Scaled Agile SAFe-APM Dumps

Personas are fictional characters that represent the ideal customers or users of a product or service. They help product teams understand and empathize with the needs, goals, and preferences of their target segments. Personas explain how the customers want to use the product by describing their behaviors, motivations, pain points, and expectations. Personas also help product teams design and deliver solutions that meet the customer needs and create value.

References:

Personas: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of personas, and how they can be used in a SAFe context to support customer-centricity, design thinking, and lean UX.

What are Personas?: This article from Agile Alliance defines personas and describes their benefits and characteristics. It also provides some tips and examples on how to create and use personas effectively.

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, market segment value is the total value of a specific market segment for agiven solution. It is calculated by multiplying the number of potential customers in the segment by the average revenue per customer and the expected market share. The expected market share depends on several factors, such as the value proposition, the competitive advantage, and the number of existing competitors. Therefore, the number of existing competitors is a factor that must be included when building a model of market segment value.

References:

Agile Product Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

5.4 Essential Factors in Effective Market Segmentation

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic benefit. It is calculated by dividing the cost of delay by the job duration or size. To estimate the cost of delay, three factors are considered: user and business value, time criticality, and risk reduction or opportunity enablement. To estimate the job duration or size, a relative scale such as Fibonacci is used. The highest value in the Fibonacci scale is set as the “ceiling” and the lowest value is set as the “floor”. The items are then scored by comparing them to the ceiling and the floor, and assigning them the closest Fibonacci number. The WSJF score is then obtained by dividing the cost of delay score by the job duration or size score. The items with the highest WSJF score are prioritized first.

References:

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) | Definition and Overview - ProductPlan

Weighted Shortest Job First - Open Practice Library

Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of customers who have similar needs, preferences, or behaviors. Market segmentation helps enterprises identify and target the most valuable and profitable customer segments, design and deliver solutions that meet their needs, and optimize their marketing strategies and campaigns. However, market segmentation is not only based on quantitative factors, such as size, growth, and profitability, but also on qualitative factors, such as values, mission, and vision. A market segment should align with the enterprise’s values and mission, which reflect its purpose, identity, and culture. A market segment that aligns with the enterprise’s values and mission will help the enterprise achieve its strategic goals, create a positive brand image, and build trust and loyalty with customers.

One of the characteristics of effective market segmentation is that the segment should be valuable enough to be economically feasible. This means that the segment should have enough potential customers who are willing and able to pay for the products or services offered by the enterprise. The segment should also generate enough revenue and profit to cover the costs of marketing, production, and distribution. The segment should also have a positive impact on the enterprise’s return on investment (ROI) and net present value (NPV). A segment that is not valuable enough to be economically feasible will not be sustainable or profitable for the enterprise.

References:

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

Advanced Topic - SAFe for Marketing - Scaled Agile Framework

What is one consideration when evaluating the fit for a market segment?

5.4 Essential Factors in Effective Market Segmentation

A measurement that can help drive Value Stream innovation and improvements is the percentage of Customers activating the product. This metric indicates how many Customers are actually using the product after acquiring it, and how well the product meets their needs and expectations. A high percentage of Customers activating the product means that the product delivers value and solves a problem for the Customers, and that the Value Stream is aligned with the Customer-centric mindset. A low percentage of Customers activating the product means that there is a gap between the product offering and the Customer demand, and that the Value Stream needs to innovate and improve the product design, delivery, and marketing.

References:

Value Stream KPIs - Scaled Agile Framework

The Four Most Useful Value Stream Metrics in Software

What is an example of a measurement that can be used to help drive …

 Time criticality is one key component of Cost of Delay (CoD), which is the money or value that will be lost by delaying or not doing a job for a specific time period relative to other jobs. Time criticality reflects the urgency or sensitivity of a job to time, and how its value changes over time. For example, a job that has a fixed deadline, a seasonal demand, or a high risk of obsolescence has a high time criticality, and its CoD increases rapidly as time passes. A job that has a stable demand, a low risk of competition, or a long-term benefit has a low time criticality, and its CoD increases slowly or remains constant over time.

References:

WSJF: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF), which is a prioritization model that uses CoD and job duration to sequence jobs for maximum economic benefit. It also describes the four components of CoD: user or business value, time criticality, risk reduction and/or opportunity enablement, and job size.

