SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

What is the role of the Product Owner in the daily Stand-up?

Accepted Answer

To listen to the team and answer questions about requirements.. The Product Owner is a key participant in the Stand-up, providing clarity on priorities and requirements. Their presence ensures that the team remains aligned with the business goals as they make daily decisions. This is important because it prevents misalignment and ensures that the work being done during the iteration remains consistent with the goals established in the PI planning process.

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To report their daily status to the team members.

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To direct the team on exactly how to write their code.

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To evaluate the team members' individual productivity.

Question 2

Which TWO of the following describe the role of the Scrum Master when introducing Scrum within a SAFe ART? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Coaching the team in self-organization and effective Scrum practices.. The Scrum Master in SAFe serves as a servant leader and a coach who supports the team's agility while ensuring alignment with the ART's cadence. By facilitating events and removing impediments, the Scrum Master enables the team to contribute effectively to the Program Increment goals. This role is essential for balancing local team autonomy with the necessary synchronization required by the larger scaled organization.

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Acting as a single point of failure for all technical architectural decisions.

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Managing the team's budget and assigning individual performance bonuses.

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Taking full control of the backlog to ensure no user stories are added by the PO.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

To demonstrate the working solution and gather feedback from key stakeholders.. The Iteration Review serves to demonstrate the increment of value produced during the iteration to stakeholders. It provides a feedback loop that validates the team's progress against the PI objectives. By gathering stakeholder input, the team can adjust their backlog and improve their future work, ensuring the solution remains aligned with customer needs and the overall vision.

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To provide a performance evaluation for each team member.

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To finalize the design documents for the next release.

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To decide which team members will be laid off.

Question 4

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.

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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 5

A team finds that they consistently fail to finish their committed stories. During the retrospective, the Scrum Master notices the team is spending significant time on unplanned support tickets. What should the Scrum Master recommend?

Accepted Answer

Work with the Product Owner to allocate capacity for support work in future iterations.. The Scrum Master must help the team visualize the impact of unplanned work on their capacity. By working with the Product Owner to allocate specific capacity for support or using a buffer, the team can make their commitments more predictable. This systemic approach addresses the root cause of the delivery failure rather than blaming the team for missing targets.

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Ignore the support tickets and focus only on the committed user stories.

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Ask the developers to work overtime to finish both stories and tickets.

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Assign a dedicated support team member to handle all tickets alone.

Question 6

During PI Planning, a team identifies a major technical risk that could block their progress for three iterations. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Add the risk to the ART's ROAM board during the PI Planning session.. The Scrum Master must facilitate transparency regarding the risk. In SAFe, risks are managed using the ROAM technique (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated). By bringing this to the attention of the ART during the PI Planning 'ROAMing' session, the Scrum Master ensures that leadership is aware and can provide the necessary support or resources to mitigate the issue before it derails the entire Program Increment.

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Keep the risk hidden from management to avoid looking incompetent.

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

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Immediately disband the team and reassign them to other projects.

Question 7

Which event serves as the primary mechanism for a Scrum team in SAFe to reflect on their process and identify improvements?

Accepted Answer

The Iteration Retrospective.. The Iteration Retrospective is the dedicated event for process improvement. In SAFe, this is vital because teams must constantly optimize their workflow to keep pace with the ART. By identifying what went well and what didn't, the team can implement small, actionable changes, fostering a culture of continuous improvement that is central to the Agile mindset and SAFe principles.

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The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event.

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The Sprint Planning meeting.

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The Daily Stand-up.

Question 8

What is the role of the Scrum Master during the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event?

Accepted Answer

Facilitating the team's participation and helping them identify systemic improvements.. During the Inspect and Adapt, the Scrum Master supports the team in presenting their results and identifying systemic improvement opportunities. They act as a facilitator, ensuring the team's voice is heard in the ART-level discussion. This helps the entire program learn from past mistakes and successes, which is vital for the long-term agility and success of the release train.

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Representing the team to defend their performance against criticism.

