Agile Leadership Flashcards

Which two items should b kept under version control? (Choose two.)

Answer: Test data

Test data must be version controlled because changes to it directly affect whether tests pass or fail, and reproducibility depends on knowing exactly what data was used. Infrastructure configuration code is similarly tracked. Scrum of Scrum results, WSJF outcomes, and archived User Stories are meeting outputs or planning records — they are not technical artifacts whose changes need to be tracked to reproduce a build or test run.

What are two responsibilities of the Release Train Engineer as chief Scrum Master for the Agile Release Train (ART) (Choose two.)

Answer: Escalate ART impediments

As chief Scrum Master for the ART, the RTE is responsible for facilitating ART-level events and escalating impediments that teams cannot resolve on their own. Breaking down Features into Stories is a Product Owner responsibility. Providing go/no-go decisions for large initiatives belongs to Business Owners or leadership, not the RTE. Analyzing Epics in the Portfolio Kanban is a Portfolio Management and Lean Portfolio Management activity, outside the RTE's domain.

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) learns the teams feel the business value does not reflect the effort and progress. What are two ways the RTE can provide a better understanding of what the teams have created? (Choose two.)

Answer: Coach the Business Owner's review of objectives to see that scoring is against the specific details negotiated with the team during PI Planning

Business value is scored by Business Owners based on the specific outcomes negotiated with teams during PI Planning, not on effort or speed of execution. Coaching Business Owners to evaluate objectives against what was actually committed and delivered gives teams a fair and accurate reflection of their work. Educating teams that business value measures execution speed is incorrect — it measures outcome achievement. Linking business values to market communications is a separate enterprise-level concern, not a tool for helping teams understand their own scores.

Several Scrum Masters seem to be deadlocked in a disagreement on what to do about a shared issue. What is an appropriate coaching technique for the RTE to use?

Answer: Asking powerful questions to invite creativity and new possibilities

Asking powerful questions is a core coaching technique that helps people unlock their own thinking and discover creative solutions rather than relying on an external authority. The RTE's role is to facilitate and coach, not to act as a decision-maker or impose answers. Driving metrics-based assessments or invoking lean-agile principles could be useful in other contexts, but neither directly breaks a deadlock by inviting the group to generate new possibilities themselves.

Which statement describes the three elements that the Innovation and Planning Iteration provides?

Answer: Innovation, Planning and an estimating guard band

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration serves three purposes: providing time for innovation activities, planning the next PI, and acting as an estimating guard band to absorb any iteration overruns. It is not used for releasing or continuous integration, which happen throughout the PI. User story refinement and estimating techniques are regular iteration activities, not the defining elements of the IP Iteration specifically.

What are personas?

Answer: Fictional representations

Personas are fictional, archetypal representations of user types constructed to guide product and design decisions — they are not descriptions of real individuals. Creating a fictional character based on research allows teams to empathize with a user type without relying on any one real person. The option describing 'actual target customers' is incorrect because personas are deliberately abstracted composites, not real people.

Which type of Enabler does a System Architect review during a System Demo?

Answer: Enabler Epics

In SAFe's hierarchy, Enabler Epics operate at the portfolio level, which aligns with the scope a System Architect oversees during a System Demo. Enabler Features exist at the ART/program level, Enabler Capabilities at the large solution level, and Enabler Stories at the team level. The System Demo focuses on integrated system-level work, making Enabler Epics the appropriate artifact for a System Architect to review there.

Which SAFe Core Competency incorporates guidance on coordinating trains and suppliers?

Answer: Enterprise Solution Delivery

Enterprise Solution Delivery is the SAFe Core Competency that addresses how organizations build and evolve large, complex systems spanning multiple ARTs, suppliers, and value streams. Coordinating trains and suppliers is explicitly part of this competency's guidance. Business Agility, Measure and Grow, and Lean Portfolio Management each address different concerns and do not specifically focus on multi-ART and supplier coordination.

Which SAFe Core Competency requires exemplifying the principles and values of lean-agile?

Answer: Lean-Agile Leadership

Lean-Agile Leadership is the competency that requires leaders to embody and exemplify lean-agile principles and values, acting as role models rather than just issuing directives. The premise is that transformation starts with leaders changing their own mindset and behavior. Continuous Learning Culture focuses on organizational learning habits, Agile Product Delivery on customer-centric delivery, and Organizational Agility on strategic responsiveness — none of these center on leaders personally modeling values.

At which Tuckman stage would an ART be if it is improving engineering practices and fostering more effective communication?

Answer: Norming

In Tuckman's model, the Norming stage is when a team moves past conflict and begins establishing shared norms, improving practices, and communicating more effectively. Forming is the initial orientation stage, Storming involves conflict and disagreement, and Performing is when the team operates at peak efficiency. An ART improving engineering practices and communication has moved past conflict (Storming) but has not yet reached peak performance (Performing), placing it squarely in Norming.

Which two actions must the Release Train Engineer (RTE) take when facilitating the Pro-gram Increment (PI) Planning event? (Choose two.)

Answer: Distribute the PI Planning agenda to the Agile Teams

The RTE is responsible for facilitating PI Planning logistics, which includes distributing the agenda to Agile Teams so everyone understands the schedule and expectations. Prioritizing features is the responsibility of Product Management, not the RTE. Purchasing snacks and wearing a visor are not SAFe-defined RTE responsibilities, making them incorrect options regardless of how common those behaviors might be in practice.