Scrum SAFe-SASM Dumps

Integration points in agile development serve as critical junctures where progress is reviewed, and decisions can be made on whether to continue on the current path or pivot based on new information.

Integration Points:Regular integration points help in verifying progress, ensuring alignment with objectives, and assessing whether the current approach is delivering the desired outcomes.

Pivot or Persevere:These points provide the opportunity to pivot if necessary. Teams can change their course of action based on feedback, new insights, or changing requirements, ensuring that the final product meets the needs effectively.

Risk Mitigation:Regular integration reduces the risk of late discovery of issues and ensures that the product evolves in a way that adds value continuously.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Iteration Execution​​.

An effective Agile Team focuses on delivering value by reliably deploying features that meet customer needs.

Value Delivery:The primary measure of success for an Agile team is the continuous delivery of valuable, working software.

Customer Focus:Teams work collaboratively to understand and deliver what is most valuable to customers.

Incremental Progress:Regularly delivering increments of the product that are potentially shippable ensures continuous feedback and improvement.

This characteristic emphasizes the Agile principle of delivering working software frequently, with a focus on customer value.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Agile Teams​​.

One way a Scrum Master leads the team's efforts for relentless improvement is by helping teams become better problem solvers. This involves coaching and mentoring the team in effective problem-solving techniques, facilitating problem-solving workshops, and encouraging a mindset of continuous improvement. By empowering teams to identify and address issues autonomously, the Scrum Master supports the development of a high-performing, self-sufficient team.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe 5.0 framework: role of the Scrum Master in promoting continuous improvement

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master learning materials: techniques for improving problem-solving skills within teams

To resolve the issue of the team being unclear on the scope of new stories during Iteration planning, the Scrum Master should ensure that both the Product Owner and the team come to the planning session well-prepared. Proper preparation involves:

The Product Owner refining and prioritizing the backlog items before the planning session, ensuring that stories are well-defined and understood.

The team reviewing the backlog items ahead of the planning session, allowing them to ask questions and clarify any uncertainties.

Conducting pre-planning sessions or backlog refinement meetings to discuss and break down stories, ensuring they are ready for planning.

This preparation helps ensure that the planning session is productive and that the team can commit to well-understood and scoped stories.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Iteration Planning guidelines

SAFe 5.0 framework: ensuring effective preparation for planning sessions

Relentless Improvement:This principle is a cornerstone of Agile and SAFe. It encourages teams to continuously seek ways to improve their processes, quality, and performance.

Scrum Master Role:The Scrum Master supports the team by fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This involves facilitating retrospectives, encouraging experimentation, and helping the team reflect on their practices and outcomes.

Taking Responsibility:By promoting relentless improvement, the Scrum Master helps the team take ownership of their actions and outcomes, driving self-management and accountability.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe emphasizes the role of the Scrum Master in supporting continuous improvement initiatives and helping teams develop a mindset of ongoing learning and development.

Completed by a Single Agile Release Train within one PI:

Definition:A Feature in SAFe is a service or functionality that meets the needs of a customer and can be delivered within a single Program Increment (PI) by an ART.

Explanation:Features are planned and delivered within the timeframe of a PI, ensuring that they provide tangible value and align with the ART's objectives.

Prioritized using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF):

Definition:WSJF is a prioritization method used in SAFe to sequence work for maximum economic benefit.

Explanation:Features are prioritized based on their cost of delay and the effort required to implement them. This ensures that the most valuable and impactful features are delivered first.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe framework details the concept of Features, emphasizing their completion within a PI and their prioritization using WSJF to maximize value delivery.

In SAFe, the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is reserved for activities such as innovation, planning, and preparation for the next Program Increment (PI), as well as for holding the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event. It is not intended for completing work that should have been finished during regular iterations. Planning work for the IP Iteration can lead to a lack of focus on essential planning and innovation activities and may indicate poor planning and risk management practices. Therefore, relying on the IP Iteration to complete Feature work is considered an anti-pattern.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe 5.0 framework: guidelines on the purpose and use of the IP Iteration

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master learning materials

Identify Impediments:

Purpose:The Scrum of Scrums meeting helps identify and address impediments that affect multiple teams. This ensures that these blockers are resolved quickly, allowing teams to continue their work without disruptions.

Process:Representatives from different teams come together to discuss challenges, share updates, and seek assistance in removing impediments.

Facilitate Cross-Team Collaboration:

Purpose:The meeting fosters collaboration among teams working on the same product or solution, ensuring that their efforts are aligned and integrated.

Process:Teams share their progress, dependencies, and upcoming work, enabling better coordination and synchronization across the Agile Release Train (ART).

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe highlights the importance of the Scrum of Scrums meeting for coordinating efforts and solving cross-team issues, ensuring that the ART functions smoothly and efficiently.

To transform unpredictable events into predictable events (A): Cadence creates a regular, reliable schedule for events, which helps in managing and mitigating variability. This predictability allows teams to plan and execute their work more effectively, reducing the uncertainty of unforeseen events.

