SAFe-Agilist Practice Test 9 — 10 Questions

Question 1

A Scrum Master observes that the team is consistently failing to complete their Sprint Commitment due to unanticipated technical debt. How should the team address this within the SAFe framework?

Accepted Answer

Allocate a fixed percentage of capacity in each Sprint for refactoring and technical debt resolution.. SAFe emphasizes building quality in by addressing technical debt explicitly. By allocating a percentage of capacity for maintenance and refactoring, teams ensure that the codebase remains sustainable. This is critical because ignoring technical debt leads to a decrease in velocity and predictability over time, ultimately jeopardizing the Agile Release Train's ability to deliver value incrementally and maintain high standards of system quality.

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Extend the Sprint duration to allow more time for completing unfinished stories.

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Ask the Product Owner to prioritize all technical debt as high-priority user stories.

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Stop all new feature development until the technical debt is completely eliminated.

Question 2

What is the primary purpose of a 'Kanban' board in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

To visualize and manage the flow of work.. A Kanban board is a visual tool used to manage work flow and limit WIP. By visualizing the entire development process—from 'to-do' to 'done'—teams can clearly see where work is piling up. This transparency allows the team to identify bottlenecks and take corrective action immediately, ensuring that work moves smoothly and predictably through the system without overloading any single stage.

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To track individual employee performance metrics.

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To replace the need for PI Planning.

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To document every technical requirement.

Question 3

What is the primary purpose of a Value Stream Map?

Accepted Answer

To identify bottlenecks, delays, and waste in the end-to-end delivery process.. Value Stream Mapping is used to visualize the steps required to deliver a product, from concept to delivery. It highlights the delays, handoffs, and waste within the process. By identifying these areas, teams can collaboratively design a more efficient process that minimizes wait times and maximizes value delivery, which is essential for improving the overall flow of the Agile Release Train.

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To document the roles and responsibilities of team members.

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To create a project schedule for the next Program Increment.

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To ensure that all developers use the same IDE and coding standards.

Question 4

Which of the following is a key characteristic of a 'Pull' system in Lean product development?

Accepted Answer

Starting new tasks based on capacity availability.. A pull system is characterized by work being started only when there is available capacity, rather than being pushed onto the team based on arbitrary schedules. This ensures that the team is not overwhelmed and that work is completed before new tasks are initiated. It is critical for maintaining stable flow and ensuring that the most important items move through the system as quickly as possible without getting stuck in congested queues.

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Pushing work to the team based on a master schedule.

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Prioritizing tasks based on the longest duration.

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Maintaining 100% utilization at all times.

Question 5

Which THREE of the following are examples of Lean Portfolio Management guardrails?

Accepted Answer

Applying investment horizon distributions to ensure portfolio balance.. Guardrails are policies and practices that provide the necessary constraints for decentralized decision-making in a SAFe portfolio. By using guardrails, LPM can ensure that investments are balanced across horizons, that technical debt is managed, and that spend remains within agreed-upon limits. These controls allow teams to act with autonomy while ensuring they remain within the financial and technical boundaries established for the healthy operation of the portfolio.

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Mandating that every team uses the same Jira workflow template.

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Reviewing all individual code commits at the portfolio level.

Question 6

Which THREE items are typically included in an Epic Hypothesis Statement? (Select three)

Accepted Answer

The business outcome hypothesis.. The Epic Hypothesis Statement is a critical tool for ensuring that every investment is backed by a clear business outcome and a way to measure success. By defining the 'Leading Indicators' and 'Business Outcomes,' the portfolio team ensures that they are not just building features but actually solving customer problems. This structured approach helps prevent the waste of building unproven ideas and keeps the organization focused on delivering real value.

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The detailed technical design specification.

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The non-functional requirement list.

Question 7

What is the primary purpose of 'Portfolio Guardrails'?

Accepted Answer

To provide necessary boundaries for decentralized decision-making.. Portfolio Guardrails are policies and practices that provide the necessary boundaries for decentralized decision-making. They ensure that teams and trains remain aligned with the overall portfolio strategy, budget, and architectural standards. By defining these guardrails, LPM empowers the organization to move fast and make local decisions while maintaining the consistency and discipline required to achieve enterprise-wide business outcomes safely and sustainably.

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To force all decisions through a single centralized committee.

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To eliminate the need for any strategic planning or budgeting.

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To replace the need for an Architectural Runway.

Question 8

Refer to the exhibit. The Portfolio Manager observes that a new initiative has been added to the Portfolio Kanban without a business case. Based on the provided policy, how should the manager respond?

Accepted Answer

Move the initiative back to the Funnel and request a completed business case.. The provided policy explicitly mandates a 'Business_Case_Required' status for any initiative being reviewed within the portfolio. By identifying this violation, the manager ensures that the portfolio maintains consistency and adheres to the established governance model. Following these policies is essential for Lean Portfolio Management to function as a data-driven system, ensuring that every significant investment is justified before consuming precious organizational capacity.

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Allow the initiative to proceed to the 'Analyze' state, provided it is small in size.

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Update the policy to remove the requirement for a business case to speed up flow.

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Ignore the missing document because the Strategic Theme Alignment is clearly visible.

Question 9

Which TWO of the following are benefits of decentralized decision-making in Lean Portfolio Management?

Accepted Answer

Increased speed of decision-making by reducing wait times for approvals.. Decentralization is a core principle of SAFe that empowers those closest to the work to make rapid, informed decisions. This reduces the delay caused by waiting for leadership approval and increases team ownership and motivation. By pushing decision-making to the lowest possible level, the portfolio becomes more responsive to market changes, improves the speed of value delivery, and allows the organization to scale effectively without creating central bottlenecks that stall progress.

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Greater consistency in decision-making across the entire enterprise.

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Elimination of the need for any strategic alignment with the portfolio.

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Reduction in the need for cross-functional communication.

Question 10

What is the primary role of the Portfolio Kanban system in Lean Portfolio Management?

Accepted Answer

To provide a centralized mechanism to manage and visualize the flow of portfolio epics.. The Portfolio Kanban is a visual tool used to manage the flow of epics from initial concept to implementation and completion. It provides transparency, limits work in progress, and facilitates continuous improvement. By visualizing the entire value stream, LPM can identify bottlenecks, balance demand against capacity, and ensure that only the most important work is being pursued at any given time, preventing the organization from being overwhelmed by too many conflicting initiatives.

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To automate the deployment of code to the production environment.

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To track the individual performance of every team member in the portfolio.

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To replace the need for the Agile Release Train's program backlog.