POPM PI Execution Practice Test 4 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During the second iteration of a Program Increment, the Product Owner for Team Delta notices that a dependency on Team Echo is at risk of slipping, which would delay a critical feature. The teams are in different time zones, and the Product Owner wants to address this proactively without waiting for the next Scrum of Scrums. What is the most effective first step?

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

Accepted Answer

Contact the Product Owner of Team Echo directly to discuss the dependency and agree on a mitigation plan.. Product Owners are expected to actively manage dependencies during PI execution. Directly contacting the other Product Owner is the most effective first step because it enables swift, collaborative problem-solving at the team level. This aligns with SAFe's emphasis on decentralized decision-making and cross-team collaboration. Escalation or passive logging should be reserved for when direct resolution fails.

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Escalate the dependency to the Release Train Engineer and ask them to reassign the work to another team.

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Ask the team to reprioritize their backlog to work on a different feature until Team Echo catches up.

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Log the dependency in the program board and wait for the Scrum of Scrums to address it.

Question 2

During Iteration 3 of a Program Increment, a Product Owner notices that the team is consistently completing backlog items ahead of schedule. The team has capacity to pull in additional work. What should the Product Owner do first to maintain flow and align with PI objectives?

Accepted Answer

Pull the next highest-priority item from the Program Backlog that aligns with the current PI objectives.. The Product Owner should pull the next highest-priority item from the Program Backlog that aligns with PI objectives. This maintains flow, utilizes available capacity, and ensures that the team continues to deliver value that supports the ART's goals. It also reflects the principle of applying cadence and synchronization while allowing for flexibility during execution.

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Ask the team to start working on technical debt items that are not related to PI objectives.

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Reduce the team's velocity for the next iteration to avoid overcommitment.

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Wait until the next PI Planning to assign additional work to avoid disrupting the current plan.

Question 3

A Product Owner is preparing for the upcoming Iteration Review and System Demo. The team has completed several user stories and one enabler. What is the primary purpose of the System Demo in the context of PI execution?

Accepted Answer

To demonstrate the integrated solution from all teams on the ART and collect stakeholder feedback.. The System Demo is an ART-level event that occurs at the end of each iteration, where all teams demonstrate the integrated solution. It provides stakeholders with a regular view of the system's progress and collects feedback that can be used to adjust the backlog. This fosters transparency and continuous improvement across the ART.

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To evaluate the team's velocity and adjust capacity for the next iteration.

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To provide a formal sign-off from stakeholders before the increment can be released.

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To review and update the Program Board dependencies for the next PI.

Question 4

During the second iteration of a Program Increment, the Product Owner for Team Delta notices that a dependency on Team Echo is at risk of slipping, which would delay a critical feature. The teams are in different time zones, and the Product Owner wants to address this proactively without waiting for the next Scrum of Scrums. What is the most effective first step?

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

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the other Product Owner to align on a shared design and update the team backlogs accordingly.. Product Owners are responsible for maximizing value and ensuring alignment across teams. When conflicting work is discovered, the most effective action is for the Product Owners to collaborate, align on a shared design, and update the backlogs. This directly addresses the misalignment, prevents further rework, and keeps the teams focused on delivering a cohesive solution.

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Add a new user story to one team's backlog to rework the conflicting component later.

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Direct one team to stop work and wait until the other team completes its component.

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Escalate the issue to the Release Train Engineer to schedule a joint design session.

Question 5

A Product Manager is reviewing the ART's progress during the final iteration of a PI. The team has completed all planned features, but the System Demo revealed that a key nonfunctional requirement (NFR) for performance was not met. The NFR was not explicitly included in the PI Objectives. What should the Product Manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the team to assess the impact and determine if a corrective action can be taken within the current PI.. NFRs are critical for solution fitness and should be treated as first-class requirements. When an NFR is not met, the Product Manager must collaborate with the team to assess impact and determine if corrective action is possible within the PI. This proactive approach ensures the solution meets quality standards and avoids deferring critical issues. Escalation or deferral without assessment can lead to larger problems.

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Add the NFR to the team's backlog for the next PI and proceed with the current PI closure.

