Scaled Agile SSM - SSM (6.0) - SAFe Scrum Master Practice 6.0

One benefit of having an IP Iteration every PI is that it creates an estimating buffer for meeting PI objectives. PI objectives are a set of SMART goals that align the teams and stakeholders to a common vision and mission for the upcoming Program Increment (PI). They are derived from the business context, priorities, and dependencies, and are agreed upon and committed by the teams during PI Planning1 However, since PI objectives are based on estimates and assumptions, there is always a degree of uncertainty and variability in the delivery process. To account for this, SAFe recommends that teams reserve 10% of their capacity for each PI as an estimating buffer. This buffer is used during the IP Iteration, which is a unique, dedicated iteration that occurs every PI and provides dedicated time for innovation, continuing education, PI Planning, and Inspect and Adapt events2 By having an IP Iteration as an estimating buffer, the teams can improve the predictability and flow of value delivery, as well as reduce the stress and pressure of meeting the PI objectives23 

According to the SAFe 6 Scrum Master documentation, one of the metrics that are reported at the Inspect and Adapt event is the ART predictability measure. This metric shows how well the ART delivers on its PI objectives, which are the SMART commitments made by the teams during PI planning. The ART predictability measure is calculated by dividing the total actual business value achieved by the total planned business value, as shown in the PI system demo. The ART predictability measure helps the ART to assess its performance, identify gaps, and improve its forecasting accuracy and reliability.

Without DevOps, organizations often face significant disconnects between development and operations teams. In traditional setups, developers build the software and then “hand it off” to operations teams for deployment and maintenance. This siloed approach creates delays, quality issues, and feedback gaps.

DevOps bridges this divide by integrating development and operations into a continuous delivery pipeline that promotes automation, collaboration, and shared responsibility for outcomes. SAFe emphasizes DevOps as a key enabler of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, ensuring faster delivery of value, higher quality, and improved customer satisfaction.

From SAFe guidance:

“Without DevOps, organizations experience challenges between teams that build solutions and those who operate them. DevOps practices close this gap, fostering collaboration and accelerating the flow of value.”

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Challenges between teams that build Solutions and those who operate the Solutions.

In SAFe®, the Iteration Review is the event where the Agile Team measures and demonstrates the outcome of the iteration. The team reviews the completed work, compares it against the iteration goals, and gathers feedback from stakeholders.

This review allows the team to assess whether the iteration delivered the intended value and identify areas for improvement in future iterations. The focus is on transparency, empirical measurement, and alignment to customer needs.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Iteration Review provides the opportunity for the team to demonstrate the increment, measure progress toward iteration goals, and collect feedback.”

Thus, the correct answer is A. The Iteration Review, as it specifically measures the outcome of the iteration and validates progress.

One recommended practice for Scrum Masters/Team Coaches when coaching teams on presenting a draft plan at PI Planning is to align on how the team will answer questions about their proposed objectives. This practice helps the team to prepare for the feedback and input they will receive from the business owners, product management, and other teams and stakeholders during the draft plan review. The team should agree on who will present the objectives, how they will explain the business value and technical feasibility, and how they will handle any objections or concerns. The team should also rehearse their presentation and anticipate potential questions and scenarios. By aligning on how to answer questions, the team can increase their confidence and clarity, and demonstrate their commitment and alignment to the vision and goals of the ART.

During PI Planning, teams are expected to create draft PI Objectives that summarize the business value they intend to deliver. However, a common anti-pattern occurs when teams spend too much time analyzing each Story instead of focusing on higher-level outcomes.

The goal of draft objectives is to express intent, alignment, and expected value—not to finalize every technical detail or task. Over-analyzing individual stories during PI Planning slows progress, distracts from collaboration with other teams, and limits the time available for identifying dependencies and risks.

From SAFe guidance:

“Teams should avoid excessive analysis of stories during PI Planning. The focus should be on creating draft objectives that align with business value and ART goals.”

Thus, the correct answer is A. Too much time is spent analyzing each Story, as it prevents the team from maintaining the right level of planning abstraction.

Backlog Refinement is the Agile Team event where team members estimate relative story sizes. Backlog Refinement is an ongoing process where the team collaborates with the Product Owner and other stakeholders to review, split, prioritize, and estimate the stories in the Team Backlog1 One of the main objectives of Backlog Refinement is to ensure that the stories are ready for Iteration Planning, which means they are clear, feasible, testable, and small enough to be completed in a single iteration2 To achieve this, the team uses relative story sizing, which is a technique to compare the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of different stories based on a common reference point3 Relative story sizing helps the team to create a consistent and shared understanding of the scope and value of the work, as well as to optimize the flow and predictability of the delivery process4 The team can use various methods to estimate relative story sizes, such as story points, T-shirt sizes, or Fibonacci numbers35