SSM Introducing Scrum in SAFe Practice Question
Which THREE factors are essential for a successful Sprint Planning event in SAFe? (Choose three)
⚠ Common exam trap
Examinees often include management approval or financial sign-offs as prerequisites for Sprint Planning, which are not part of standard team-level agile ceremonies.
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
✓
The Product Owner has a prioritized backlog ready for the iteration.
Successful Sprint Planning requires clear priorities, a realistic view of capacity, and shared understanding of goals. By ensuring the team understands the 'why' and 'what' before diving into the 'how', they can commit to a plan that is achievable and aligned with the PI objectives. These elements collectively minimize risk and maximize the chances of meeting the iteration goals.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The Product Owner has a prioritized backlog ready for the iteration.
Why this is correct
A prioritized backlog is fundamental. Without clear priorities, the team cannot plan effectively or align their efforts with the most valuable work. The PO's readiness allows the team to focus on estimating and committing to stories rather than wasting time trying to interpret vague or conflicting requirements during planning.
- ✓
The team determines their capacity to ensure the commitment is realistic.
Why this is correct
Capacity planning is crucial to prevent over-commitment. Teams must consider holidays, planned time off, and other non-development activities. A realistic capacity assessment helps the team commit to a scope they can actually deliver, which builds trust with stakeholders and creates a predictable flow of high-quality value.
- ✓
The team defines the Sprint Goal to guide their focus.
Why this is correct
A clear Sprint Goal provides the 'why' behind the stories. It acts as a North Star for the team during the iteration, helping them make trade-offs when unexpected issues arise. Without a goal, teams often focus on task completion rather than delivering coherent, valuable outcomes for the customer.
- ✗
The Scrum Master writes all user stories for the developers.
Why it's wrong here
Writing stories is a collaborative effort, and the PO should lead the backlog content. If the Scrum Master writes all stories, they create a dependency and reduce the team's sense of ownership. Stories should be created through team discussion to ensure shared understanding and better technical implementation.
- ✗
The release train engineer approves every task in the sprint.
Why it's wrong here
The RTE does not approve individual tasks. SAFe relies on decentralized control. Approving tasks at the RTE level would create massive bottlenecks and remove autonomy from the teams. Teams are empowered to plan their own work as long as it aligns with the objectives set during PI Planning.
About these practice questions
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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 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.