SAFe-SASM SAFe Advanced Scrum Master (SASM) Questions and Answers

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.

Refactoring code involves making small, incremental changes to the internal structure of the code without altering its external behavior. The goal of refactoring is to improve code readability, maintainability, and performance while ensuring that the functionality remains unchanged. This practice helps in reducing technical debt, enhancing the quality of the codebase, and making future changes easier and less error-prone.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Agile Principles: continuous improvement and refactoring

SAFe 5.0 framework: best practices for maintaining high-quality code through refactoring

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 References

SAFe Lean-Agile Principles: economic view and value delivery

SAFe 5.0 framework: ensuring investments align with economic benefits

SAFe Core Valuesare the fundamental beliefs that guide behaviors and decision-making in SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework). They are critical for fostering a culture that supports Lean-Agile principles.

Transparency:

Definition:Transparency in SAFe means having an open and honest environment where everyone has access to the information they need. It involves making work visible to all stakeholders, sharing risks, and ensuring that everyone understands the status of the work.

Importance:Transparency enables trust across the Agile Release Train (ART) because it ensures that everyone is aware of what is happening, leading to informed decision-making and reducing misunderstandings. It builds a culture of openness and accountability.

SAFe Framework Reference:In SAFe, transparency is crucial for effective collaboration and alignment across teams and stakeholders. It ensures that progress, challenges, and changes are communicated openly, fostering trust and collective problem-solving.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe training materials emphasize the importance of transparency as a core value that underpins trust and collaboration within and across teams.

The SAFe website and guides detail how transparency is implemented through various practices like visual management, open communication, and regular feedback loops.

The decision to implement pair programming in future iterations is a team-level improvement action that stems from reflecting on their current processes and identifying areas for enhancement. This is best captured during the team's retrospective:

Retrospective Purpose:The retrospective is a regular meeting where the team reflects on what went well, what didn’t, and what could be improved.

Action Items:Decisions and action items, such as adopting pair programming, are documented in the retrospective notes to ensure they are followed up in future iterations.

Continuous Improvement:Capturing this in the retrospective notes ensures the team is committed to continuous improvement and has a clear record of their decisions and plans for process enhancements.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Team Retrospectives​​.

The first step a team should take to feed potential problems into the Problem Solving workshop is to analyze quantitative and qualitative metrics. These metrics provide objective data about the team's performance and can highlight areas where issues may be occurring. By reviewing these metrics, the team can identify trends, pinpoint specific problems, and prioritize them for discussion in the Problem Solving workshop. This approach ensures that the workshop focuses on data-driven issues, leading to more effective and targeted solutions.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe 5.0 framework: importance of data-driven decision-making and problem-solving

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master learning materials: analyzing metrics for continuous improvement

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 References:

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​​.

Achieving Continuous Deployment involves several practices, one of which is decoupling deployment from release. This means that code can be deployed to production continuously and automatically, but it is only released to end-users when it is appropriate. Decoupling these processes allows for more frequent and reliable deployments without affecting the user experience until the features are ready for release. This practice helps in maintaining system stability and enabling faster feedback loops.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Continuous Delivery Pipeline: practices for Continuous Deployment

SAFe 5.0 framework: decoupling deployment and release for continuous improvement

WIP (Work in Process):Refers to the number of work items that are in progress at any given time.

Impact of High WIP:Having too many items in progress can lead to context switching, inefficiencies, and delays, ultimately slowing down the overall throughput of the team.

Throughput:The rate at which the team completes work items. Reducing WIP helps the team focus on completing tasks, leading to faster throughput and better flow of work.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe emphasizes limiting WIP to improve flow efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and increase throughput.

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 References:

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.

Creating a buffer state between two states in a Kanban board can help regulate the flow of work and address the varying completion times.

Buffer State Purpose:Acts as a holding area to balance the flow between different stages of work, smoothing out variances in completion times.

Flow Regulation:Ensures that work can continue smoothly without bottlenecks or idle times.

Work In Progress (WIP) Limits:Helps maintain a steady flow by preventing too much work from accumulating in any one state.

This approach aligns with Lean principles of managing flow and reducing variability in processes.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Training Material, Chapter on Kanban Systems​​.

Communities of Practice (CoPs):CoPs are groups of people who share a common interest in a particular domain or practice and come together to share knowledge, solve problems, and improve their skills.

Improvement Roadmap:When creating an Improvement Roadmap, CoPs provide valuable insights and guidance on best practices, emerging trends, and effective techniques for improving technical practices.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe recognizes CoPs as a vital resource for fostering continuous learning and improvement within organizations. They provide a platform for practitioners to exchange ideas and elevate their practices.

In a Kanban system, average lead time is measured by observing the horizontal distance between the arrival and departure lines on a cumulative flow diagram (CFD). The CFD visualizes the flow of work items through various stages of the workflow. The horizontal distance between thepoints where work items enter and leave a particular stage represents the lead time. By calculating this distance over multiple items, teams can determine the average lead time, providing insights into process efficiency and areas for potential improvement.

The Scrum Master should coach Lee to discuss his progress in the context of the Iteration goals. By framing his updates around how his work contributes to the broader objectives of the iteration, Lee can provide the team with better visibility into his progress and the impact of his work. This approach encourages team members to think beyond individual tasks and understand how their efforts align with the team's goals, fostering greater collaboration and accountability.

SAFe Scrum Master References

SAFe Principles: focusing on outcomes and aligning individual efforts with team goals

SAFe 5.0 framework: effective daily stand-up practices

Relentless Improvement:This principle is a cornerstone of Agile and SAFe. It encourages teams to continuously seek ways to improve their processes, quality, and performance.

Scrum Master Role:The Scrum Master supports the team by fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This involves facilitating retrospectives, encouraging experimentation, and helping the team reflect on their practices and outcomes.

Taking Responsibility:By promoting relentless improvement, the Scrum Master helps the team take ownership of their actions and outcomes, driving self-management and accountability.

SAFe Scrum Master References:

SAFe emphasizes the role of the Scrum Master in supporting continuous improvement initiatives and helping teams develop a mindset of ongoing learning and development.