SAFe Scrum Master

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 ''C'' in the CALMR approach to DevOps stands for culture, which is the foundation of successful DevOps adoption. Culture refers to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that guide the collaboration and alignment of everyone in the value stream. By creating a culture of shared responsibility, teams can manage the tensions caused by differing needs, such as speed, quality, security, and stability. A culture of shared responsibility means that everyone is accountable for the outcomes of their work, and that they work together to deliver value to the customers. It also means that teams respect each other's roles and expertise, and seek feedback and learning opportunities. A culture of shared responsibility fosters trust, transparency, and continuous improvement, which are essential for DevOps.

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, servant leaders can encourage team member personal growth in several ways. However, based on the options provided, the most appropriate method would be:

Pair team members together to complete new or unique work

This approach is in line with the SAFe principle of fostering a learning culture. By pairing team members together, they can learn from each other, share knowledge, and develop new skills. This not only promotes personal growth but also enhances team performance and productivity.

Here's a brief explanation of why the other options are less suitable:

• Encourage team members to complete more work within areas in which they are comfortable: This approach may not necessarily promote personal growth as it does not challenge team members to learn new skills or step out of their comfort zones.
• Assign development paths to team members based on their current skills: While this can help team members improve their existing skills, it may not encourage them to learn new ones, limiting their personal growth.
• Encourage spending more time in their role over formal learning: This approach may lead to stagnation and limit personal growth as it does not provide opportunities for team members to learn new skills or gain new knowledge.

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the Agile Release Train (ART) is a long-lived team of agile teams, which, along with other stakeholders, incrementally develops, delivers, and where applicable operates, one or more solutions in a value stream.

The information shared between the teams on an ART includes:

Option 1: A set of metrics

Metrics are used to measure the progress and performance of the teams. They are shared among the teams to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.

Option 2: A set of regulations

Regulations may be shared among teams to ensure compliance with certain standards or practices. However, this is not a primary focus of the ART.

Option 3: A common mission using a single backlog

This is the correct answer. In an ART, all teams work towards a common mission and use a single backlog. This ensures that all teams are aligned and working towards the same objectives.

Option 4: A commitment to business agility

While a commitment to business agility is important in SAFe, it is not a type of information that is shared among teams on an ART.

Here is the answer in a table format:

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the common anti-pattern for teams trying to prepare their draft objectives at PI planning is:

Too much time is spent analyzing each Story

This is considered an anti-pattern because it can lead to analysis paralysis, where the team spends so much time trying to understand every detail of each story that they lose sight of the bigger picture and delay the planning process. The focus during PI planning should be on understanding the high-level objectives and how the team can work together to achieve them, rather than getting bogged down in the details of individual stories.

Remember, the goal of PI planning is to align the team on the objectives for the upcoming Program Increment and to create a plan to achieve those objectives. It's important to strike a balance between understanding the details of the work and maintaining a focus on the overall objectives.

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 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

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

The CALMR approach to DevOps, as outlined in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0, stands for Culture, Automation, Lean, Measurement, and Recovery. Each letter in the acronym represents a key element of the approach.

Given the options you provided, the correct answer is:

• Create a culture of shared responsibility

This aligns with the 'Culture' aspect of the CALMR approach. In this context, culture refers to fostering a collaborative environment where everyone shares responsibility for the delivery and stability of the system.

Here's a brief overview of what each element in the CALMR approach stands for:

One of the recommended practices for Scrum Masters/Team Coaches when facilitating Iteration Review is to begin to consider how and what to demo in Iteration Planning. This helps the team to have a clear vision of the expected outcome and to align their work with the iteration goals. It also facilitates the preparation and execution of the demo, as the team can anticipate the feedback and questions from the stakeholders. (Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the best way for a Scrum Master/Team Coach to build a high-performing team from the options provided is:

Encourage team members to acquire t-shaped skills

Explanation

T-shaped skills refer to the ability of a team member to contribute broadly (the horizontal bar of the 'T') across many areas, while also having deep expertise in a specific area (the vertical bar of the 'T'). This concept is central to Agile and SAFe methodologies, as it promotes flexibility, collaboration, and efficiency within teams.

