SAFe-Agilist Building a Foundation with Mindset, Values and Principles Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A large insurance company has adopted SAFe. During a leadership workshop, the CIO asks the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence to explain what the foundation of the SAFe House of Lean rests on. The team explains that this foundation is a mindset expressed through four values. Which of the following is one of those four Lean-Agile values?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Respect for people and culture. The correct answer is respect for people and culture because the SAFe House of Lean is built on a foundation of the four Lean-Agile values: alignment, built-in quality, transparency, and respect for people and culture. These values shape the mindset and guide behaviors at all levels. The other options are Agile principles or traditional business goals, not the foundational SAFe values being asked about.

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Sustain a constant pace indefinitely

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Deliver working software frequently

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Maximize shareholder value

Question 2

A large financial services company is adopting SAFe. During the first Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) meeting, the CIO states, 'Our primary measure of progress will be the number of features we deliver each quarter, regardless of whether they achieve the intended business outcomes.' Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most directly undermined by this statement?

Accepted Answer

Apply an economic view. The CIO's emphasis on feature count rather than business outcomes ignores the economic view principle, which requires evaluating decisions based on value, cost of delay, and total economic impact. Measuring output alone can lead to building features that do not deliver value, wasting investment. Thus, the statement most directly undermines the principle of applying an economic view.

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Assume variability; preserve options

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Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers

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Organize around value

Question 3

An enterprise is launching its first SAFe transformation. The Lean Portfolio Management group wants to fund a new digital product. The CFO proposes allocating the entire annual budget to a single fixed-scope, fixed-date initiative because 'that is how we have always controlled spending.' The product's market is highly uncertain. Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most directly violated by the CFO's proposal?

Accepted Answer

Assume variability; preserve options. The CFO's proposal locks the enterprise into a single fixed-scope, fixed-date initiative in a highly uncertain market, eliminating the ability to pivot or adjust based on learning. Assuming variability and preserving options calls for keeping alternatives open and making small, reversible investments until more is known. The fixed annual budget directly undermines that principle.

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Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers

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Apply systems thinking

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Decentralize decision-making

Question 4

A SAFe Enterprise is struggling with long lead times for new features. Value Stream Mapping reveals that work waits in queues for approval from a centralized architecture board before development can start. Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most directly violated by this approval bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

Make value flow without interruptions. The centralized architecture board creates a queue that delays work, directly violating the principle 'Make value flow without interruptions.' This principle advocates for eliminating delays and handoffs to achieve continuous flow. By requiring approvals from a central board, the enterprise introduces a bottleneck that interrupts flow, leading to long lead times. Adhering to this principle would involve decentralizing decisions and empowering teams.

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Organize around value

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Apply systems thinking

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Assume variability; preserve options

Question 5

A SAFe Portfolio is struggling with long queues of work in progress. The Lean Portfolio Management group wants to apply the principle 'Limit work in process (WIP), reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths' to improve flow. Which action best aligns with this principle?

Accepted Answer

Set explicit WIP limits for teams and ARTs and make the work visible on their boards. The correct answer is setting explicit WIP limits and visualizing work, because this directly applies the principle of limiting WIP, reducing batch sizes, and managing queue lengths. It helps teams and ARTs see bottlenecks, reduce multitasking, and improve flow. The other options increase WIP or maximize utilization, which worsen queues and delay value delivery, contrary to the principle.

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Increase the number of features in each Program Increment to keep teams busy

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Encourage each team to work on as many features as possible simultaneously

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Allow teams to pull as much work as they can to maximize utilization

Question 6

A SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) notices that teams are frequently waiting for approvals from a centralized architecture board before starting any design work. This delay causes the Program Increment (PI) objectives to slip. Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most directly violated by this approval process?

Accepted Answer

Decentralize decision-making. The centralized architecture board creates a bottleneck that contradicts the SAFe principle of decentralizing decision-making. This principle requires pushing decisions to the lowest level to enable fast flow and innovation. By forcing teams to wait for approvals, the organization slows down delivery and fails to empower teams, directly undermining the principle.

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Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning

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Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths

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Assume variability; preserve options

Question 7

A Release Train Engineer notices that three teams in the ART are each waiting on a different specialist to finish work before they can proceed. The specialists are fully allocated and cannot respond quickly. Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most directly relevant to addressing this bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths. The bottleneck is caused by work piling up behind a small number of fully allocated specialists, creating long queues and delays. The principle about visualizing and limiting WIP, reducing batch sizes, and managing queue lengths directly addresses this by making the queues visible, capping in-process work, and smoothing flow. That is the most relevant principle for the RTE to apply.

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Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning

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Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems

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Implementing a lean-agile mindset

Question 8

A SAFe Portfolio is defining its Lean-Agile Mindset. The Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) group is reviewing the SAFe Lean-Agile Principles to guide decision-making. Which two of the following are SAFe Lean-Agile Principles? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Apply an economic view. The two SAFe Lean-Agile Principles among the options are 'Apply an economic view' and 'Assume variability; preserve options.' These are foundational to the Lean-Agile Mindset and guide portfolio decisions. The other options are either anti-patterns or contradict SAFe's emphasis on decentralized decision-making, outcomes over output, and team collaboration.

