SAFe Scrum Master

One benefit of PI Planning is that it allows for faster decision-making by bringing together all the members of the Agile Release Train (ART) and the relevant stakeholders in a face-to-face (or virtual) event. PI Planning provides an opportunity for the ART to align on a common vision and mission, review the business context and priorities, identify and resolve dependencies and risks, and commit to a realistic and achievable plan for the next Program Increment (PI). By having everyone involved in the planning process, the ART can leverage the collective knowledge and expertise of the participants, reduce ambiguity and uncertainty, and make informed and timely decisions that support the delivery of value to the customers. (Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

A Team's velocity is calculated by summing up the points of the fully completed stories, so it’s 8+1=9 points, excluding story C which is not completed 100%.

One purpose of iteration goals is to align team members to a common purpose and vision. Iteration
goals are a high-level summary of the business and technical goals that an Agile Team agrees to
accomplish in an iteration. They help the team and the product owner to reach agreement on the
business value they intend to deliver, align their work to their team PI objectives, and ground
everyone on their shared purpose. Iteration goals also provide transparency and management
information, as well as support the coordination and dependency management of the Agile Release Train (ART).

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, all the options provided can be used by a Scrum Master or Team Coach to guide team members towards finding solutions together. However, the context and the specific problem at hand will determine the most suitable technique to use.

Here's a brief explanation of each technique:

Asking Powerful Questions

This technique involves the Scrum Master asking thought-provoking questions that encourage team members to think critically and come up with solutions. The questions should be open-ended and designed to stimulate creative thinking.

Pairing Team Members to Grow T-Shaped Skills

This technique involves pairing team members with different skill sets to work on tasks together. This not only promotes collaboration but also helps team members to broaden their skills and knowledge, hence the term "T-shaped skills".

Bringing in New Team Members to Refresh the Team Dynamic

Sometimes, introducing new team members can bring fresh perspectives and ideas, which can help in finding solutions. However, this should be done carefully to avoid disrupting the existing team dynamics.

Facilitating a Process Improvement Workshop

This involves organizing a workshop where team members can discuss their processes, identify areas of improvement, and come up with solutions to enhance their efficiency and productivity.

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the Scrum Master/Team Coach plays a crucial role in Program Increment (PI) Planning. Among the options provided, the most accurate one is:

Briefing the team before planning

Explanation

The Scrum Master/Team Coach is responsible for ensuring that the team is well-prepared and understands the objectives and context before the PI Planning event. This includes briefing the team on the vision, roadmap, and features that will be discussed during the planning session.

Here's a brief overview of the Scrum Master's role in PI Planning:

• Briefing the team before planning: The Scrum Master ensures that the team is ready for PI Planning by providing necessary context and information. This includes understanding the vision, roadmap, and features that will be discussed.
• Facilitate Coach Sync: This is not a typical responsibility of the Scrum Master during PI Planning.
• Participate in management review and problem-solving: While the Scrum Master may participate in these activities, it is not their primary role during PI Planning.
• Perform the ART confidence vote: This is typically done by all members of the Agile Release Train (ART), not specifically by the Scrum Master.

Here's a simplified table of the Scrum Master's role in PI Planning:

Using the IP Iteration as intended can provide a significant benefit to the team by allowing them to focus on innovation, continuous improvement, and planning, which can lead to improved product quality and process efficiency.

The best examples are: Focus on business value delivery, Ask the Team for the answer and Facilitate Team problem-solving.
Focusing on business value delivery over fosucing on certain targets
Asking the Team for the answer over providing answers for the Team
Focusing on business value delivery over fosucing on certain targets

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the organizing attribute that teams share with the other teams on their Agile Release Train (ART) is:

Synchronization to a common cadence

This is a key principle of SAFe. All teams on an ART align to a common iteration length and schedule, which is typically 10-12 weeks. This synchronization allows for better planning, coordination, and predictability across the ART.

Here's a brief explanation of the other options:

• Simultaneous release in one pipeline: While it's true that teams on an ART aim to release together, this is not an organizing attribute. It's more of a result of the synchronization and coordination efforts.
• Facilitation techniques amongst all meetings: Facilitation techniques can vary from team to team and are not necessarily shared across all teams on an ART.
• Prioritization across all backlogs: Prioritization is done at the team level, based on the Program Increment (PI) objectives and the team's understanding of the work. While there is alignment and coordination at the ART level, each team maintains its own backlog and prioritizes its work independently.

Hackathons are one of the activities that can be done during the IP Iteration to foster innovation and learning. They allow the team members to work on whatever they want, with whomever they want, as long as the work reflects the mission of the company. The teams then demo their work to others at the end of the hackathon. Hackathons can help the team explore new ideas, technologies, and solutions that can benefit the business and the customers. They can also increase the team's engagement, creativity, and collaboration.

Reference: Innovation and Planning Iteration - Scaled Agile Framework,Exam Study Guide: SSM (6.0) - SAFe Scrum Master

One of the responsibilities of a Scrum Master/Team Coach is to help the team achieve flow, which is
a state of continuous and sustainable delivery of value. They do this by teaching and coaching the
team on SAFe Scrum and SAFe Team Kanban practices, such as limiting work in progress, visualizing
work, managing queues, and reducing batch sizes. They also help identify and eliminate
impediments and bottlenecks that hinder the team’s progress and performance.

