Scaled Agile SAFe Advanced Scrum Master SAFe-SASM SASM Exam Practice Test

Answer : B, D

Release Train Engineer (RTE):

Role: The RTE is a servant leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART). They facilitate ART events and processes, assist teams in delivering value, and help manage risks and dependencies.

Interaction with Scrum Master:

Scrum Masters frequently collaborate with the RTE to coordinate cross-team activities and dependencies.

They work together during events like PI Planning, Scrum of Scrums, and Inspect & Adapt (I&A) workshops to ensure alignment and continuous improvement.

The RTE provides support and guidance to Scrum Masters, helping them resolve impediments that affect the ART.

Product Owner (PO):

Role: The Product Owner is responsible for defining and prioritizing the team backlog, ensuring that the team is working on the most valuable tasks.

Interaction with Scrum Master:

Scrum Masters work closely with Product Owners to facilitate effective backlog refinement sessions, ensuring that the backlog items are well-understood and ready for iteration planning.

They support the Product Owner in maintaining a clear and prioritized backlog, helping to communicate the vision and goals to the team.

During iteration planning and reviews, Scrum Masters assist Product Owners in engaging with the team and stakeholders, ensuring that feedback is collected and incorporated.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference:

Release Train Engineer:

SAFe materials outline the critical role of the RTE in coordinating the ART and supporting Scrum Masters in their efforts to remove impediments and ensure smooth execution of plans.

Scrum Open: Discusses the collaborative relationship between Scrum Masters and RTEs in facilitating ART events and managing dependencies.

Product Owner:

The SAFe framework emphasizes the importance of the Scrum Master-Product Owner partnership in driving the delivery of value and maintaining a healthy backlog.

Product Owner Open: Provides insights into how Scrum Masters and Product Owners work together to align on priorities and ensure the team is focused on the right tasks.

Answer : D

Cadence: Refers to a regular, predictable schedule that sets the rhythm for the team or ART (Agile Release Train) activities. It helps in aligning planning, development, and delivery cycles.

Synchronization: Ensures that multiple teams or ARTs work together in harmony, aligning their schedules, dependencies, and delivery efforts.

Benefit Explanation: Having both cadence and synchronization means that all teams within the ART are working in a coordinated manner, iterating together. This alignment ensures that dependencies are managed, integration happens regularly, and the system evolves cohesively.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference:

SAFe promotes cadence and synchronization to manage complex dependencies and ensure that all parts of the system evolve together, enhancing overall system integrity and quality.

Answer : C

One of the key responsibilities of a Scrum Master is to help the team stay focused on their Iteration goals. This involves removing any obstacles or impediments that may hinder their progress. By eliminating impediments, the Scrum Master ensures that the team can work more efficiently and effectively, thereby maintaining their focus on achieving the goals set for the iteration.

Steps to eliminate impediments include:

Regularly communicating with the team to identify any obstacles they are facing.

Collaborating with stakeholders and other teams to resolve issues quickly.

Ensuring that any identified impediments are documented and tracked until they are resolved.

Facilitating problem-solving sessions and using techniques such as root cause analysis to address underlying issues.

By proactively removing these barriers, the Scrum Master supports the team in maintaining a steady and uninterrupted workflow, which is crucial for meeting iteration goals.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference

SAFe Scrum Master Role and Responsibilities

The 2020 Scrum Guide: Scrum Guide 2020

Principles of Lean-Agile Leadership in SAFe: focusing on continuous improvement and supporting the team in overcoming obstacles.

Answer : A

The program predictability measure is the primary metric used during the quantitative measurement part of the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event in SAFe. This measure assesses how reliably the Agile Release Train (ART) can deliver business value within the Program Increment (PI) timebox. It helps to:

Evaluate the team's ability to meet their commitments.

Identify areas where predictability can be improved.

Ensure that the business value planned for the PI is actually delivered.

By focusing on the predictability of business value, organizations can better align their planning and execution efforts, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and achieving strategic goals more effectively.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference

SAFe Inspect and Adapt events

SAFe 5.0 framework: using program predictability as a key metric to assess and improve ART performance.

Answer : D

The Portfolio Backlog in SAFe contains the larger initiatives, known as Epics. Epics are substantial pieces of work that require analysis, investment, and development effort over multiple Program Increments (PIs). They represent significant business or technical needs that drive the long-term strategy of the organization. These Epics are prioritized and managed in the Portfolio Backlog, where they can be decomposed into smaller, actionable items as they progress through the development process.

Answer : A

Problem Statement: The ART has nothing to show at the System Demo, indicating potential issues with integration, quality, or coordination among teams.

Recommended Action: Stopping new development work to focus on integrating and testing the system allows the team to identify and resolve integration issues, ensuring that the system is in a stable state.

Scope Adjustment: Based on what is learned during integration and testing, the scope can be adjusted to focus on delivering a coherent and functional system increment.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference:

SAFe emphasizes the importance of a stable, integrated system increment to demonstrate progress and ensure quality. Addressing integration issues promptly is crucial for maintaining stakeholder confidence and delivering value.

Answer : D

In SAFe, systems builders and customers bear a significant responsibility to ensure that investments in new solutions deliver the necessary economic benefit. This means that any investment should provide value that justifies the costs and efforts involved. The focus on economic benefit helps ensure that resources are used effectively and that the solutions developed contribute positively to the organization's financial health.

SAFe Scrum Master Reference

SAFe Lean-Agile Principles: economic view and value delivery

SAFe 5.0 framework: ensuring investments align with economic benefits