SAFe Scrum Master

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:

One anti-pattern of the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) is to have no actionable improvement Features
created as a result of the problem-solving workshop. This is considered an anti-pattern because the
main goal of the I&A workshop is to identify and address the systemic issues that are limiting the
effectiveness of the Agile Release Train (ART). The workshop should produce one or more
improvement Features that are added to the ART backlog and prioritized for the next PI Planning
event. These Features should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-
bound) and aligned with the ART vision and goals. Without actionable improvement Features, the
ART will miss the opportunity to learn and improve from the feedback and data collected during the
PI.

Iteration Review - Scaled Agile Framework
Exam Study Guide: SSM (6.0) - SAFe® Scrum Master

The correct answer to your question is:

To identify how the Story can be validated

Explanation

In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology, acceptance criteria serve as a set of conditions that a software product must meet to be accepted by a user, a customer, or other system. They are used to describe the functional and non-functional requirements of a feature (or "Story" in Agile terminology) and are defined by the product owner or business representative.

The main purpose of acceptance criteria is to provide clear guidelines on when the implemented story is considered "done". This means they are used to identify how the Story can be validated, ensuring that the developed feature meets the desired functionality and quality.

Here's a simplified version of your options in a table:

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

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.

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, 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.

The purpose of the Coach Sync in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 6.0 methodology is:

To share facilitation ideas

Here's a brief explanation:

The Coach Sync is a meeting where Agile coaches come together to share ideas, discuss challenges, and learn from each other. It's a platform for continuous learning and improvement, where coaches can share facilitation techniques, coaching strategies, and insights from their experiences. This helps to improve the overall effectiveness of the Agile Release Train (ART).

Here's the table with the correct answer:

Remember, the Coach Sync is not primarily about prioritizing backlogs, performing retrospectives, or gaining visibility into progress. While these activities may occur in the context of the Coach Sync, they are not its main purpose. The primary purpose is to share and learn facilitation ideas to improve the effectiveness of the Agile Release Train.

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)

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, Scrum Masters or Team Coaches can escalate Agile Release Train (ART) level impediments during the Scrum of Scrums (SoS) meeting. However, this option is not listed in your provided choices.

From the options you've provided, the closest event where a Scrum Master or Team Coach might escalate ART-level impediments would be the System Sync.

Here's a brief explanation of each event:

System Sync

This is a meeting where teams synchronize their work and resolve any dependencies and issues. It's a suitable place for Scrum Masters or Team Coaches to escalate ART-level impediments.

Coach Sync

This is a meeting for Agile Coaches to align on coaching strategies and share insights. It's not typically a place to escalate ART-level impediments.

PO Sync

This is a meeting for Product Owners to align on the backlog and priorities. It's not typically a place to escalate ART-level impediments.

Product Sync

This is not a standard event in SAFe. It might refer to a meeting where teams align on product features or strategy, but it's not typically a place to escalate ART-level impediments.

Here's a table summarizing the above:

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 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 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.

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.