Cost of Delay - Scaled Agile Framework: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines CoD as the numerator in WSJF prioritization, and provides some examples of how to estimate CoD for different types of jobs.

Designing a data strategy is the process of defining the vision, goals, principles, and governance of data and analytics in an organization. A data strategy should align with the business strategy and enable the delivery of value from data and AI initiatives. Designing a data strategy requires collaboration between Product Managers and their Customers, as they are the ones who understand the needs, problems, and opportunities of the market and the users. Product Managers and Customers should work together to identify the data sources, use cases, metrics, and feedback loops that will inform the data strategy and drive the data-driven decision making.

References:

Design your data strategy in six steps | IBM

How to build and deliver an effective data strategy: part 1 - Microsoft UK Blog

Crafting Your Data Strategy - data.org

Designing Data Strategies - Development Gateway: An IREX Venture

The strategic sweet spot of a company is where it meets customer’s needs in a way that rivals can’t, given the context in which it competes12. It is where the company’s capabilities match customer needs in a way that the competition can’t. Finding the strategic sweet spot is a key challenge of strategic thinking and a source of competitive advantage.

References:

How to find your strategic sweet spot and why it matters

The Strategic Sweet Spot - Harvard Business Review

A PI roadmap is a visual tool that illustrates the commitments and forecasts of an Agile Release Train (ART) or Solution Train for the planned and upcoming Program Increments (PIs). One of the activities to create an ARTs PI Roadmap is to provide a list of agreed objectives, which are the SMART goals that summarize the business and technical outcomes that the ART or Solution Train intends to achieve in a PI. The objectives are derived from the features and enablers that are planned and prioritized in the PI Planning event, and they are aligned with the vision, roadmap, and strategic themes of the portfolio. The objectives are used to communicate and track the progress and value delivery of the ART or Solution Train, and to enable alignment and dependency management across multiple ARTs or Solution Trains.

References:

PI Roadmap: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of the PI Roadmap, and how it can be used to visualize and communicate the near-term deliverables and milestones of an ART or Solution Train.

PI Objectives: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines the concept and attributes of PI Objectives, and how they can be used to align and measure the outcomes of an ART or Solution Train.

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, the Product Manager is responsible for defining and communicating the product vision and roadmap to the Agile Release Train (ART) during PI Planning. The product vision describes the future state of the product and the value it will deliver to the customers and the enterprise. The roadmap outlines the features and enablers that will realize the vision over time. The Product Manager also presents the top 10 features for the upcoming Program Increment (PI) and their priorities based on the Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) method.

References:

Agile Product Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Product and Solution Management - Scaled Agile Framework

PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

Retainment is the category of a new feature that aims to keep existing customers loyal and satisfied with the product or service, and prevent them from switching to competitors or alternatives. Retainment features can include loyalty programs, referral incentives, customer feedback mechanisms, personalized offers, and improved customer service. Retainment features can help the business reduce customer churn, increase customer lifetime value, and enhance customer advocacy.

References:

Feature Categories: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of feature categories, and how they can help product teams prioritize and communicate the value of features. It also describes the four main feature categories: new business, up-sell, operational efficiency, and retainment.

How to Stop Losing Customers: 6 Proven Ways | Pressfarm: This article from Pressfarm provides some practical tips and examples of how to stop losing customers and increase customer retention, such as staying connected, offering excellent customer experience, and providing value-added services.

One of the key job functions that differentiates a Product Manager from a Product Owner (PO) in SAFe® is prioritizing the backlog. A Product Manager is responsible for defining and prioritizing the features and capabilities that deliver value to the customers and the business. A Product Manager owns and maintains the Program Backlog, which is the single source of truth for the work that needs to be done by the Agile Release Train (ART). A Product Owner, on the other hand, is responsible for defining and accepting the user stories that implement the features and capabilities. A Product Owner owns and maintains the Team Backlog, which is the subset of the Program Backlog that the Agile Team works on. A Product Owner collaborates with the Product Manager to align the Team Backlog with the Program Backlog and the Vision.

