SSM Practice Test 28 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An Agile Release Train is introducing Scrum at the team level, and a new Scrum Master is explaining how the three Scrum accountabilities map to SAFe roles. The Scrum Master wants to highlight which two statements accurately describe how Scrum roles appear in a SAFe environment. (Choose two.)

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

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner in SAFe is accountable for defining and prioritizing the Team Backlog to maximize the value the team delivers.. SAFe retains the Scrum accountabilities of Scrum Master and Product Owner while adding ART-level roles such as the Release Train Engineer and Product Management. The Scrum Master serves the team, Product Owner, and organization, while the Product Owner maximizes value through the Team Backlog. Technical leadership is not merged into the Scrum Master role, and the Product Owner does not take over facilitation duties.

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The Scrum Master also acts as the team's Development Lead, assigning tasks and reviewing code to ensure quality.

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The team's Development Lead is a defined SAFe accountability that replaces the Scrum Master on the train.

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The Product Owner is responsible for facilitating the daily stand-up and resolving team-level impediments.

Question 2

You are a Scrum Master for an Agile Release Train that is preparing for the upcoming PI Planning event. The RTE asks you to help ensure that the teams are ready for productive breakout sessions. Which two actions should you take to best support this? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Ensure each team has a clear understanding of their capacity and velocity to inform realistic planning.. To support productive PI Planning breakout sessions, the Scrum Master should help teams understand their capacity and velocity and review dependencies using the program board. These actions enable realistic planning and cross-team coordination. Pre-assigning features or finalizing objectives in advance undermines team autonomy and the collaborative nature of the event.

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Ensure all team members have completed their individual performance reviews before the event.

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Finalize the team's PI objectives before PI Planning so they can be presented immediately.

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Pre-assign all features to teams based on previous PI performance to save time during the event.

Question 3

An organization is introducing Scrum inside a new SAFe Agile Release Train. The Scrum Master is asked to explain how the team's work connects to the ART's cadence. Which statement best describes how a Scrum team operates within SAFe?

Accepted Answer

The team runs iterations on the same cadence as the ART, delivers a potentially releasable Increment each iteration, and aligns its PI Objectives with the ART's PI.. A Scrum team in SAFe runs iterations on the ART's common cadence, produces a potentially releasable Increment each iteration, and creates PI Objectives during PI Planning that align with the program increment. This synchronization is what allows the System Demo, dependency management, and program-level predictability to work across the train.

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The team selects its own iteration length independently of the ART and reports progress only when the PI ends.

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The team uses Kanban for daily work and only adopts Scrum ceremonies during the PI Planning event.

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The team follows Scrum events but replaces PI Objectives with a traditional project schedule managed by the Project Management Office.

Question 4

During a SAFe Scrum Master's facilitation of the Iteration Retrospective, one team member says, 'We keep talking about the same problem every time, but nothing changes.' Others nod in agreement. The Scrum Master wants to help the team move from identifying problems to taking meaningful action. What is the best next step?

Accepted Answer

Ask the team to create a small number of specific, owned improvement actions with due dates and review them at the next Retrospective.. The team's frustration stems from a lack of follow-through, not from a shortage of ideas. The most effective Scrum Master response is to help the team convert insights into a few specific, owned actions with due dates and then review them at the next Retrospective. This creates accountability, demonstrates that the event leads to change, and reinforces the continuous improvement purpose of the Retrospective.

Answer

Document all recurring issues in the team's Impediment Backlog and escalate them to the Release Train Engineer for resolution.

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Suggest the team spend the next Retrospective brainstorming a longer list of problems to ensure nothing is missed.

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Recommend that the team rotate the Retrospective facilitator each time to bring fresh perspectives to the discussion.