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Writing the final report for executive leadership on behalf of the team.

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Directing the team on what to say during the PI System Demo.

Question 9

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 10

A Product Owner is struggling to prioritize the backlog because stakeholders keep adding urgent requests. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to clarify priorities and the impact of changing scope.. The Scrum Master must facilitate communication between the PO and stakeholders to clarify the impact of these changes. By educating stakeholders on the cost of switching contexts and the importance of the current iteration goal, the Scrum Master protects the team from constant disruption. This ensures the PO can focus on high-value delivery rather than being overwhelmed by constant, poorly prioritized requests.

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Tell the stakeholders to stop talking to the Product Owner.

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Ask the team to work on the urgent requests without informing the PO.

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Accept all urgent requests to ensure stakeholders are satisfied.

Question 11

What is the primary role of the Scrum Master in the ART's Scrum of Scrums?

Accepted Answer

Sharing impediments and dependencies that affect the team's ability to deliver.. The Scrum Master is the representative of the team in the Scrum of Scrums. They should focus on identifying blockers and dependencies that impact the team's ability to meet the PI objectives. By sharing these openly and collaborating with other Scrum Masters, they ensure that issues are escalated or resolved before they become train-wide impediments that delay the entire release schedule.

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Reporting on each team member's daily attendance and hours worked.

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Assigning tasks to other teams to ensure the program gets done on time.

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Acting as the lead architect for all solution components.

Question 12

A new Agile Release Train (ART) is struggling to synchronize their iterations. The Scrum Master notices that teams are working on different cadences, which hinders the System Demo. What is the most effective approach to resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Align all teams to the same iteration start and end dates within the program.. SAFe requires all teams on an ART to operate on the same cadence and synchronization to facilitate planning, integration, and the System Demo. By forcing a common iteration length, the train ensures that dependencies are managed effectively and that the entire system can be integrated and evaluated regularly. This consistency is a foundational requirement for successful program execution in the SAFe framework.

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Allow teams to choose their own iteration lengths to maximize local productivity.

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Extend the iteration length for teams that are falling behind their velocity targets.

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Request that teams increase their velocity to match the fastest team on the train.

Question 13

What is the primary responsibility of the Scrum Master during PI Planning?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring the team commits to realistic objectives and manages dependencies.. During PI Planning, the Scrum Master facilitates the team's participation, ensuring they understand the program vision and contribute to the team's PI objectives. They help manage the team's capacity, coordinate dependencies with other teams, and ensure the draft plan is realistic. This phase is critical because it sets the foundation for the entire PI, aligning individual team efforts with the overall business objectives of the train.

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Defining the features and writing the user stories for the backlog.

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Assigning specific tasks to individual team members to ensure total coverage.

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Approving the final program roadmap proposed by the System Architect.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the goal of the 'Inspect and Adapt' event in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

To identify process improvements for the ART using a structured workshop.. The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event is the cornerstone of continuous improvement in SAFe. It allows the ART to reflect on the completed PI, review the system demo, and use quantitative metrics to identify process improvements. This event is essential because it fosters a culture of relentless improvement, ensuring that the train evolves its practices, increases productivity, and improves quality through structured, actionable problem-solving workshops.

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To re-plan the upcoming PI and adjust team membership.

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To demonstrate the system to stakeholders and collect feedback.

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To review the team's individual velocity and performance metrics.

Question 15

Which THREE items are primary responsibilities of a Scrum Master when introducing Scrum within a SAFe environment?

Accepted Answer

Removing impediments that block the team's progress.. The Scrum Master is a servant leader who facilitates team events, coaches the team on SAFe practices, and removes systemic impediments. In SAFe, they also coordinate across teams to manage dependencies. These responsibilities are vital for maintaining the flow of value across the Agile Release Train and ensuring the team remains aligned with the broader program goals while maximizing their own local agility.

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Writing and maintaining the Program Backlog.

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Setting the vision and roadmap for the ART.