SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A Scrum Master is introducing Scrum to a team whose members previously reported progress to a functional manager who assigned their daily tasks. The team keeps looking to the Scrum Master for task assignments during the Daily Stand-up. What is the most appropriate action?

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

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to self-organize around the Sprint Goal, and help the functional manager shift from task assignment to supporting the team's growth.. Introducing Scrum within SAFe requires coaching the team toward self-management and helping managers move from directing work to enabling it. The Scrum Master serves the team by developing its ability to organize around the Sprint Goal, and serves the organization by helping functional managers adopt a supportive stance. Assigning tasks, whether by the Scrum Master or the Product Owner, or deferring to the old manager, all preserve the dependency Scrum removes.

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Ask the functional manager to continue assigning daily tasks until the team is comfortable with Scrum.

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Have the Product Owner assign daily tasks since that role already prioritizes the Team Backlog.

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Assign daily tasks to team members at the end of each stand-up to keep the iteration on track.

Question 2

An Agile Release Train (ART) is transitioning to SAFe. The Scrum Master notices that the team is struggling to align their local sprint goals with the overall Program Increment (PI) objectives. What is the most effective way for the Scrum Master to facilitate this alignment?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to map team stories and iteration goals directly to PI objectives.. Effective alignment in SAFe requires the Scrum Master to coach the team on connecting their daily work to the broader PI objectives established during PI Planning. By ensuring the team understands how their stories contribute to the ART's business value, the Scrum Master fosters transparency and shared accountability. This alignment is critical because it ensures that autonomous Scrum teams remain synchronized with the train's strategic goals and deliver consistent value.

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Mandate that the Product Owner dictates exactly how the team writes their iteration goals.

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Encourage the team to prioritize their own local technical debt tasks over PI objectives.

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Advise the team to ignore the PI objectives and focus solely on velocity metrics.

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are primary responsibilities of a Scrum Master within a SAFe context when acting as a servant leader?

Accepted Answer

Removing impediments to the team's progress.. Scrum Masters in SAFe are servant leaders who support the team's self-organization and remove impediments that hinder flow. By facilitating team events and coaching them on SAFe practices, the Scrum Master ensures the team maintains its rhythm and delivers value effectively. These responsibilities are vital because they enable the team to focus on building high-quality solutions while adhering to the broader ART's operational model.

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Making all technical decisions for the team to ensure standard compliance.

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Writing all user stories for the team to save time during the iteration.

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Acting as the primary manager of the team members' personal careers.

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. Based on the performance report, what should the Scrum Master prioritize to improve the team's effectiveness?

Accepted Answer

Focus on clearing impediments and facilitating flow.. The report indicates a high impediment resolution time and low iteration goal success, suggesting the team is blocked by external factors. A Scrum Master must shift focus from administrative tasks to active impediment removal and process coaching. Improving flow is essential, as high blockage rates prevent the team from meeting their commitments, which ultimately delays the entire ART's delivery cycle and undermines the PI planning outcomes.

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Increase the frequency of status report meetings for stakeholders.

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Request that management increase the team's velocity targets.

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Change the team members to improve skill levels.

Question 5

During a PI Planning session, a team discovers that a key dependency on another team will not be met within the proposed timeline. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the teams to negotiate a solution.. The Scrum Master must facilitate communication between the involved teams to highlight the risk and seek a resolution. In SAFe, dependencies are tracked on the Program Board, and transparency is required to manage expectations. Proactive resolution is crucial because unresolved dependencies create bottlenecks that prevent teams from achieving their PI objectives and impact the reliability of the entire ART delivery plan.

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Ask the team to ignore the dependency and hope it resolves itself.

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Inform the Release Train Engineer (RTE) so they can address the dependency.

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Remove the dependent feature from the team's plan entirely.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

To demonstrate the team's work and receive feedback from stakeholders.. The Iteration Review provides an opportunity for the team to demonstrate the working, tested product to stakeholders and gather feedback. This feedback loop is the foundation of iterative development, as it ensures the team is building the right thing. It is critical because it validates assumptions early, allowing for course correction and ensuring that the final output aligns with the customers' needs and the PI objectives.

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To review the team's velocity and discuss team member performance.

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To plan the tasks for the next iteration.

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To resolve conflicts between team members.

Question 7

A team has recently transitioned to SAFe and is struggling with excessive 'work in progress' (WIP). What should the Scrum Master recommend to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Implement WIP limits at the team level to ensure focus.. Excessive WIP is a classic indicator of poor flow and often results in multitasking, which reduces productivity. The Scrum Master should coach the team on limiting WIP to improve cycle time and focus. This is critical because it forces the team to finish tasks before starting new ones, ensuring a steady, predictable delivery of value that aligns with the ART's cadence and overall program success.