Question 5

During the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event, the ART's quantitative measurement shows that the team's predictability measure has dropped from 90% to 65% over the last three iterations. The Scrum Master wants to help the team address this in the problem-solving workshop. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the team in brainstorming all possible causes of the drop, then use dot voting to select the top root cause for further analysis.. The problem-solving workshop in the I&A follows a structured sequence: agree on the problem, brainstorm potential causes, apply a root-cause technique, and identify the most probable root cause. Starting with broad brainstorming and dot voting engages the team and avoids premature conclusions. Only after the root cause is identified should the team create improvement stories and action items.

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Escalate the metric drop to the Release Train Engineer and request that the team's capacity be reduced for the next PI to improve predictability.

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Ask the team to review the program board and identify which dependencies were missed, then update the board to reflect the correct dependencies.

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Present the team with the metric and ask the Product Owner to identify which backlog items were not completed so the team can commit to finishing them next iteration.

Question 6

An Agile Team's Retrospective has become a complaint session with no actionable outcomes. The Scrum Master wants to improve the event so the team identifies and commits to improvement actions. Which approach best supports this?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the Retrospective using a structured format that separates data gathering, insight generation, and deciding on a small number of improvement actions.. The Scrum Master supports the Retrospective by facilitating a structured, safe conversation that moves the team from complaints to a small number of owned improvement actions. A format that separates data, insights, and decisions keeps the event productive and ensures the team regularly inspects and adapts its way of working.

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Ask the Product Owner to attend and prioritize the complaints so the team knows which issues matter most to the business.

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Replace the Retrospective with a team-building activity to improve morale, then resume normal Retrospectives in the next Iteration.

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Shorten the Retrospective to thirty minutes and limit each person to one comment so the team stays focused.

Question 7

What is the primary role of the Scrum Master during the Daily Stand-up?

Accepted Answer

To ensure the meeting is focused on the team's progress toward the goal.. The Daily Stand-up is a team event for synchronization and identifying blockers, not a status report to the Scrum Master. The Scrum Master's role is to ensure the meeting happens, stays within the timebox, and focuses on the iteration goals. They facilitate the process, helping the team stay disciplined, and take notes of blockers that require their intervention outside of the meeting.

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To listen to status updates from each member and update the Jira board.

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To decide who works on which story for the day based on skill sets.

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To resolve every blocker discussed during the meeting immediately.

Question 8

A Scrum Master on an Agile Release Train notices that the team's Definition of Done is only 'code compiles and unit tests pass.' As a result, work is frequently reopened after the System Demo when integration and nonfunctional checks fail. Which action best applies Scrum within the SAFe context?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the team in strengthening its Definition of Done to include integration, nonfunctional, and acceptance criteria so increments are truly complete.. A weak Definition of Done produces rework that surfaces at integration points such as the System Demo. The Scrum Master's role is to coach the team to own and strengthen its Definition of Done so each increment includes integration, nonfunctional, and acceptance checks. Adding hardening iterations, pushing checks to the RTE, or relabeling rework all mask the problem instead of solving it, and they conflict with SAFe's built-in quality principle.

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Ask the Product Owner to mark reopened stories as new backlog items so the team's velocity is not penalized.

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Have the Release Train Engineer add integration checks to the ART's System Demo checklist so failures are caught later in the PI.

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Add a separate hardening iteration before each PI boundary so integration defects can be fixed in a dedicated window.

Question 9

A team has been using Scrum for several months but still struggles with high variability in their velocity. How should the Scrum Master coach the team to improve predictability?

Accepted Answer

Help the team break down User Stories into smaller, more uniform pieces of work.. Variability in velocity often stems from inconsistent story sizing or a lack of disciplined refinement. The Scrum Master should coach the team on breaking down stories into smaller, more manageable pieces and ensuring they meet the 'Definition of Ready.' Small, consistent story sizes lead to a more stable flow and more predictable delivery patterns.

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Encourage the team to work overtime during the final week of the Iteration to meet their goals.

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Request that the Product Owner only brings technical stories to the team for the next two Iterations.