References:

Product and Solution Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Product Owner (PO) Sync - Scaled Agile Framework

SAFe Product Manager vs Product Owner - Striking Differences - KnowledgeHut

Design Thinking and the Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP) are both approaches that aim to deliver value to customers by understanding their needs, validating assumptions, and iterating on solutions. Design Thinking is a creative process that involves empathizing with customers, defining the problem, ideating possible solutions, prototyping, and testing. The CDP is a workflow that consists of four aspects: Continuous Exploration, Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, and Release on Demand. The CDP enables the delivery of small batches of new functionality, which are then released to fulfill market demand. Both Design Thinking and the CDP use feedback from customers to improve products, as feedback loops are essential for learning and adapting to changing needs and preferences.

References:

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

Continuous Delivery Pipeline - Scaled Agile Framework

Introduction to Continuous Delivery in SAFe | CDP in … - PremierAgile

T-Shirt sizing is a sizing standard that is used to estimate Feature effort in the analysis stage of the ART Kanban. T-Shirt sizing is a relative estimation technique that uses predefined categories, such as XS, S, M, L, XL, to assign a size to a Feature based on its complexity, uncertainty, and dependencies. T-Shirt sizing is a quick and simple way to compare and prioritize Features without getting into too much detail or precision. T-Shirt sizing also helps to calculate the Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) value of a Feature, which is a prioritization method that considers the cost of delay and the job size.

References:

ART and Solution Train Backlogs - Scaled Agile Framework

ART Kanban - Scaled Agile Framework

New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective guidance for …

Program and Solution Kanbans - Scaled Agile Framework

Primary data is information collected through original research by the marketer or researcher themselves. Primary data is used to test hypotheses, which are tentative statements or assumptions about the relationship between variables or the outcome of an experiment. Testing hypotheses helps to validate or invalidate the assumptions and predictions made by the marketer or researcher, and to measure the effectiveness and impact of their product or service.

References:

Primary Data - Types, Methods and Examples: This article from Research Method defines primary data, explains its types and methods, and provides some examples of primary data collection and analysis.

[Hypothesis Testing]: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the concept and process of hypothesis testing, and how it helps to evaluate the value proposition and assumptions of a product or service using experiments and feedback.

The Golden Circle is a framework developed by Simon Sinek that suggests that the most effective way to communicate a product or service to prospective customers is to start with the “why” - the core purpose, belief, or cause that drives an organization or individual. By explaining the “why” before the “how” (the strategies and methods) and the “what” (the products, services, or offerings), the communicator can inspire and connect with the customers on a deeper level, and differentiate themselves from the competitors who focus on the features or benefits of their products or services.

References:

Frameworks for Setting Company Priorities: The Golden Circle: This article from Geckoboard explains how the Golden Circle can help organizations align their actions and strategies with their purpose and values, and communicate them effectively to their customers and stakeholders.

How to Use the Golden Circle in Business: This article from ActiveCampaign provides a detailed guide on how to apply the Golden Circle to various aspects of business, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and leadership.

Golden Circle: A different approach for a unique value proposition: This article from ThePowerMBA illustrates how the Golden Circle can help businesses create a unique value proposition that resonates with their customers and stands out from the crowd.

Gemba is a Japanese term that means “the real place” or “the place where value is created”. In the context of the CDP, Gemba refers to the practice of going to the source of customer needs and feedback, and observing and learning from them. Gemba is an integral part of Continuous Exploration (CE), which is the first aspect of the CDP that drives innovation and fosters alignment on what should be built. CE involves applying Customer Centricity and Design Thinking to understand and create alignment on new development opportunities, and validating them with customers using hypothesis-driven experiments.

References:

Continuous Exploration: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, process, and benefits of CE, and how it uses Gemba, design thinking, and lean startup methods to explore the market and customer needs, and define a vision, roadmap, and set of features for a solution.

Gemba Walk: How to Drive Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing with Connected Work: This article from Parsable describes how Gemba walks can help manufacturing leaders and teams identify and solve problems, improve processes, and increase customer value. It also provides some tips and best practices for conducting effective Gemba walks using connected worker technology.

A product vision is a description of the future state of the product and what problems it tries to solve or what ambitions it tries to fulfill. The most important information to communicate in a product vision is how life/work will improve by using this solution. This information captures the value proposition and the benefit hypothesis of the product, which reflect the needs and expectations of the customers and the stakeholders. This information also inspires and motivates the people who work on the product, as well as the potential users of the product. This information sets the direction and the purpose of the product, and guides the development and delivery of the features and capabilities.

References:

Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

Solution Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

Product Vision | Agile Product Management