To synchronize planning for multiple teams and ARTs (C): Cadence helps align the planning cycles of multiple teams and Agile Release Trains (ARTs), ensuring that everyone works in a coordinated manner. This synchronization is critical for integrated, cross-team activities and for maintaining a cohesive workflow across the organization.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Principles: the importance of cadence and synchronization

SAFe 5.0 framework: benefits of applying cadence in Agile teams

The ROAM risk management framework categorizes risks to ensure they are managed appropriately. When a risk is mitigated, a plan is put in place to reduce or eliminate the threat posed by the risk.

ROAM Framework:

Resolved:The risk is no longer an issue.

Owned:Someone is assigned to manage the risk.

Accepted:The risk is acknowledged, and its impact is accepted without further action.

Mitigated:Actions are taken to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk.

Mitigation involves proactive planning and actions to reduce the severity or likelihood of a risk.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Risk Management​​.

Communities of Practice (CoPs):CoPs are groups of people who share a common interest in a particular domain or practice and come together to share knowledge, solve problems, and improve their skills.

Improvement Roadmap:When creating an Improvement Roadmap, CoPs provide valuable insights and guidance on best practices, emerging trends, and effective techniques for improving technical practices.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe recognizes CoPs as a vital resource for fostering continuous learning and improvement within organizations. They provide a platform for practitioners to exchange ideas and elevate their practices.

Cadence:Refers to a regular, predictable schedule that sets the rhythm for the team or ART (Agile Release Train) activities. It helps in aligning planning, development, and delivery cycles.

Synchronization:Ensures that multiple teams or ARTs work together in harmony, aligning their schedules, dependencies, and delivery efforts.

Benefit Explanation:Having both cadence and synchronization means that all teams within the ART are working in a coordinated manner, iterating together. This alignment ensures that dependencies are managed, integration happens regularly, and the system evolves cohesively.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe promotes cadence and synchronization to manage complex dependencies and ensure that all parts of the system evolve together, enhancing overall system integrity and quality.

The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event is a critical component in the SAFe framework, held at the end of each Program Increment (PI). The main output of the I&A event is a set of improvement items that are intended to be actioned in the next PI Planning event. This helps in ensuring continuous improvement in the process and products.

PI System Demo:Demonstrates the current state of the solution and provides an opportunity for the stakeholders to inspect the progress.

Quantitative Measurement:Teams review metrics that reflect the current state of the development process.

Problem-Solving Workshop:Identifies root causes of the biggest problems and formulates improvement items.

Improvement Backlog:The improvement items identified are prioritized and added to the team's backlog for the next PI.

This cycle of continuous feedback and improvement helps in refining the development process and enhancing the team's performance.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Inspect and Adapt​​.

In SAFe, systems builders and customers bear a significant responsibility to ensure that investments in new solutions deliver the necessary economic benefit. This means that any investment should provide value that justifies the costs and efforts involved. The focus on economic benefit helps ensure that resources are used effectively and that the solutions developed contribute positively to the organization's financial health.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Lean-Agile Principles: economic view and value delivery

SAFe 5.0 framework: ensuring investments align with economic benefits

Utilization refers to the percentage of a team's capacity that is being used. When team members are highly utilized (i.e., their capacity is nearly fully booked), it often leads to longer lead times. This is because:

High utilization reduces the team's flexibility to handle new or unexpected work.

It can cause bottlenecks as individuals or teams become overburdened with tasks.

There is less room for managing variability, leading to delays and increased cycle times.

In contrast, lower utilization rates typically allow for more flexibility and quicker response times, reducing lead times. Therefore, higher utilization generally results in longer lead times due to increased bottlenecks and reduced capacity to handle new tasks efficiently.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master learning materials

Principles of Lean-Agile development: optimizing flow by managing queue lengths and reducing batch sizes to improve lead times and throughput.

Transparency:Ensuring that metrics like team velocity and work in process (WIP) accurately reflect the team's actual work provides visibility into the team's progress and capacity.

Action by Scrum Master:By monitoring and ensuring these metrics are accurate, the Scrum Master helps the team maintain transparency about their work, which is critical for making informed decisions and identifying areas for improvement.

Outcome:Accurate representation of velocity and WIP helps the team and stakeholders understand the team's performance, plan effectively, and address any issues promptly.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe stresses the importance of transparency in Agile teams, and accurate tracking of key metrics like velocity and WIP is a fundamental aspect of achieving this.

When a team struggles with breaking down large stories into smaller ones, the Scrum Master can coach them by demonstrating specific story-splitting techniques. This hands-on approach provides practical examples of how large stories can be decomposed into smaller, more manageable tasks. Techniques might include splitting by workflow steps, by business rules, by user roles, or by data boundaries. By using a specific example, the Scrum Master can illustrate the process and benefits, helping the team develop this essential skill.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Agile Principles: continuous delivery of value

SAFe 5.0 framework: techniques for effective story splitting

Anti-Pattern Explanation:Iteration Planning should not be the first time the team hears about the business intent of the work they are about to start. This should have been communicated earlier through backlog refinement sessions and ongoing interactions with the Product Owner (PO).

Business Intent Communication:The PO should regularly update the team on the business context and intent behind backlog items to ensure alignment and readiness for Iteration Planning.

Impact:Introducing business intent for the first time during Iteration Planning can lead to confusion, inadequate preparation, and a rushed planning session, which undermines the effectiveness of the iteration.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe emphasizes the importance of continuous backlog refinement and clear communication of business intent to ensure that teams are well-prepared for Iteration Planning.