SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Question
A Scrum Master is working with a team that has been part of an Agile Release Train for several months. The team consistently meets its iteration goals but often discovers late in the Program Increment that its work does not integrate with other teams' work, causing delays. What should the Scrum Master do to improve this situation?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that cross-team integration is solely the Release Train Engineer's responsibility, rather than a shared team effort.
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
✓
Encourage team members to actively participate in the Scrum of Scrums and PI Planning to surface dependencies early.
The Scrum Master should encourage the team to actively participate in the Scrum of Scrums and PI Planning to identify and manage dependencies early. These events are designed for cross-team coordination and integration. By engaging fully, the team can avoid late-stage integration surprises and contribute to the ART's overall success.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Implement a policy that all user stories must be reviewed by the System Architect before development begins.
Why it's wrong here
Adding a review gate by the System Architect may introduce delays and does not directly address cross-team integration. The System Architect focuses on architectural runway and enablers, not day-to-day story approval. This would create bottlenecks and undermine the team's autonomy.
- ✗
Suggest that the team switch to a two-week iteration cadence to allow more frequent integration points.
Why it's wrong here
Iteration cadence is typically aligned across the ART, and changing it unilaterally would disrupt synchronization. The issue is not iteration length but lack of early dependency identification and collaboration. Shorter iterations alone would not solve the integration problem without improved coordination practices.
- ✓
Encourage team members to actively participate in the Scrum of Scrums and PI Planning to surface dependencies early.
Why this is correct
The Scrum of Scrums is a key event for coordinating dependencies across teams, and PI Planning is where dependencies are initially identified. By actively participating in both, the team can surface integration issues early and collaborate with other teams to resolve them. This proactive approach addresses the root cause of late integration.
- ✗
Advise the team to focus on their own iteration goals and let the Release Train Engineer handle cross-team coordination.
Why it's wrong here
While the RTE facilitates cross-team coordination, the team must also take responsibility for managing its dependencies. Ignoring integration issues until they become critical is risky and can jeopardize the PI. The Scrum Master should foster team ownership of dependencies, not delegate entirely to the RTE.
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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 SSM 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 SSM exam.