SSM Supporting ART Events Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During the first day of PI Planning, a team realizes that a critical architectural dependency will prevent them from completing their committed features. How should the Scrum Master coach the team for the Management Review and Problem-Solving session?

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

Accepted Answer

Summarize the dependency and its impact on the team's draft plan for the RTE.. The Management Review and Problem-Solving session is a pivotal event where leadership addresses challenges that teams cannot resolve alone. By clearly articulating the impact of the dependency, the Scrum Master ensures that the Release Train Engineer and Business Owners can make informed decisions about scope adjustments or resource reallocation to maintain the integrity of the ART.

Answer

Wait until the second day to see if other teams can take over the work.

Answer

Advise the team to mark the feature as uncommitted without informing management.

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore the dependency and plan as if it were resolved.

Question 2

A Scrum Master notices that the System Demo is frequently delayed because teams are struggling to integrate their code at the end of the iteration. What is the best way to support this ART event?

Accepted Answer

Encourage the team to adopt Continuous Integration and align on integration points.. The System Demo relies on the ability to show integrated work from all teams on the Agile Release Train. If integration is failing, the Scrum Master must advocate for technical practices like Continuous Integration and more frequent synchronization to ensure the demo remains a viable mechanism for gathering stakeholder feedback and measuring progress.

Answer

Suggest moving the System Demo to every other iteration to allow more time.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to demo only the features that are fully completed.

Answer

Request that the System Architect takes over the integration responsibilities.

Question 3

Which TWO activities occur during the ART Sync event to ensure the train stays on track? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Reviewing progress toward the PI Objectives and the ART predictability.. The ART Sync combines the visibility of the Scrum of Scrums and the PO Sync. It is designed to provide a holistic view of the progress toward PI Objectives while addressing dependencies and risks that cross team boundaries. It ensures that both the technical execution and the product vision remain aligned.

Answer

Estimating new Features using Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF).

Answer

Conducting individual team retrospectives to improve internal processes.

Answer

Assigning business value to the newly identified uncommitted objectives.

Question 4

During the Problem-Solving Workshop of the Inspect and Adapt event, several teams identify 'lack of automated testing' as a root cause. What is the Scrum Master's role in the next step?

Accepted Answer

Help the team define a specific improvement story for the PI Planning backlog.. The Problem-Solving Workshop is designed to produce actionable improvement items. Once a root cause is identified, the Scrum Master must guide the team to create specific, measurable backlog items that can be integrated into the next PI. This ensures that the I&A results in real change rather than just identifying complaints.

Answer

Assign the testing tasks to the most experienced developers immediately.

Answer

Create a new Feature for 'Automated Testing' and add it to the Funnel.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the System Architect to solve for the whole ART.

Question 5

During Team Breakout #1 in PI Planning, the team finds that their capacity is exceeded by the features assigned to them. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the team and the PO to prioritize the work.. The Scrum Master's role is to ensure the team creates a realistic plan. When capacity is exceeded, the first step is to seek clarification and prioritization from the Product Owner. This prevents the team from committing to an unachievable amount of work and ensures they focus on the highest value items.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to ensure all features are included.

Answer

Move the excess features to the 'Uncommitted' list without consultation.

Answer

Wait for the Draft Plan Review to see if management notices the gap.

Question 6

After the Final Plan Review, the ART conducts a confidence vote. If the average confidence is only 2 fingers out of 5, what is the next step for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate further planning to address the concerns that led to the low vote.. A low confidence vote indicates that the ART does not believe the plan is achievable. This requires the ART to go back into a planning session to address the concerns. The Scrum Master supports this by helping the team identify the specific reasons for their low confidence and collaborating on plan adjustments.

Answer

Ask the team to reconsider their vote to ensure the event stays on schedule.

Answer

Escalate the low confidence to the Business Owners for immediate approval.

Answer

Document the low confidence as a risk and start Iteration 1.1 immediately.

Question 7

The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event consists of three parts. Which THREE of the following are those parts? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

The PI System Demo.. The Inspect and Adapt event is a significant event held at the end of each PI. It consists of three distinct parts that ensure the ART is delivering value, meeting its commitments, and improving its processes. Understanding these parts helps the Scrum Master facilitate the team's participation effectively.

Answer

The Final Plan Review.

Answer

The Confidence Vote.

Question 8

What is the primary reason the Scrum Master encourages the team to reserve capacity during the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration?

Accepted Answer

To allow for innovation, continuing education, and PI Planning preparation.. The IP Iteration provides a buffer for the ART and time for activities that are difficult to fit into a regular execution iteration. The Scrum Master must protect this time to ensure the ART remains healthy, teams can continue learning, and the upcoming PI Planning event is properly prepared.

