SAFe-Agilist Product Development Flow Practice Question
Which of the following describes the 'Little’s Law' concept as applied to Product Development Flow?
⚠ Common exam trap
Examinees often mistake Little's Law as a formula for increasing team velocity or cutting resource costs, rather than understanding its core relationship between WIP and lead time.
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
✓
Lead time decreases as WIP is reduced.
Little's Law states that the average number of items in a system is equal to the average arrival rate multiplied by the average time an item spends in the system. In SAFe, this helps teams understand that if they want to reduce lead time (the time spent in the system), they must reduce the amount of WIP. It is a fundamental principle for managing flow and predictability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Throughput is equal to the number of people on the team.
Why it's wrong here
Throughput is not simply a function of headcount. It is determined by the system's capacity, process efficiency, and the removal of bottlenecks. Simply adding people often decreases individual productivity due to increased communication complexity, demonstrating why this assertion is incorrect in the context of system flow.
- ✓
Lead time decreases as WIP is reduced.
Why this is correct
According to Little's Law, for a given arrival rate, the lead time is directly proportional to the amount of WIP. By reducing the number of items being worked on simultaneously, the system processes tasks faster, resulting in a shorter lead time and more predictable value delivery cycles.
- ✗
Quality is improved by increasing the batch size.
Why it's wrong here
Quality is typically degraded by larger batch sizes, not improved. Large batches delay feedback, make testing harder, and increase the risk of undetected defects. Small batches allow for incremental validation, which is far more effective for maintaining and improving the quality of the product throughout development.
- ✗
Bottlenecks are eliminated by increasing work capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing work capacity at a non-bottleneck step does not solve the overall system throughput issue. To eliminate a bottleneck, you must focus specifically on that constraint. If the system is bottlenecked, increasing capacity elsewhere only builds larger queues, which actually hinders the flow of value.
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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.