SAFe-Agilist Adapting and Thriving with SAFe Practice Question
An Agile Release Train (ART) has just completed its first Program Increment (PI). During the Inspect and Adapt workshop, the team identifies that they struggled with cross-team dependencies. As a SAFe Agilist, what is the most appropriate guidance to help the ART improve in the next PI?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that dependencies should be eliminated entirely or that a single person should resolve them, rather than using SAFe's collaborative visualization and synchronization mechanisms.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Recommend that the ART use the program board to visualize dependencies and establish a regular sync cadence to address them.
In SAFe, the program board is used to visualize dependencies and facilitate coordination across teams. Combined with a regular sync cadence, such as Scrum of Scrums and PO Sync, it helps the ART proactively manage dependencies. This approach aligns with SAFe's principles of visualizing work, applying cadence and synchronization, and fostering decentralized decision-making, thereby improving the ART's ability to deliver integrated value in the next PI.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Advise the ART to eliminate all dependencies by reorganizing into independent teams.
Why it's wrong here
Eliminating all dependencies is unrealistic in a complex system and would likely disrupt the ART's ability to deliver integrated solutions. SAFe acknowledges that dependencies exist and should be managed through visualization and synchronization, not avoided entirely. Reorganizing into completely independent teams could break the flow of value and reduce collaboration, which is contrary to SAFe's emphasis on team-of-teams agility.
- ✗
Suggest that the ART ignore dependencies and focus solely on team-level objectives to increase velocity.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring dependencies would lead to integration issues and potentially jeopardize the PI Objectives. In SAFe, dependencies are a natural part of value delivery and must be managed to ensure that the ART delivers integrated value. Focusing only on team-level velocity can create local optimizations that harm overall ART performance. The ART must balance team autonomy with cross-team collaboration to achieve its goals.
- ✓
Recommend that the ART use the program board to visualize dependencies and establish a regular sync cadence to address them.
Why this is correct
The program board is a key SAFe tool for visualizing dependencies and fostering collaboration across teams. By using it during PI Planning and throughout the PI, teams can proactively manage dependencies. Establishing a regular sync cadence, such as Scrum of Scrums or PO Sync, ensures that dependencies are addressed promptly. This approach aligns with SAFe principles of visualizing and limiting work in process and applying cadence and synchronization.
- ✗
Instruct the Release Train Engineer (RTE) to assign a dedicated manager to resolve all cross-team dependencies.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning a dedicated manager to resolve dependencies centralizes decision-making and reduces team empowerment. SAFe encourages self-organizing teams and decentralized decision-making. The RTE facilitates dependency management but does not own it. A manager could become a bottleneck and hinder the ART's ability to adapt quickly. Instead, the ART should collectively own dependency resolution using SAFe events and tools.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Scaled Agile exam blueprint
This SAFe-Agilist practice question is part of Courseiva's free Scaled Agile certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAFe-Agilist exam.