SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe — 10 Questions

Question 1

A new Agile Release Train (ART) is struggling with coordination between Scrum teams. The Release Train Engineer (RTE) suggests implementing a Scrum of Scrums. How should the Scrum Master facilitate this to ensure it aligns with SAFe principles?

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

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the meeting by focusing on cross-team dependencies, impediments, and synchronization.. The Scrum of Scrums facilitates cross-team coordination, focusing on synchronization, dependencies, and impediment resolution. In SAFe, this meeting is critical for maintaining alignment across the ART. By focusing on systemic issues rather than individual task status, the Scrum Master ensures the team remains focused on the Program Increment (PI) objectives, fostering transparency and collective ownership of the release train's delivery goals and technical health.

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Require all developers to attend every daily session to provide detailed status updates.

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Focus the discussion exclusively on individual developer productivity metrics and velocity.

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Use the meeting to perform technical code reviews and approve architectural changes.

Question 2

Which TWO behaviors should a Scrum Master exhibit to effectively serve the team in a SAFe environment? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Fostering an environment of psychological safety where team members can speak openly.. A Scrum Master acts as a servant leader, focusing on team health and organizational alignment. By building trust and fostering an environment where developers can focus on quality, the Scrum Master becomes the glue that holds the team together. This requires a shift from command-and-control management to coaching, supporting, and removing systemic obstacles for the entire team.

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Assigning tasks to specific developers to ensure individual productivity.

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Reporting the team's lack of progress to the manager to get people fired.

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Making all technical decisions to save time during meetings.

Question 3

During the introduction of Scrum in SAFe, which TWO of the following roles are essential for helping teams align with the ART cadence and objectives?

Accepted Answer

Scrum Master. The Scrum Master and the Release Train Engineer are the primary roles responsible for synchronization and coaching. The Scrum Master focuses on the team's health and adherence to Scrum ceremonies, while the RTE ensures the ART operates effectively as a whole. Together, these roles bridge the gap between team-level execution and program-level synchronization, ensuring the Agile Release Train successfully delivers value during the PI.

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Product Manager

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System Architect

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Business Owner

Question 4

What is the primary purpose of the Iteration Review in a SAFe Scrum team?

Accepted Answer

To showcase the completed work and obtain feedback from stakeholders.. The Iteration Review is the mechanism for teams to inspect their work at the end of each iteration. It serves as a checkpoint to demonstrate progress, receive stakeholder feedback, and validate that the increment meets the team's Definition of Done. This cycle is vital for steering the product direction and ensuring that the work produced aligns with the actual needs of the business and the stakeholders.

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To conduct a root cause analysis of the team's internal process issues.

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To plan the backlog items for the next iteration.

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To assign performance ratings to team members based on their contributions.

Question 5

A Scrum Master observes that the Product Owner is consistently unavailable to answer team questions during iterations. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Discuss the impact of the unavailability with the PO and identify solutions.. The Product Owner’s engagement is vital for providing context, clarifying requirements, and setting priorities. If they are absent, the team loses momentum and risks building the wrong functionality. The Scrum Master must address this by coaching the PO on their responsibilities or escalating the issue to ensure the team has the required support to maintain flow and deliver value efficiently.

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Make the decisions on behalf of the PO to keep the team moving.

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Ask the team to wait until the next PI Planning to ask their questions.

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Report the PO to the Business Owner for lack of performance.

Question 6

Which of the following describes the role of the Scrum Master in the System Demo?

Accepted Answer

They ensure the team's contributions are integrated and ready for the demo.. The System Demo is a critical event where the ART demonstrates the integrated solution to stakeholders. The Scrum Master's role is to ensure the team is prepared, their work is ready for integration, and that they participate fully in the demo. This is vital because the demo provides the objective evidence of progress and enables the entire program to make data-driven decisions about the future.

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They are responsible for presenting the entire system to stakeholders.

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They facilitate the demo to ensure it stays on time.

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They determine which features from the team are included in the demo.

Question 7

Refer to the exhibit. If a team is operating under this policy, what is the most significant risk regarding their 'planning_horizon'?

Accepted Answer

The planning horizon is too short to cover the full PI objectives.. A 4-iteration planning horizon is too short for a standard PI, which typically consists of 8-12 weeks (often 5-6 iterations). By only planning 4 iterations, the team is likely missing the final iteration, which should include the Innovation and Planning (IP) iteration. This creates a disconnect between the team's immediate activities and the program-wide PI objectives, potentially leading to a lack of focus on long-term delivery and improvement.

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The iteration buffer is too low to handle unforeseen technical issues.

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The team roles are missing a System Architect.

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are true about the 'Innovation and Planning' (IP) iteration in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

It provides time for innovation, education, and Inspect and Adapt.. The IP iteration provides the necessary time for teams to innovate, perform education, and complete the Inspect and Adapt workshop. It acts as a buffer for finishing work and ensures the train can plan the next PI. This iteration is critical because it prevents the 'death march' of back-to-back delivery and ensures the ART remains sustainable and forward-looking.

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It is an optional iteration that can be used for extra features.

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It is used primarily to catch up on missed iteration work.

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It is managed by the Product Manager to update the roadmap.

Question 9

An enterprise is launching its first Agile Release Train (ART) using SAFe. During the initial planning phase, leadership insists on retaining traditional functional silos and assigning separate managers to approve every story written by the Agile Teams. As the SAFe Scrum Master, how should you address this organizational challenge?

Accepted Answer

Escalate the issue to executive management while coaching leaders on empowering cross-functional Agile Teams.. Effective SAFe adoption requires structural alignment away from traditional functional silos toward value-delivering Agile Release Trains and cross-functional teams. Introducing Scrum demands decentralized decision-making and servant leadership rather than micro-management. By coaching leadership on Lean-Agile principles, the Scrum Master helps the enterprise shift toward value streams, empowering teams to autonomously define, build, and test features without bottlenecks.

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Accept the functional manager approvals as a necessary compliance gate to satisfy corporate governance policies.

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Bypass the managers entirely by hiding team progress reports and discouraging executive involvement in team decisions.

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Stop the SAFe launch immediately and revert the enterprise back to waterfall project management methodologies.

Question 10

Which THREE of the following are primary outcomes of a successful PI Planning session? (Choose three)

Accepted Answer

Committed PI Objectives.. PI Planning is the foundational event for alignment in SAFe. A successful outcome includes a set of committed PI Objectives, a visualized Program Board showing dependencies, and an agreed-upon team-level plan. These artifacts ensure that the train has a clear direction, understands the risks, and knows how teams will collaborate over the next Program Increment. This synchronization aligns the entire organization to a common goal and set of expectations.

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A detailed 12-month project timeline.

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A finalized, unchangeable backlog.