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Focus on individual performance

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Maximize output over outcomes

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Centralize decision-making

Question 9

A SAFe ART is having difficulty because developers are waiting for specialized testers to verify their work. The testers are a bottleneck, and defects are often found late. The RTE wants to apply the principle 'Assume variability; preserve options' to improve the situation. Which approach best aligns with this principle?

Accepted Answer

Have developers and testers collaborate continuously and automate tests to enable fast feedback. The correct answer is having developers and testers collaborate continuously and automate tests for fast feedback. This applies the principle of assuming variability and preserving options by enabling early learning and informed decisions. It reduces batch sizes and eliminates the tester bottleneck. The other options lock down requirements, increase specialization, or delay testing, all of which reduce flexibility and feedback, contrary to the principle.

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Mandate that all testing be done by a separate QA team at the end of the PI

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Lock down the requirements early so testers can create detailed test plans in advance

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Assign testers to work only on a single feature at a time to increase specialization

Question 10

A newly formed Lean-Agile Center of Excellence is coaching leaders on the SAFe Lean-Agile Mindset. The coaches want to emphasize behaviors that reflect the principle of decentralizing decision-making. (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Empowering teams to make local technical decisions within agreed guardrails. Decentralizing decision-making means giving teams authority over local decisions while leaders retain strategic intent and guardrails. Empowering teams within guardrails and establishing clear strategic intent both enable faster, more informed decisions at the point of work. The other behaviors centralize routine choices, which slows flow and undermines ownership, so they do not reflect the principle.

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Requiring all architectural decisions to be approved by a central review board before teams can proceed

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Having the RTE assign every team's daily tasks to ensure consistent progress

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Escalating all prioritization conflicts to the Lean Portfolio Management group for resolution

Question 11

A SAFe Enterprise is moving from traditional annual performance reviews to a system of continuous feedback and coaching. A manager argues, 'We need to rank employees to ensure we retain only the top talent.' Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle is most aligned with the manager's argument being incorrect?

Accepted Answer

Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers. The manager's argument for ranking employees contradicts the SAFe principle of unlocking the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers. This principle holds that knowledge workers are motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, not by competitive ranking. Ranking can destroy collaboration and psychological safety, reducing motivation and innovation, which is why the manager's argument is incorrect.

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Organize around value

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Apply systems thinking

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Take an economic view

Question 12

A SAFe Agile Release Train (ART) is consistently missing its PI Objectives because teams are overloaded with work. The RTE notices that teams are working on too many features simultaneously, leading to frequent context switching and delayed delivery. Which SAFe Lean-Agile Principle should the RTE emphasize to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths. The principle 'Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths' is most relevant because it directly addresses the root cause of the ART's problem: too much work in progress. By limiting WIP, teams can focus on fewer items, reduce context switching, and deliver more predictably. This principle is a core Lean-Agile practice for improving flow and achieving PI Objectives.

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Decentralize decision-making

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Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers

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Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning

Question 13

A SAFe Portfolio is evaluating a large initiative. The LPM team wants to apply the principle 'Apply economic view' to decide whether to proceed. They consider development cost, operational cost, and the cost of delay. Which action best demonstrates applying an economic view?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the initiative using a weighted shortest job first approach that includes cost of delay. The correct answer is evaluating the initiative using weighted shortest job first with cost of delay. This directly applies the economic view by prioritizing based on the cost of delay relative to job size, which maximizes economic benefit. The other options focus on lowest development cost, full upfront funding, or waiting for certainty, all of which ignore the cost of delay and the need for dynamic economic trade-offs.

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Fund the initiative fully upfront to secure the budget

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Prioritize the initiative because it has the lowest development cost

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Delay the decision until all possible operational costs are known with certainty

Question 14

A SAFe Agile Release Train (ART) is struggling with long lead times and frequent delays due to large batches of work moving through the system. The RTE wants to apply the SAFe principle 'Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths.' Which two actions should the RTE take to address this? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Implement a Kanban board to visualize the flow of work and set explicit WIP limits for each column.. To apply the principle of visualizing and limiting WIP, reducing batch sizes, and managing queue lengths, the RTE should implement a Kanban board with WIP limits and break large features into smaller stories. These actions directly reduce work in process and batch sizes, improving flow and reducing lead times. The other options either increase WIP or do not address the root cause.

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Encourage teams to work on as many features as possible in parallel to increase throughput.

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Increase the number of features in the program backlog to ensure teams always have work.

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Schedule a weekly status meeting to track progress on all in-progress features.

Question 15

A portfolio is deciding whether to fund a feature that could increase revenue by $2 million per year but requires a six-month delay to an existing compliance initiative. The compliance delay could result in a $500,000 penalty. The team wants to use a SAFe principle to evaluate the trade-off. Which principle should guide this decision?

Accepted Answer

Take an economic view. The decision requires comparing the value of increased revenue against the cost of a compliance penalty and the timing of both. Taking an economic view provides the framework for evaluating total economic impact, including cost of delay, and for choosing the option that maximizes value. The other principles address systems, options, and motivation rather than quantified trade-offs.

Answer

Assume variability; preserve options

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Apply systems thinking

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Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers