SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Test 8 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a SAFe transformation, a Scrum Master notices that the team treats the Iteration Review as a status meeting for the Scrum Master and Product Owner only. Stakeholders are not invited, and no working software is demonstrated. What should the Scrum Master do to correct this when introducing Scrum in SAFe?

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

Accepted Answer

Invite stakeholders, coach the team to demonstrate the working increment, and use the feedback to adapt the backlog.. The Iteration Review exists so the team can demonstrate a working, tested increment to stakeholders and use their feedback to adapt. When it degrades into a status meeting, the Scrum Master must restore stakeholder participation and a demo of working software. That feedback also feeds the train-level System Demo and helps keep the Agile Release Train aligned to value.

Answer

Convert the Iteration Review into a second Retrospective so the team can focus solely on its internal process.

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Replace the Iteration Review with a written status report distributed to stakeholders at the end of each iteration.

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Ask the Release Train Engineer to present the team's results at the next System Demo instead of holding a team-level review.

Question 2

A newly formed Scrum team in a SAFe Agile Release Train has just completed its first iteration. During the iteration retrospective, several team members express confusion about who owns the decision on how much work to pull into the next iteration versus who decides the order of the work. The Scrum Master wants to clarify the boundary between the Product Owner and the team. Which statement best describes the correct responsibility split in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

The team decides how much work to pull into the iteration, while the Product Owner decides the order in which that work is built.. The Product Owner is accountable for the content and order of the Team Backlog, while the team self-manages how much work it can pull into an iteration. This separation preserves both value-driven prioritization and team autonomy. The Scrum Master clarifies this boundary when new teams confuse prioritization with capacity planning, which is common during early iterations in a SAFe environment.

Answer

The Release Train Engineer decides how much work each team pulls, and the Product Owner decides the order of the Team Backlog.

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The team decides both the order of the Team Backlog and how much work to pull into the iteration, with the Product Owner only providing feedback.

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The Product Owner decides how many stories the team can complete, and the team decides the sequence in which those stories are built.

Question 3

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.

Answer

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 4

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.

Answer

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 5

A Scrum Master on an Agile Release Train learns that two team members frequently bypass the team and escalate technical disagreements directly to the System Architect. This causes duplicated design decisions and rework. What is the most effective action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to resolve technical disagreements internally first, escalating to the System Architect only when a train-level decision is needed.. Teams in SAFe own their local technical decisions and should resolve disagreements internally, escalating only train-level or cross-team concerns to the System Architect. Coaching this boundary strengthens self-management and preserves the architect's ability to guide intentional architecture across the Agile Release Train. It also reduces duplicated design decisions and the rework they cause.

Answer

Instruct the System Architect to stop responding to team members and route all questions through the Scrum Master.

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Ask the Release Train Engineer to assign one team member as the sole technical decision maker for the team.

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Document every escalation in the team's Retrospective board and review the list with the System Architect at the end of the PI.

Question 6

A newly formed SAFe team has just completed its first Iteration. During the Iteration Review, the Scrum Master notices that the team presented dozens of completed technical tasks rather than working, integrated product. The Product Owner is unsure whether any value was actually delivered to stakeholders. What should the Scrum Master do first to align the team with Scrum in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team that the Iteration Review should inspect the Increment and gather feedback, so work should be demonstrated as integrated, potentially shippable functionality rather than task lists.. The Iteration Review exists so the team and stakeholders can inspect the actual Increment and adapt the Product Backlog. When a team presents tasks rather than integrated functionality, the event loses its ability to reveal whether value was delivered. The Scrum Master serves the team by coaching this distinction, helping the Product Owner gain real feedback and keeping the team aligned with Scrum's empirical approach inside the Agile Release Train.

Answer

Replace the Iteration Review with a task-status meeting until the team matures enough to demonstrate integrated functionality.

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Ask the Release Train Engineer to add a System Demo so stakeholders can see integrated value on the ART cadence instead of at the team's Iteration Review.

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Instruct the Product Owner to reject the Increment and require the team to rebuild the demonstration for the next Iteration Review.