Answer

To provide extra time to finish stories from the previous iteration.

Answer

To allow the Product Owner to add new features for immediate delivery.

Answer

To give the team a vacation before the next high-pressure PI begins.

Question 9

Who is the primary facilitator of the Scrum of Scrums (SoS) event during the Program Increment execution?

Accepted Answer

The Release Train Engineer (RTE).. The Scrum of Scrums is a synchronization event for Scrum Masters on the ART. It is facilitated by the Release Train Engineer (RTE), who acts as the 'Chief Scrum Master' for the train. The event focuses on progress, dependencies, and blockers that affect multiple teams.

Answer

The Product Management team.

Answer

The System Architect.

Answer

The Business Owner.

Question 10

During PI Planning Team Breakout #1, a team realizes they cannot meet their draft objectives due to a hidden architectural dependency. What is the Scrum Master's best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Alert the Release Train Engineer to facilitate a conversation with the System Architect and the dependent team.. The Scrum Master is responsible for facilitating the removal of impediments during the PI Planning process. When a team discovers a dependency that threatens their plan, the Scrum Master must act as a bridge to other teams and leadership. This ensures that the technical planning remains realistic and that the final PI objectives are achievable based on the actual capacity and cross-team coordination.

Answer

Negotiate with Product Management to reduce Feature scope immediately.

Answer

Instruct the team to add the dependency to the Program Board and move on to the next objective.

Answer

Record the dependency as a risk in the ROAM board and proceed with the current plan.

Question 11

A team is preparing for the System Demo, but their code isn't fully integrated into the staging environment due to a pipeline failure. How should the Scrum Master guide the team?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the System Team and other Scrum Masters to resolve the pipeline issue before the demo.. The System Demo is the primary mechanism for evaluating the current state of the Solution and gathering feedback from stakeholders. The Scrum Master must ensure the team understands the importance of demonstrating integrated software. If technical hurdles like pipeline failures occur, the focus shifts to immediate collaboration with the System Team to ensure the ART-level integration is successful.

Answer

Cancel the team's portion of the System Demo to avoid showing incomplete work.

Answer

Demonstrate the functionality from the local development environment to prove progress.

Answer

Use the time to explain the technical debt that caused the failure instead of showing software.

Question 12

During the weekly Scrum of Scrums, the Scrum Master identifies that multiple teams are blocked by the same shared service team. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate an immediate meeting between the RTE and the Shared Service manager.. The Scrum of Scrums is designed to identify and resolve cross-team impediments that affect the ART's ability to deliver. When a shared service becomes a bottleneck for multiple teams, it indicates a systemic issue that needs higher-level intervention. The Scrum Master must ensure this is visible to the Release Train Engineer for immediate resolution.

Answer

Escalate the issue directly to the Business Owners for priority adjustment.

Answer

Tell the teams to wait until the next PI to address the shared service work.

Answer

Instruct the teams to re-prioritize their own backlogs to avoid the shared service.

Question 13

The Product Owner returns from a PO Sync and informs the team that a new high-priority Feature must be started in the current PI. How does the Scrum Master help the team?

Accepted Answer

Help the PO assess the impact on current PI Objectives and communicate tradeoffs.. While SAFe encourages a stable plan during the PI, it also recognizes that business needs can change. The Scrum Master's role is to protect the team's sustainable pace while helping them adapt to these changes. This involves facilitating a process where the impact of new work is transparently evaluated against the existing commitments.

Answer

Refuse the change to protect the team's original PI plan and commitment.

Answer

Add the feature to the current iteration and ask the team to work overtime.

Answer

Ask the Release Train Engineer to decide if the team should take the work.

Question 14

Which TWO roles are primarily responsible for facilitating the Team Breakout sessions during PI Planning? (Choose TWO)

Accepted Answer

Scrum Master. Team Breakouts are the heart of PI Planning where teams work locally to define their stories and objectives. The Scrum Master and Product Owner work as a leadership pair for the team during these sessions. They ensure the team stays focused, resolves internal conflicts, and aligns their technical tasks with the business priorities.

Answer

Release Train Engineer

Answer

System Architect

Answer

Business Owner

Question 15

Stakeholders are complaining that the System Demo is too long and technical. How should the Scrum Master coach the team to improve this ART event?

Accepted Answer

Focus the demonstration on business value and user-facing stories.. The System Demo is intended for stakeholders to validate business value, not to review every technical detail or line of code. The Scrum Master must coach the team on how to tell a story with their software. By focusing on the user's journey and business outcomes, the team can make the demo engaging.

Answer

Suggest the team only show high-level slides to save time.

Answer

Invite fewer stakeholders to the meeting to reduce the feedback loop.

Answer

Record the demo and send the video link instead of holding a live meeting.