SAFe-Agilist Sample Questions Answers

Uncommitted objectives are counted when calculating load. Load is a measure of how much work a team can realistically accomplish in a PI. Load is calculated by adding up the story points of all the committed and uncommitted objectives of a team. Committed objectives areSMART goals that reflect the value that each team intends to deliver in a PI with high confidence. Uncommitted objectives are stretch goals that reflect additional value that each team may be able to deliver in a PI if they have extra capacity or time. Uncommitted objectives are not included in the commitment or the business value scoring, but they are included in the load to account for their potential impact on team capacity. References: PI Planning, Team PI Objectives

Guiding investments by horizon is the Lean budget guardrail that helps ensure the appropriate allocation of budgets to balance near-term opportunities with long-term strategy and growth. A Lean budget guardrail is a policy or guideline that governs how the portfolio operates within the Lean budgeting system. Guiding investments by horizon means allocating budgets across three time horizons: Horizon 1 (current value streams), Horizon 2 (emerging opportunities), and Horizon 3 (exploration and innovation). This helps the portfolio balance the exploitation of existing markets with the exploration of new ones, and foster a culture of experimentation and learning. References: Lean Portfolio Management, Traditional and Lean Budgeting Approaches

This statement is one of the values from the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto is a declaration of four values and twelve principles that guide Agile software development. The four values are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; and responding to change over following a plan. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation means that Agile teams value building strong relationships with their customers based on trust, feedback, and shared understanding, rather than relying on rigid contracts that limit flexibility and creativity. References: Thriving in the Digital Age, Agile Manifesto

The reason why business owners assign business value to team PI objectives is to empower teams to make decisions around work. Business value is a relative measure of the importance of a work item or an outcome to the business. Team PI objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that reflect the value that each team intends to deliver in a PI. Business owners assign business value points to each team PI objective based on their alignment with the program vision and objectives. This helps teams prioritize their work, balance their capacity, negotiate dependencies, and make trade-offs based on value delivery. References: PI Planning, Business Owners

Mindset and principles is one of the dimensions of Lean-Agile Leadership. Lean-Agile Leadership is one of the core competencies of business agility in SAFe. Lean-Agile Leadership means exhibiting the behaviors that enable an organization to achieve business agility. Lean-Agile Leadership has three dimensions: mindset and principles; leading change; and developing people. Mindset and principles means adopting the values and principles of Lean thinking and Agile development, and applying them to lead others in achieving business agility. References: Lean-Agile Leadership, Mindset and Principles

SWOT and TOWS are used to brainstorm potential portfolio future states. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. SWOT analysis is a tool that helps identify the internal and external factors that affect the portfolio’s performance and position in the market. TOWS is an acronym for Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths. TOWS analysis is a tool that helps generate strategic alternatives based on the SWOT factors. SWOT and TOWS help create a portfolio vision that reflects the desired future state of the portfolio. References: SAFe Portfolio, Portfolio Canvas

A SAFe portfolio is a collection of development value streams. A development value stream is a long-lived series of steps that an enterprise uses to continuously deliver value to a customer or stakeholder. A development value stream typically consists of one or more ARTs and Solution Trains that build and deliver solutions. A SAFe portfolio aligns and governs one or more development value streams that share a common business mission, vision, strategy, and funding. A SAFe portfolio helps enterprises achieve Lean Portfolio Management, which is one of the core competencies of business agility in SAFe. References: SAFe Portfolio, Development Value Streams

This statement is true about batch size. Batch size is the amount of work that moves as a unit through a process or system. Large batch sizes increase variability by creating more uncertainty, complexity, dependencies, and unpredictability in the workflow. Large batch sizes also increase waste by causing delays, queues, handoffs, rework, overproduction, and inventory accumulation. Reducing batch size is one of the key ways to optimize value delivery and improve flow efficiency. References: SAFe Lean-Agile Principles, SAFe Principle #5

Restoring the speed and innovation of the entrepreneurial network while leveraging the stability of the hierarchical system is a benefit of adopting a dual operating system. A dual operating system is a way of organizing an enterprise that combines two complementary structures: a traditional hierarchy that provides stability, alignment, and efficiency; and a network of empowered teams that provides speed, agility, and creativity. A dual operating system helps enterprises achieve organizational agility, which is one of the core competencies of business agility in SAFe. References: Organizational Agility, Dual Operating System

The business owner is the person who decides the team PI objective business value scoring after negotiation. The business owner is a key stakeholder who has the primary business and technical responsibility for governance, compliance, and return on investment (ROI) for a specific value stream. The business owner participates in the PI planning event and assigns business value points to each team PI objective based on their alignment with the program vision and objectives. The business owner also reviews and approves the final plan and value scores after the team and program risks are resolved. References: PI Planning, Business Owners