Scaled Agile SAFe-SGP Practice Test Questions Answers

According to the Government Article on the Scaled Agile Framework website, feature progress charts and burn-up charts are two visual reporting tools that can be used to help maintain fiduciary tracking of government technology programs. The article states that “SAFe provides a wide array of metrics and management tools to monitor program performance. Other metrics—such as feature progress charts, ART Kanban boards, burn-up charts, and continuous flow diagrams (Figure 3)—make program performance highly visible and transparent, enabling better fiduciary control.” Therefore, the correct answers are C, feature progress charts, and D, burn-up charts. The other options are not accurate, as they are not the visual reporting tools that can be used to help maintain fiduciary tracking of government technology programs. Detailed spreadsheets (A) are not visual tools, but rather data sources that can be used to create visual reports. Pro formas (B) are financial statements that project future outcomes, not track current performance. Integrated master schedules (E) are traditional project management tools that show the dependencies and milestones of various tasks, not the value delivery and progress of features.

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is critical to success in SAFe because it provides the following benefits12:

It creates a guard band that ensures program predictability on cadence. The IP iteration acts as an estimating buffer that helps the ART meet their PI objectives and avoid carrying unfinished work into the next PI.

It ensures time for creative problem-solving needed by knowledge workers. The IP iteration allows the ART to explore innovative ideas, conduct research and design activities, and learn new skills and technologies.

It provides a consistent time for PI Planning. The IP iteration includes time for the PI planning event, which aligns the ART with the vision, roadmap, and strategic themes, and establishes the PI objectives and dependencies.

According to the System Demo article on the Scaled Agile Framework website, system demos provide objective evidence of built-in quality and compliance. The article states that “The System Demo is a significant event that provides an integrated view of new Features for the most recent Iteration delivered by all the teams in the Agile Release Train (ART). Each demo gives ART stakeholders an objective measure of progress during a Program Increment (PI). The system demo is part of the inspect and adapt cycle and provides ARTs with the opportunity to assess their current state, adjust, and improve. The system demo also provides feedback on functional and nonfunctional requirements, such as compliance, performance, security, and usability.” Therefore, the correct answer is C, system demos. The other options are not accurate, as they are not the events that provide objective evidence of built-in quality and compliance. PI planning (A) is a face-to-face event that serves as the heartbeat of the ART, aligning all the teams on the ART to a shared mission and vision. Backlog refinement (B) is the process of breaking down, estimating, and prioritizing the backlog items. ART syncs (D) are meetings that facilitate cross-team collaboration and alignment.

The result of traditional ‘at the end’ quality and compliance is that it leads to missed opportunities for iterative compliance assessment1. This means that the quality and compliance activities are deferred until the end of the development cycle, when the solution is already built and ready for testing. This approach increases the risk of finding defects and non-compliances late in the process, which can cause delays, rework, and waste2. It also prevents the teams from getting early feedback and validation from the compliance authorities, which can help them adjust and improve their work incrementally3. By applying the SAFe principle of building incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles, the teams can integrate quality and compliance into their regular flow of work and deliver solutions that meet the regulatory and industry standards more efficiently and effectively4.

1: Government - Building in Quality and Compliance - Scaled Agile Framework 2: Quality vs. Compliance: What is the difference and what are the common pitfalls? - Honeywell 3: Achieving Regulatory and Industry Standards Compliance with the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) 4: Principle #6 – Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths - Scaled Agile Framework

According to the Strategic Themes article on the Scaled Agile Framework website, strategic themes are portfolio-level business objectives that provide competitive differentiation and strategic advantage. They provide business context for portfolio strategy and decision-making, representing aspects of the enterprise’s strategic intent. Strategic themes are best stated in Objective and Key Result (OKR) format. Written in plain business language, these OKRs say what the portfolio will pursue, thus providing decision-makers and contributors at all levels the clarity needed for decentralized decision-making. Therefore, the correct answer is D, create a ‘one-stop shop’ for all citizen-facing services provided by the agency. This is a good example of an agency strategic theme, as it expresses a clear and measurable goal that aligns with the agency’s vision and mission. The other options are not accurate, as they are not good examples of agency strategic themes. Comply with agency development lifecycle regulations (A) is not a strategic theme, but a compliance requirement that applies to all solutions. Reduce agency IT spend (B) is not a strategic theme, but a cost-cutting measure that does not reflect the value proposition of the agency. Improve cost and schedule performance of IT projects © is not a strategic theme, but a project management metric that does not capture the business outcomes of the solutions.