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

• Encourage handoffs to allow each team member to contribute: Handoffs can lead to delays and miscommunication. SAFe promotes collective ownership and continuous collaboration instead.
• Suppress team conflicts to encourage more productivity: Suppressing conflicts can lead to unresolved issues and resentment within the team. It's better to facilitate healthy conflict resolution.
• Assign Stories so the team does not have to pull from the Kanban: This goes against the principle of self-organization in Agile and SAFe. Teams should pull work as capacity allows, promoting ownership and commitment.

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%.

The team aligns on the progress of Iteration Goals

Explanation

In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the Team Sync event is a crucial part of the Agile Release Train (ART). It is a daily meeting where team members synchronize their work and progress towards the Iteration Goals.

The main objectives of the Team Sync event are:

• To align the team on what was done the previous day
• To plan the work for the current day
• To identify any obstacles or impediments that might hinder progress

The other options provided are related to different events in the SAFe methodology:

• "The team is able to prepare requirements for Iteration Planning" - This is related to the Pre-Iteration Planning phase.
• "The team is able to commit to a set of goals to be delivered in the Iteration" - This is the outcome of the Iteration Planning event.
• "The team reviews and improves processes before the next Iteration" - This is the purpose of the Iteration Retrospective event.

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.

One example of Scrum Masters/Team Coaches helping without diminishing the commitment of others is facilitating necessary meetings for the team.Facilitating means providing guidance and support to the team in conducting effective and productive meetings, such as Iteration Planning, Daily Stand-up, Iteration Review, and Iteration Retrospective1Facilitating does not mean taking over the meeting or making decisions for the team.Rather, it means creating a safe and respectful environment, ensuring clear and shared objectives, encouraging participation and collaboration, managing time and agenda, resolving conflicts and issues, and summarizing outcomes and action items23By facilitating necessary meetings for the team, Scrum Masters/Team Coaches help the team to achieve their goals, improve their processes, and deliver value to the customers and the organization14At the same time, they respect and empower the team's autonomy, self-organization, and self-management, and do not interfere with their commitment or accountability14

(Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, the correct statement about the team backlog is:

The team backlog is where the team refines possible Stories

Explanation

The team backlog is a prioritized list of work for the Agile Team. It includes:

• User Stories
• Defects
• Enablers

The team backlog is the property of the Agile Team and they are responsible for maintaining it. The team backlog is where the team refines possible Stories, not where they commit to work, finalize work, or accept Stories.

The process of refining Stories involves breaking down large Stories (also known as Epics) into smaller, more manageable pieces, and then further elaborating on these pieces as necessary. This process is also known as backlog grooming or backlog refinement.

Here is a simplified representation of the process:

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:

According to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, all four characteristics mentioned are crucial for a high-performing team. However, in the context of your question, where two developers have different ideas on how to implement a solution, the most relevant characteristic would be Healthy Conflict.

Explanation

• Healthy Conflict: This is a key characteristic of high-performing teams. It allows for the open discussion of ideas, where each team member feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions. In this scenario, the two developers can engage in a constructive debate about their differing ideas, which can lead to a more robust and well-thought-out solution.

Here's a brief overview of how the other characteristics contribute to a high-performing team:

• Mutual Trust: This is the foundation of any team. It allows team members to feel safe in expressing their ideas and opinions, knowing that they will be respected and considered.
• Effective Decision-Making: This characteristic ensures that decisions are made in a timely and efficient manner, with the input of all team members. It's crucial for moving projects forward and avoiding stagnation.
• Clear Goals and Purpose: Having a clear understanding of the team's goals and purpose helps to align all team members and keeps everyone focused on the same objectives.