CDA Value Stream Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which waste category from lean thinking describes defects found late in the value stream that require rework?
- Transportation waste
- Overproduction
- Correction waste (defects) (Correct answer)
- Motion waste
Correct answer: Correction waste (defects)
Correction waste (defects) refers to work that must be redone because quality issues were not caught early, consuming resources without adding net value.
Question 2: What is the primary goal of creating a future-state value stream map?
- To document existing processes for compliance auditing
- To design an improved flow with waste removed and pull systems in place (Correct answer)
- To identify which team members are underutilized
- To calculate the total cost of the current process
Correct answer: To design an improved flow with waste removed and pull systems in place
The future-state VSM envisions the ideal flow after eliminating identified waste, implementing pull, and applying continuous-flow principles.
Question 3: In SAFe-aligned value stream management within DA, an 'operational value stream' is best described as:
- The series of steps used to build and deliver a solution
- The steps used by an organization to provide products or services to customers (Correct answer)
- A backlog of features sorted by business value
- An agile release train's sprint sequence
Correct answer: The steps used by an organization to provide products or services to customers
Operational value streams represent the end-to-end series of activities that deliver products or services directly to external customers.
Question 4: Which tool is most directly used to visualize and quantify waste within an existing value stream?
- Current-state value stream map (Correct answer)
- Cumulative flow diagram
- Sprint velocity chart
- Risk burndown chart
Correct answer: Current-state value stream map
The current-state VSM captures all process steps, wait times, inventory, and information flows, making waste visible for analysis.
Question 5: A team notices that features are frequently waiting several days between development completion and QA testing. This wait represents which type of waste?
- Overproduction
- Inventory/queue waste (Correct answer)
- Over-processing
- Skills underutilization
Correct answer: Inventory/queue waste
Items waiting between process steps accumulate as inventory or queue waste, adding lead time without adding customer value.
Question 6: When applying a pull-based system in a value stream, work is initiated by:
- A project manager's release schedule
- A signal from a downstream process indicating readiness to consume more work (Correct answer)
- The completion of the previous batch
- Monthly planning cycles
Correct answer: A signal from a downstream process indicating readiness to consume more work
Pull systems use downstream signals (such as kanban cards) to trigger upstream production only when capacity and demand align, limiting WIP.
Question 7: What does 'value stream mapping at the portfolio level' primarily help an organization achieve?
- Estimating individual story points for backlog items
- Identifying which value streams to invest in, accelerate, or retire based on strategic alignment (Correct answer)
- Assigning team members to specific roles
- Tracking daily stand-up attendance
Correct answer: Identifying which value streams to invest in, accelerate, or retire based on strategic alignment
Portfolio-level VSM helps executives see which end-to-end streams deliver strategic value and guides investment decisions about where to scale, optimize, or wind down.
CDA Value Stream Management 3
Which waste category from lean thinking describes defects found late in the value stream that require rework?