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Document the NFR as a missed objective and focus on preparing for the Inspect and Adapt workshop.

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Escalate to the Release Train Engineer to have the team work overtime to meet the NFR before the PI ends.

Question 6

During the second iteration of a Program Increment, a Product Owner notices that a feature has grown in complexity and will likely exceed its original estimate. The team is already at capacity. What is the most appropriate action for the Product Owner to take?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the team to split the feature into smaller stories and potentially defer some to the next PI.. During PI execution, the Product Owner must continuously manage scope and flow. When a feature becomes larger than expected, the PO should work with the team to split it and defer non-critical parts. This maintains sustainable pace and protects PI objectives. Escalation is unnecessary if the team can resolve it, overtime is unsustainable, and ignoring the issue risks failure.

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Immediately escalate to the Release Train Engineer to have the feature descoped.

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Ignore the issue and hope the team can catch up in the next iteration.

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Ask the team to work overtime to complete the feature as originally planned.

Question 7

A Product Manager is reviewing the progress of the Agile Release Train midway through a Program Increment. The ART is at risk of missing a key PI Objective due to a dependency on a supplier outside the ART. Which two actions should the Product Manager take to address this risk? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the Release Train Engineer to escalate the dependency at the ART sync meeting.. The Product Manager should collaborate with the RTE to escalate the dependency at the ART sync and re-prioritize the team's backlog to focus on independent features. These actions increase transparency, allow the ART to collectively address the risk, and maintain progress on other objectives. They align with SAFe's principles of systems thinking and decentralized decision-making.

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Directly contact the supplier to negotiate a new delivery date without involving the ART.

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Ignore the dependency and hope the supplier delivers on time to avoid disrupting the PI.

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Instruct the team to work overtime to compensate for the delay caused by the supplier.

Question 8

During the third iteration of a Program Increment, the Product Manager notices that two teams are consistently pulling work from the same shared capacity pool, causing overcommitment and missed iteration goals. Which action should the Product Manager take to address this at the ART level?

Accepted Answer

Escalate to the Release Train Engineer to facilitate a capacity reallocation discussion at the next Scrum of Scrums.. During PI Execution, capacity conflicts that span teams are best resolved through the ART's built-in synchronization mechanisms. The Release Train Engineer facilitates the Scrum of Scrums, where teams can transparently discuss dependencies, capacity, and impediments. Escalating there enables a collaborative reallocation of shared capacity, aligning with SAFe's principle of applying cadence and synchronization to manage variability.

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Wait until the next PI Planning session to renegotiate capacity and avoid disrupting the current PI.

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Direct both teams to stop pulling work from the shared capacity pool and instead create separate team-specific backlogs.

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Ask the Product Owners of both teams to reprioritize their team backlogs independently to reduce overlap.

Question 9

Midway through a Program Increment, a Product Manager observes that the ART is consistently missing iteration goals due to unplanned work. The teams are spending significant time on production support and unanticipated defects. Which approach best addresses this systemic issue during PI Execution?

Accepted Answer

Allocate a percentage of each iteration's capacity to unplanned work and adjust PI Objectives accordingly.. Unplanned work, such as production support and defects, erodes predictability. SAFe recommends that teams allocate a percentage of each iteration's capacity to handle it. By doing so and adjusting PI Objectives, the ART can maintain a sustainable pace, improve forecast reliability, and still deliver planned value. This systemic approach addresses the root cause rather than applying temporary fixes.

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Instruct the teams to work overtime to catch up on planned features.

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Direct the teams to ignore production support until the end of the PI.

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Ask the Release Train Engineer to reprioritize the program backlog to focus only on defects.

Question 10

During PI Execution, the Product Owner for Team Bravo notices that the team is consistently completing backlog items faster than planned, creating idle capacity. The team has already pulled in additional items from the Program Backlog, but those are now also done. What is the most appropriate action for the Product Owner?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the team to identify additional value-adding work, such as technical debt reduction or innovation, from the Team Backlog or Program Backlog.. Extra capacity should be used to deliver additional value, not suppressed. The Product Owner should collaborate with the team to identify worthwhile work from the Team or Program Backlog, such as technical debt reduction or spikes. This maximizes the team's contribution to the PI and keeps them engaged. Slowing down or starting next PI's work prematurely can disrupt flow and cadence.

