may even harm the system performance, as it may create bottlenecks, conflicts, or waste in other parts of the system. Therefore, systems thinking encourages looking at the system as a whole and finding the best trade-offs and synergies among the components. References: Principle #2 - Apply systems thinking - Scaled Agile Framework, What ‘systems thinking’ actually means - and why it matters today | World Economic Forum, What is Systems Thinking? - Critical Thinking Secrets

The Product Owner (PO) in the team is responsible for sequencing backlog items to program priorities, events, and dependencies. The PO works with the Product Manager, who owns the Vision and the Roadmap, to define and sequence the features in the Program Backlog1. The PO also collaborates with other POs in the Agile Release Train (ART) to manage dependencies and ensure alignment across teams2. The PO maintains and prioritizes the Team Backlog, which is the single source of truth for the upcoming features of the system3. The PO also participates in the Program Increment (PI) Planning, where the team’s PI objectives are aligned with the program priorities and dependencies4. References: Product Owner - Scaled Agile Framework, Team Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework, Program Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework, PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework

Assigning the same business value to all PI Objectives is an anti-pattern because it does not reflect the relative importance and priority of each objective. It also does not provide a clear guidance for trade-off decisions and impediment resolution. Business value should be assigned based on the expected benefits and outcomes of each objective, and it should be negotiated and agreed upon by the Business Owners and the teams. References: SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 4; [v6.scaledagileframework.com/team-pi-objectives/]

An Agile Release Train (ART) is the primary value delivery construct in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It is a long-lived, self-organizing, virtual organization of 5 - 12 Agile Teams that plan, commit, and execute together. ARTs align teams to a shared business and technology mission and deliver solutions in a value stream with common principles and practices. ARTs are cross-functional and have all the capabilities needed to define, build, test, deploy, release, and operate solutions. ARTs operate on a fixed schedule with common iteration start/end dates and duration, and deliver a new system increment every two weeks. ARTs also plan their work at periodic, mostly face-to-face Program Increment (PI) Planning events, and inspect and adapt at the end of every PI. References: Agile Release Train - Scaled Agile Framework, Essential SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

 The Agile Release Train Sync is a weekly meeting that synchronizes the ART stakeholders and provides visibility into the ART’s progress and impediments1. The Scrum Masters represent their Agile teams, provide updates on their status, relay questions, and help address challenges. They safeguard the team’s needs and effectiveness2. The visibility that Scrum Masters provide during the Agile Release Train Sync is mainly into the progress and impediments of their teams, such as the completion of features, stories, and enablers, the resolution of dependencies, the identification of risks and issues, and the demonstration of value3. The other options are not the primary focus of the Scrum Masters’ visibility during the Agile Release Train Sync. References: Agile Release Train - Scaled Agile Framework, PRACTICE TEST: SAFe 4 Practitioner Certification Flashcards - Brainscape, Agile Release Train Sync Meetings: Maximizing Success - Dee Project Manager

A program event is an event that involves all the teams in an Agile Release Train (ART) and occurs at the program level. According to the SAFe for Teams SP (6.0) handbook, there are three program events: PI Planning, System Demo, and Inspect and Adapt1. Innovation and Planning (IP) is also a program event, as it is a special iteration that occurs at the end of each Program Increment (PI) and provides time for the ART to innovate, plan, and improve2. Therefore, Innovation and Planning is an example of a program event. The other options are not program events, but team events, as they occur at the team level and involve only one agile team. Scrum of scrums, Iteration review, and Daily stand-up are team events that are part of the iteration execution cycle3. References: SAFe for Teams SP (6.0) - SAFe Practitioner handbook, Innovation and Planning Iteration - Scaled Agile Framework, Iteration Execution - Scaled Agile Framework

Design Thinking is a methodology that helps teams solve complex problems and create innovative solutions that meet the needs and desires of the users. One of the benefits of Design Thinking is that it produces solutions that are actionable, meaning that they can be implemented and tested in the real world. Actionable solutions are based on a deep understanding of the problem, a wide range of possible ideas, and iterative prototyping and testing. Actionable solutions are also aligned with the vision, values, and goals of the organization and the stakeholders. References: What is Design Thinking?, Design thinking, explained, What is design thinking?

One of the tools associated with Design Thinking is empathy maps, which are a visual way to capture and organize the user’s needs, goals, pains, and gains. Empathy maps help the team to understand the user’s perspective, empathize with their emotions, and design solutions that address their problems and aspirations. Empathy maps are typically created during the Discover phase of Design Thinking, where the team conducts user research and synthesizes the findings. References: SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 1; v5.scaledagileframework.com/design-thinking/; v5.scaledagileframework.com/get-feedback/

 Scrum is a framework that enables teams to deliver value in complex and uncertain environments. Scrum is based on the agile manifesto, which values individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Scrum consists of three roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers), five events (Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective, and Sprint), and three artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment). Scrum teams work in short iterations called Sprints, where they plan, execute, and deliver a potentially releasable product increment. Scrum teams inspect and adapt their process and product continuously, using empirical feedback and data. Scrum teams are self-organized, meaning they decide how to best accomplish their work, and cross-functional, meaning they have all the skills needed to create a product increment.

The Product Owner role is the Agile team member primarily responsible for maximizing the value delivered by the team by ensuring that the team backlog is aligned with customer and stakeholder needs1. As a member of the extended Product Management function, the Product Owner is the team’s primary customer advocate and primary link to business and technology strategy1. This means that the Product Owner represents the customer to the Agile team, and communicates the product vision, goals, and requirements to the team. The Product Owner also collaborates with the customer and other stakeholders to gather feedback, validate assumptions, and ensure that the team is building the right things and building them right23. References: = 1: Product Owner - Scaled Agile Framework1; 2: What is a Product Owner? | Scrum.org2; 3: I’m a New Product Owner! What Are My Responsibilities? - Scrum Alliance3