Scaled Agile SP-SAFe-Practitioner - SAFe for Teams SP (6.0) - SAFe Practitioner

= The SAFe Lean-Agile principle that involves delivering a continuous flow of value to customers in the shortest sustainable lead time is “Make value flow without interruptions”. This principle is based on the Lean concept of optimizing the whole value stream, from concept to cash, by eliminating delays, queues, handoffs, and rework. By applying practices such as limiting work in progress (WIP), reducing batch sizes, managing queue lengths, and implementing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), SAFe teams and trains can accelerate the flow of value and feedback, improve quality and reliability, and reduce waste and overhead. References: = SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Scaled Agile Framework, Accelerating Flow with SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework1, The Five Principles of Lean - Project Management Institute

The Iteration Review is a cadence-based event, where each team inspects the increment at the end of every Iteration to assess progress, and then adjusts its backlog for the next iteration. During the Iteration review, each Agile Team measures and then demonstrates its progress by showing working stories to the Product Owner and other stakeholders to get their feedback1. The Iteration Review provides two views into the program: how the team is doing on the Program Increment and how the team did on the Iteration. The first view shows how the team is progressing toward its Team Program Increment (PI) Objectives, which are the measurable outcomes that the team intends to achieve in a PI2. The second view shows how the team performed in the current Iteration, based on the Iteration Goals and the completed stories1. The other options are not views that the Iteration Review provides into the program, but rather aspects of the team culture or behavior that may be influenced by other events or practices in SAFe. References: Iteration Review - Scaled Agile Framework, Team PI Objectives - Scaled Agile Framework

Precisely specify value by product” is one of the five key principles of Lean Thinking, as defined by James Womack and Daniel Jones in their book “Lean Thinking”. It means that value should be determined by the customer’s needs and preferences for each specific product or service, rather than by the producer’s assumptions or standards. This principle helps to eliminate waste, optimize flow, and increase customer satisfaction. References: Lean-Agile Mindset, Lean Manufacturing, What is Lean?

An effective Scrum Master is a servant leader who helps the team self-organize, collaborate, and deliver value. They also exhibit Lean-Agile Leadership by embracing the SAFe Core Values, Principles, and Practices, and by coaching the team and stakeholders on how to apply them. Additionally, an effective Scrum Master facilitates the team’s progress toward the Iteration goals by removing impediments, ensuring alignment with the Product Owner and other teams, and fostering continuous improvement. References: Scrum Master - Scaled Agile Framework, SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 2, Exam Study Guide: SP (6.0) - SAFe® Practitioner

 An Agile Team collects the Iteration Metrics they have agreed upon during the quantitative part of the team retrospective. This is the part where the team assesses whether they met the Iteration Goals using a binary (yes or no) measure, and reviews the metrics that provide visibility and insight into the team’s performance and process improvement. Examples of Iteration Metrics include flow metrics, such as flow velocity, load and distribution, defects addressed, and automated test coverage. The team uses these metrics to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement, and to inform their qualitative feedback and improvement stories. References: Iteration Retrospective - Scaled Agile Framework, Metrics - Scaled Agile Framework

One of the tools associated with Design Thinking is empathy maps, which are a visual way to capture and organize the user’s needs, goals, pains, and gains. Empathy maps help the team to understand the user’s perspective, empathize with their emotions, and design solutions that address their problems and aspirations. Empathy maps are typically created during the Discover phase of Design Thinking, where the team conducts user research and synthesizes the findings. References: SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 1; v5.scaledagileframework.com/design-thinking/; v5.scaledagileframework.com/get-feedback/

The final plan review is the last activity of the PI planning event, where the teams present their final plans and objectives to the group. The Business Owners review the plans and propose adjustments or accept the plan, in which case, the team brings out their PI Objective sheet for everyone to view1. The final plan review is also an opportunity to assess the program risks and ROAM them (Resolved, Owned, Accepted, Mitigated)2. The final plan review helps achieve alignment and commitment among all the stakeholders and teams on the ART3. References: PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework, ROAMing Risks - Scaled Agile Framework, Final Plan Review - Scaled Agile Framework

SAFe Implementation Roadmap is a template for putting SAFe into practice within an organization. It consists of an overview graphic and a 14-article series that describes a strategy and an ordered set of activities for successfully implementing SAFe. The roadmap is based on proven organizational change management strategies and successful adoption patterns from hundreds of the world’s largest enterprises. The roadmap helps leaders and change agents to script the critical moves, create a sense of urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a strategic vision, enlist a volunteer army, enable action by removing barriers, generate short-term wins, sustain acceleration, and institute change. References: Implementation Roadmap - Scaled Agile Framework, SAFe® for Teams - Know Your Role on an Agile Team | Scaled Agile

Value is the first and most important pillar in the House of Lean, which is a model that guides the Lean-Agile transformation and culture. Value means delivering the maximum benefit to the customer in the shortest sustainable lead time, while providing the best quality and lowest cost possible1. Value is the ultimate goal of the House of Lean, and it is achieved by applying the other pillars: innovation, relentless improvement, leadership, and respect for people and culture2. Value is also the foundation of the Lean-Agile mindset, which is the way of thinking and acting that enables Business Agility3. Value focuses on the customer as the consumer of the work, and requires understanding and meeting their needs, expectations, and desires4. References: = 1: SAFe Core Values - Scaled Agile Framework1; 2: The SAFe House of Lean model: short and sweet - Echometer2; 3: Lean-Agile Mindset - Scaled Agile Framework3; 4: Exploring Which Pillar in the House of Lean Focuses on the Customer4

he Problem Solving Workshop is a structured approach to identifying the root cause and actions to address systemic problems. It is part of the Inspect and Adapt event that occurs at the end of each Program Increment. The six steps in the Problem Solving Workshop are:

Choose a problem to solve—agreement not required: The Release Train Engineer (RTE) facilitates a brainstorming session to generate a list of potential problems that affect the ART’s performance. The participants use dot voting to prioritize the problems and select the most important one to solve. Agreement is not required, as the majority vote determines the problem to focus on.

Perform root cause analysis: The RTE leads the team in applying the ‘Five Whys’ technique to drill down to the root cause of the problem. The team asks ‘why’ repeatedly until they reach a cause that is actionable and within their control.

Brainstorm solutions: The team generates a list of possible solutions to address the root cause. They use divergent thinking to come up with as many ideas as possible, without judging or evaluating them.

Decide on the best solution: The team uses convergent thinking to narrow down the list of solutions and select the best one. They can use criteria such as feasibility, impact, cost, and alignment with the SAFe Principles and Values to evaluate the solutions.

Define and visualize the improvement backlog items: The team defines the improvement backlog items that will implement the chosen solution. They write them in the format of ‘As a [role], I can [action], so that [outcome]’. They also visualize the items on a Kanban board or a similar tool to track their progress and status.

Assign owners and agree on the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals: The team assigns owners to each improvement backlog item and agrees on the SMART goals that will measure the success of the solution. They also define the acceptance criteria and the expected benefits of the improvement.

References: Inspect and Adapt - Scaled Agile Framework, Problem-solving workshop: Step-by-Step - Agilephoria, SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 7, Exam Study Guide: SP (6.0) - SAFe® Practitioner