Question 7

During the first PI Planning event for a new Agile Release Train, a Scrum Master sees that their team has committed to a full set of Iteration Goals but has no plan for the shared services another team must provide mid-PI. The other team's Product Owner is present but unaware of the dependency. What is the most appropriate action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Help the team make the dependency visible on the program board during PI Planning and facilitate a conversation so the two teams agree on how and when the shared service will be delivered.. PI Planning is where cross-team dependencies are made visible and resolved while all relevant people are in the room. Using the program board and facilitating a direct conversation lets the two teams agree on delivery timing and adjust their plans before committing, which is the collaborative behavior SAFe expects during the event.

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Record the dependency in the team's Team Backlog and let the Product Owner handle coordination after the event.

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Instruct the team to remove the dependent features from its PI Objectives and plan them for a later PI.

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Escalate to the Release Train Engineer and ask them to assign the shared service work to a third team after PI Planning ends.

Question 8

An organization is introducing Scrum at the team level within a SAFe Agile Release Train. A new Scrum Master is asked by a team member which artifact holds the work items that the team will build during an iteration, and who is accountable for its content. What is the correct answer in a SAFe context?

Accepted Answer

The Team Backlog, owned by the Product Owner.. The Team Backlog is the team-level artifact in SAFe that holds the user stories and enablers for upcoming iterations, and the Product Owner is accountable for its content and ordering. Confusing it with program, solution, or portfolio backlogs is a common mistake when teams are first introduced to the SAFe backlog hierarchy during training.

Answer

The Solution Backlog, owned by the Solution Train Engineer.

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The Program Backlog, owned by the Release Train Engineer.

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The Portfolio Backlog, owned by the Enterprise Architect.

Question 9

A Scrum Master is helping a newly formed SAFe team understand what it means to adopt Scrum at the team level within an Agile Release Train. Which two statements accurately describe the team-level Scrum implementation in SAFe? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The team owns its Team Backlog and decides how much work to pull into each iteration based on its capacity.. Team-level Scrum in SAFe preserves self-management: the team owns its Team Backlog, pulls work based on capacity, and produces a potentially releasable Increment each iteration. These two statements reflect core Scrum behavior inside the ART. The other statements describe anti-patterns or role confusion that conflict with Scrum and with SAFe's shared cadence and accountability model.

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The Product Owner reports to the Scrum Master so that priorities and team process stay aligned.

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The Scrum Master assigns tasks to team members to ensure the iteration goal is met.

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The team's iteration length is chosen by the Release Train Engineer and may vary per team to match their delivery needs.

Question 10

A Scrum Master is helping a newly formed team understand how Scrum operates within SAFe during its first iterations. Which TWO statements accurately describe how the team's Scrum practices relate to the Agile Release Train? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The team's Iteration Goals should align with the ART's PI Objectives so team-level delivery supports the train's committed outcomes.. Two statements correctly describe Scrum within SAFe. Iteration Goals align with PI Objectives so team delivery supports the train's committed outcomes, and systemic Retrospective improvements can be escalated to the Inspect and Adapt workshop for ART-wide resolution. The other statements misassign accountability to the Scrum Master or Release Train Engineer, or remove team-level planning, all of which conflict with self-management and SAFe's decentralized decision-making.

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The team must wait for the Release Train Engineer to approve each User Story before it can be started in an iteration.

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The team's Scrum Master is accountable for delivering the ART's PI Objectives on behalf of the team.

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The team should skip its own Iteration Planning when the ART has already completed PI Planning for the increment.

Question 11

During the first PI Planning event after introducing Scrum, a Scrum Master observes that a team is treating the iteration boundary as a hard checkpoint for demonstrating completed work to the Product Owner, and is skipping the continuous collaboration that Scrum recommends. The Scrum Master wants to explain why the team should not rely solely on the iteration review to validate work with the Product Owner. Which statement best reflects the SAFe and Scrum intent?

Accepted Answer

The Product Owner should be involved continuously during the iteration so the team can get early feedback and adjust, with the iteration review serving as a broader inspect-and-adapt event for stakeholders.. Scrum and SAFe both rely on short feedback loops, which means the Product Owner collaborates with the team continuously during the iteration, not only at the review. The iteration review remains a formal inspect-and-adapt event, but it is not the first time the Product Owner or stakeholders see the work. This continuous engagement reduces rework and keeps the increment aligned with value.

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The iteration review is the only formal inspect-and-adapt point, so the team should minimize Product Owner involvement mid-iteration to avoid scope churn.