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Change the team's estimation unit from Story Points to ideal developer hours.

Question 10

An enterprise is introducing Scrum within SAFe, and leadership wants to understand how Scrum teams integrate with the broader Agile Release Train cadence. Which TWO statements accurately describe this relationship? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Scrum teams synchronize their iteration boundaries to align with the Program Increment and participate in train-level events.. In SAFe, Scrum teams operate on short timeboxed iterations that synchronize within a larger Program Increment cadence, ensuring continuous delivery alignment. Furthermore, team backlogs are derived from and aligned with the program backlog and train vision, connecting team execution directly to strategic themes.

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Team iterations are decoupled from the Program Increment cadence and can run on completely random lengths.

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Team backlogs operate completely independently without needing any traceability to the program backlog or train objectives.

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Scrum Masters are strictly prohibited from attending Program Increment planning events to protect team focus.

Question 11

Which THREE factors are essential for a successful Sprint Planning event in SAFe? (Choose three)

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner has a prioritized backlog ready for the iteration.. Successful Sprint Planning requires clear priorities, a realistic view of capacity, and shared understanding of goals. By ensuring the team understands the 'why' and 'what' before diving into the 'how', they can commit to a plan that is achievable and aligned with the PI objectives. These elements collectively minimize risk and maximize the chances of meeting the iteration goals.

Answer

The Scrum Master writes all user stories for the developers.

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The release train engineer approves every task in the sprint.

Question 12

Which event in SAFe provides the team the opportunity to demonstrate their work to stakeholders and get feedback?

Accepted Answer

Iteration Review. The Iteration Review is the specific event where the team presents their completed work for the iteration. This event is essential for validating that the team has delivered the intended value and for gathering direct feedback from the Product Owner and other stakeholders. It acts as the primary mechanism for aligning the team's output with the overall Program Increment objectives and business needs.

Answer

Iteration Planning

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Iteration Retrospective

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Daily Stand-up

Question 13

A team is struggling to keep their daily Stand-up meeting within the 15-minute timebox. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to keep updates concise and move technical discussions offline.. The Scrum Master must enforce the timebox to ensure the Stand-up remains an efficient sync meeting rather than a detailed problem-solving session. By coaching the team on how to take side discussions 'offline,' the Scrum Master preserves the meeting's value as a daily check-in. This is vital because long meetings reduce the time available for actual development work and lead to decreased engagement among team members.

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Extend the Stand-up meeting to 30 minutes to cover all details.

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Require that all team members send a written report before the meeting.

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Facilitate the meeting by asking each team member for their current task list.

Question 14

Which of the following describes the 'Built-in Quality' practice in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

Applying quality practices throughout the development lifecycle to ensure high standards.. Built-in Quality ensures that every increment of the solution meets a high standard of quality throughout the development process. It avoids the 'test later' mindset, integrating quality practices like Test-Driven Development (TDD) and continuous integration directly into the workflow. This is essential for maintaining a high velocity over time and ensuring the solution is sustainable, scalable, and reliable for the end customer.

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Performing all quality testing at the end of the release.

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Hiring more QA testers to manually check all code before deployment.

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Setting a goal to have zero defects in the entire system forever.

Question 15

During an Iteration Planning event, a Product Owner insists on adding emergency high-priority user stories to an iteration that is already fully planned and committed to by the development team. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner and team on iteration commitment integrity, ensuring any new work requires swapping out equivalent scope.. The Scrum Master must protect the team's committed iteration plan from mid-iteration disruptions, explaining that unscheduled work jeopardizes the iteration goal. If the new work is truly critical, the Product Owner must negotiate with the team to swap out equivalent work of equal size.

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Automatically cancel the current iteration and restart a new planning session immediately.

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Allow the Product Owner to insert the stories without discussion to maintain positive stakeholder relationships.

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Report the Product Owner to the Release Train Engineer for violating Agile manifesto principles.