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Ask the team to slow down to match the planned velocity and avoid disrupting the ART's cadence.

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Instruct the team to start working on the next PI's features to get ahead.

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Reduce the team's capacity for the next iteration to avoid idle time.

Question 11

A Product Owner is facilitating a backlog refinement session during Iteration 4 of a Program Increment. The team identifies a new user story that could significantly enhance the value of an upcoming feature. However, adding it would require reprioritizing other stories. What should the Product Owner do?

Accepted Answer

Add the story to the team backlog and reprioritize it based on its relative value compared to other stories.. The Product Owner should add the story to the backlog and reprioritize based on relative value. This ensures the team focuses on the highest-value work, even if it means adjusting earlier plans. It reflects the SAFe principle of delivering value continuously and adapting to new insights during PI execution, while maintaining alignment with PI objectives.

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Ask the team to work on the story in addition to their current commitments without reprioritizing.

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Reject the story because it was not identified during PI Planning and could disrupt the PI objectives.

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Defer the story to the next PI Planning to avoid changing the current plan.

Question 12

During PI Execution, a Product Manager is reviewing the ART's progress toward its PI Objectives. Which TWO actions best support the Product Manager in this role? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Participate in the PO Sync to understand progress, dependencies, and impediments.. The Product Manager supports PI execution by attending the System Demo to assess integrated progress and by participating in PO Sync to align on cross-team dependencies and adjustments. These actions enable the PM to steer the ART toward its objectives without overstepping into team-level backlog management or task assignment.

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Assign tasks to team members to ensure the PI objectives are met.

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Update the team's backlog with new user stories for the next iteration.

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Facilitate the daily stand-up for each team to track progress.

Question 13

A Product Manager is reviewing the ART's progress at the end of Iteration 3. The team has completed all committed features, but the System Demo revealed that the integrated solution does not meet the expected nonfunctional requirements for performance. The teams are confident they can fix the issues in the next iteration, but this will delay a key PI Objective. What should the Product Manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the teams to prioritize the performance fixes in the team backlog for the next iteration, and assess the impact on the PI Objective with the Release Train Engineer.. The Product Manager should immediately prioritize the performance fixes in the team backlog and collaborate with the Release Train Engineer to assess the impact on the PI Objective. This ensures that the ART addresses the quality gap while maintaining transparency. Deferring or canceling the objective without attempting a resolution would be premature and could harm stakeholder trust.

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Direct the teams to continue with the planned features for the next iteration and address performance issues in a hardening iteration at the end of the PI.

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Escalate the performance issues to the Business Owners and recommend canceling the PI Objective to avoid further investment.

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Accept the demo results and work with the teams to renegotiate the PI Objective with stakeholders, adjusting scope to include performance fixes in the next PI.

Question 14

A Product Owner is preparing for the System Demo at the end of an iteration. What is the primary purpose of this event?

Accepted Answer

To obtain feedback from stakeholders on the integrated solution.. The System Demo is a critical event in SAFe where the ART demonstrates the integrated solution to stakeholders. Its primary purpose is to gather feedback that informs the Product Owner's backlog prioritization. This feedback loop ensures the solution evolves to meet business needs and helps maintain alignment throughout PI Execution.

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To finalize the PI Objectives for the next Program Increment.

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To demonstrate individual team progress to the Release Train Engineer.

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To review the team's velocity and adjust the iteration plan.

Question 15

During PI Execution, a Product Owner is preparing for the upcoming System Demo. What is the primary purpose of the System Demo in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

To demonstrate the integrated solution from all teams and gather feedback from stakeholders.. The System Demo occurs at the end of each iteration and showcases the integrated solution from all teams on the ART. It enables stakeholders to see working software, provide feedback, and assess progress toward PI Objectives. This feedback is essential for the ART to inspect and adapt, ensuring the solution meets business needs and technical requirements.

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To allow teams to showcase their individual team's work in isolation.

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To conduct a retrospective on the iteration's process improvements.

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To provide a formal status report to stakeholders on the ART's progress.