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Because SAFe replaces the Scrum review with the System Demo, the team should wait until the end of the PI to show anything to the Product Owner.

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The team should involve the Release Train Engineer instead of the Product Owner during the iteration, since the RTE owns value delivery across the train.

Question 12

A Scrum Master is coaching a team that has adopted SAFe but still estimates and plans in a way that ignores the Program Increment. The team commits to iteration goals without considering the PI Objectives agreed at PI Planning, and it treats each iteration as independent. What should the Scrum Master emphasize to align the team with SAFe?

Accepted Answer

Iteration goals should directly support the team's PI Objectives, and the team should use its iteration cadence to make progress toward the Program Increment.. PI Objectives capture the outcomes the team commits to for the Program Increment, and iteration goals should ladder up to them. Keeping that linkage lets the team maintain a short feedback loop while still contributing to the train's shared commitments. The Scrum Master should coach the team to derive its iteration goals from the PI Objectives rather than planning each iteration in isolation.

Answer

The Scrum Master should personally translate the PI Objectives into iteration goals and present them to the team at each Iteration Planning event.

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The team should abandon PI Objectives and let the Product Owner define all priorities iteration by iteration based on the latest feedback.

Answer

The team should adopt a quarterly release cadence and stop holding Iteration Planning so it can focus only on the Program Increment.

Question 13

A Scrum Master is helping a new SAFe Scrum team understand why they still hold a Daily Stand-up even though the team is distributed across two time zones. A team member suggests replacing it with a weekly written update to save time. How should the Scrum Master respond?

Accepted Answer

Explain that the Daily Stand-up is kept in SAFe to inspect progress toward the Iteration Goal, synchronize the day's work, and surface impediments, and help the team run it effectively across time zones.. The Daily Stand-up remains a core team event in SAFe because it lets the team inspect progress toward the Iteration Goal, plan the day's work, and surface impediments. Distributed teams adapt how they run it, but removing it or making it weekly would break the daily feedback cycle and reduce the team's ability to self-organize.

Answer

Replace the Daily Stand-up with a weekly Scrum of Scrums so the team can coordinate through the ART instead.

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Let the team decide, since SAFe leaves the format and frequency of team synchronization entirely to each team.

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Agree, because distributed teams cannot benefit from synchronous inspection of progress toward the Iteration Goal.

Question 14

An organization is introducing Scrum inside SAFe. A team's manager tells the Scrum Master that the manager will assign tasks daily to each developer to keep utilization high. Which Scrum principle should the Scrum Master use to explain why this conflicts with the team's self-managing design?

Accepted Answer

Scrum teams are self-managing and decide among themselves how to accomplish their work, so a manager assigning individual tasks undermines the team's ownership of its plan.. Scrum teams are self-managing: they decide how to convert Product Backlog items into an Increment. When a manager assigns daily tasks, the team loses ownership of its plan, impediments stay hidden, and the empirical loop of inspect-and-adapt weakens. The Scrum Master should coach the manager and the team on self-management as a core Scrum principle that SAFe preserves at the team level.

Answer

Task assignment is acceptable as long as the manager records each assignment in the team's Kanban board so the work remains transparent.

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The manager should assign tasks only during the Daily Scrum, because that event is designed for the Scrum Master to redistribute work across team members.

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Scrum requires a dedicated project manager to allocate tasks each day so that the team can maintain a predictable velocity.

Question 15

A Scrum Master is introducing Scrum to a team that is new to SAFe and wants to clarify how the team-level events fit the broader cadence. Which two statements accurately describe how Scrum is applied within SAFe? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The team keeps the Scrum events, and their cadence is aligned to the iteration and the PI cadence of the Agile Release Train.. In SAFe, teams keep the Scrum events but align their cadence to the iteration and the Program Increment, and the Scrum Master serves as a servant leader who facilitates events, coaches Agile practices, and helps remove impediments. Backlog ownership stays with the Product Owner, the Iteration Review is retained alongside the System Demo, and Iteration Goals are set by the team.

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The team's Iteration Review is replaced by the System Demo, so the team no longer inspects its own increment.

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The Scrum Master owns the Team Backlog and prioritizes user stories for the team during Iteration Planning.

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The Scrum Master sets the team's Iteration Goals and reports them to the Release Train Engineer on the team's behalf.