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Increase the team size to handle the higher volume of work.

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Extend the iteration length to allow more time for tasks.

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Start all planned tasks on the first day to maximize utilization.

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are key actions a Scrum Master takes during the Iteration Retrospective?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a blame-free discussion about the team's process.. The Retrospective is a vital event for continuous improvement within the team. The Scrum Master must ensure the environment is safe for feedback, facilitate the identification of actionable improvements, and track those items to completion. This is important because it drives the 'Relentless Improvement' core value of SAFe, enabling teams to refine their processes, eliminate waste, and increase their overall efficiency over time.

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Assign specific team members blame for missed iteration goals.

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Present the performance metrics and reprimand the team for low velocity.

Question 9

A team has consistently high quality but is struggling to meet the agreed-upon PI objectives due to scope creep. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion on the impact of scope creep on iteration goals.. Scope creep during an iteration undermines the team's ability to meet the commitment made during PI planning. The Scrum Master must coach the Product Owner and the team on the importance of adhering to the iteration goals and the impact of adding unplanned work. This maintains the integrity of the team's commitment and ensures the ART can rely on the team's output for overall PI success.

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Allow the scope creep to continue as long as quality remains high.

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Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate the extra work.

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Take over the management of the team's backlog from the Product Owner.

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. What observation should the Scrum Master share with the team during the next Retrospective?

Accepted Answer

The team should focus on reducing mid-iteration changes to stabilize velocity.. The data shows that volatility in velocity correlates with the introduction of mid-iteration scope changes. The Scrum Master should point this out to help the team understand how scope instability impacts their ability to maintain a consistent cadence. Understanding this relationship is vital for the team to advocate for better scope management and to protect their capacity, which is essential for delivering value consistently within the SAFe framework.

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The team needs to increase their velocity to match the highest point.

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Iteration 5 proves that the team is now over-performing.

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The team should ignore the variation as it is within a normal range.

Question 11

In SAFe, what is the primary role of the Scrum Master regarding the Program Board?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring team dependencies are identified, visualized, and tracked.. The Scrum Master ensures that their team's dependencies are clearly visualized and tracked on the Program Board. They facilitate the communication needed to resolve these dependencies, which is critical for program-level coordination. This role is important because the Program Board is the primary tool for managing cross-team synchronization; if dependencies are not tracked, the entire train's ability to meet PI objectives is severely compromised.

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Updating the entire Program Board for all teams in the ART.

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Delegating the management of dependencies to the Product Owner.

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Removing the Program Board if it becomes too complex to manage.

Question 12

What does 'Built-in Quality' mean in the context of a SAFe Scrum team?

Accepted Answer

Applying quality practices throughout the entire development lifecycle.. Built-in Quality means that quality is not an afterthought but is integrated into every step of the development process. By using practices like TDD, pair programming, and continuous integration, the team ensures the system is always in a deployable state. This is vital because it reduces the cost of rework and enables the team to maintain the high speed needed for frequent, predictable deliveries.

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Hiring only high-level engineers who do not make mistakes.

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Ensuring quality by checking the code only at the end of the iteration.

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Assigning one team member to be responsible for all quality tasks.

Question 13

A SAFe team is struggling with meeting their Definition of Done (DoD). What is the first thing the Scrum Master should do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team discussion to understand the barriers to meeting the DoD.. The Scrum Master must facilitate a conversation with the team to identify why the DoD is not being met. Understanding the root cause—whether it is a lack of resources, technical blockers, or unrealistic standards—is the necessary first step toward improvement. This is important because the DoD is the team's quality baseline, and failing to meet it compromises the integrity of the entire release train.

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Lower the standards of the DoD to ensure it is always met.

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Ask the Product Owner to reduce the amount of work in the iteration.

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Report the team to the RTE for poor performance.

Question 14

Which TWO of the following are true about the Scrum Master's role in the PI Planning event?

Accepted Answer

The Scrum Master facilitates the team's breakout sessions.. During PI Planning, the Scrum Master manages the team's breakouts, facilitates the estimation process, and keeps the team focused on their objectives and dependencies. Their contribution is crucial because PI Planning sets the vision and plan for the next several iterations. Without the Scrum Master's facilitation, the team would struggle to produce a realistic and aligned plan that fits into the broader ART schedule.

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The Scrum Master defines the PI objectives for the team.

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The Scrum Master is responsible for presenting the final PI objectives to the ART.

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The Scrum Master acts as the decision-maker for all feature prioritization.

Question 15

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.