SAFe-Agilist Product Development Flow Practice Question
Exhibit
Team Velocity: 40 Work Items in Queue: 120 Cycle Time: 3 weeks Work Item Age: 1 week
Refer to the exhibit. Based on Little's Law, what is the estimated Lead Time for the current backlog?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates sometimes confuse Throughput with Velocity or attempt to calculate Lead Time using complex capacity planning, ignoring the simplicity of the Little's Law formula provided.
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
✓
3 weeks
Little's Law states that Lead Time = WIP / Throughput. In this scenario, the queue size (WIP) is 120 and the throughput (velocity) is 40. Therefore, 120 / 40 = 3 units of time. Little's Law is crucial in SAFe because it allows teams to predict delivery timelines based on their current WIP and throughput, fostering data-driven decision-making rather than relying on guesswork.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
1 week
Why it's wrong here
This ignores the relationship defined by Little's Law. If the throughput is 40, it will take three cycles of that velocity to clear a queue of 120 items. 1 week is insufficient given the current volume of work waiting in the queue to be processed by the team.
- ✗
2 weeks
Why it's wrong here
This result does not match the calculation of WIP divided by throughput. Based on the provided data of 120 items and a velocity of 40, the math yields 3, not 2. Relying on incorrect estimates leads to poor planning and failed commitments in the Program Increment.
- ✓
3 weeks
Why this is correct
Little's Law is applied by dividing the WIP (120) by the Throughput (40), resulting in 3. This metric helps the team understand the expected time it will take for the current backlog to be completed, enabling more accurate forecasting and setting realistic expectations for stakeholders regarding the delivery of features.
- ✗
4 weeks
Why it's wrong here
This calculation is incorrect. 4 weeks would imply a throughput of 30, which does not align with the team's velocity of 40. Using inaccurate metrics for planning creates an unrealistic roadmap and forces the team into a state of constant 'catch-up' that damages morale and decreases overall flow quality.
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JA
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.