The intended value of the Backlog Refinement event is that the team is able to prepare requirements for Iteration Planning. Backlog Refinement is an ongoing process where the team collaborates with the Product Owner and other stakeholders to review, split, prioritize, and estimate the stories in the Team Backlog. One of the main objectives of Backlog Refinement is to ensure that the stories are ready for Iteration Planning, which means they are clear, feasible, testable, and small enough to be completed in a single Iteration. By doing so, the team can improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of their work, as well as deliver value to the customers and the organization.

A constructive IP Iteration is one of the recommended practices for Scrum Masters/Team Coaches to help teams avoid burnout, address technical debt, and foster innovation. An IP Iteration is a unique, dedicated iteration that occurs every PI and provides an estimating buffer for meeting PI Objectives and dedicated time for innovation, continuing education, PI Planning, and Inspect and Adapt events. During the IP Iteration, teams can work on activities such as hackathons, research and design, spikes, refactoring, automation, training, and other improvement initiatives that are difficult to fit into a continuous, incremental value delivery pattern. An IP Iteration also allows teams to prepare for and participate in the PI Planning and Inspect and Adapt events, which are essential for alignment, collaboration, and learning across the ART. A constructive IP Iteration can improve the predictability and flow of value delivery, increase employee engagement and satisfaction, enhance the agility and resilience of the teams, and create a competitive advantage for the enterprise. (Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

The correct answer to your question is:

Team members are pulling in work from future Iterations

Explanation

In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, an anti-pattern that indicates a team is overcommitting to work is when team members start pulling in work from future iterations. This is a clear sign that the team is taking on more work than they can handle in the current iteration.

Here's a brief explanation of why the other options are not correct:

• Flow time is decreasing: This could indicate that the team is becoming more efficient, not necessarily that they are overcommitting.
• Capacity and load are exactly the same: This is actually a good thing. It means that the team's workload matches their capacity, which is the goal in agile methodologies.
• Team velocity increases over time: This could also indicate that the team is becoming more efficient. However, if the increase is too rapid, it could be a sign of overcommitment, but it's not as clear an indicator as pulling in work from future iterations.

The PI System Demo is performed during the Inspect and Adapt Event within the last iteration of a PI, which is called Innovation and Planning Iteration (IP Iteration).

A servant leader is someone who focuses on the growth and well-being of the team members, prioritizing their needs, facilitating their development, and supporting them in achieving their goals. They aim to serve the team rather than being served by them, often adopting a coaching and mentoring approach to leadership. This style of leadership involves empowering team members, fostering collaboration, and creating a positive and inclusive work environment.

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the correct answer is:

Work with team members to establish a team Kanban board

Explanation

The Scrum Master or Team Coach can help teams improve flow by working with them to establish a team Kanban board. This is a visual tool that helps teams manage their work and improve their workflow efficiency.

Here's why the other options are not as effective:

• Coach team members to combine work into bigger Stories: This could lead to larger, more complex work items that take longer to complete, potentially slowing down the flow.
• Direct team members to work in their domain of expertise: While this can improve individual productivity, it doesn't necessarily improve the overall team flow. It could also lead to silos within the team.
• Encourage hand-offs so each team member can write a Story to capture their piece of the work: This could lead to more hand-offs and dependencies, which can slow down the flow.

One Agile development value is customer collaboration over contract negotiation. This value is one of the four core values of the Agile Manifesto, which states: ''We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.''1This value emphasizes the importance of building a trusting and collaborative relationship with the customers, rather than relying on rigid and formal contracts that may limit the ability to respond to changing needs and expectations2Customer collaboration means involving the customers throughout the development process, seeking their feedback, input, and validation, and delivering solutions that meet their requirements and expectations3Customer collaboration also means respecting the customers' opinions and perspectives, and resolving any conflicts or issues in a constructive and respectful manner4Customer collaboration helps the Agile teams to deliver value faster and more effectively, as well as to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

(Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is a special iteration dedicated to innovation, continuing education, PI Planning, and infrastructure work. It's also a time for teams to rest and prepare for the next Program Increment (PI).

If Team A decides to continue with their feature delivery work during the IP Iteration, they could potentially experience all of the effects listed in the options. However, the most significant effect would be:

They could lose an opportunity to manage risks and communication within the Agile Release Train (ART)

This is because the IP Iteration is a crucial time for teams to reflect on their work, identify and manage risks, and improve communication within the ART. By continuing with their feature delivery work, Team A might miss out on these opportunities, which could negatively impact their performance in the next PI.

Here's a table summarizing the potential effects:

The Scrum value that can help Agile Teams create transparency from the options provided is Respect.

Explanation

In the context of Scrum and Agile methodologies, respect is a fundamental value that fosters transparency within teams. When team members respect each other, they are more likely to be open and honest about their work, challenges, and progress. This openness leads to greater transparency, as it encourages sharing of information and collaboration.

Here's a brief description of how respect contributes to transparency:

• Respect: This value is about acknowledging and appreciating the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of all team members. It encourages open communication, mutual understanding, and trust. When team members respect each other, they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns, which promotes transparency.

The other options provided, while important in their own right, do not directly contribute to transparency in the same way as respect does.