SAFe PI Planning and Events 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the role of the Business Owners during PI Planning?
- To assign work to individual teams
- To provide business context, clarify priorities, and assign business value scores to PI Objectives (Correct answer)
- To audit the ART's compliance with SAFe practices
- To manage the ART's budget allocation
Correct answer: To provide business context, clarify priorities, and assign business value scores to PI Objectives
Business Owners participate in PI Planning to share business context, clarify goals, and score team PI Objectives with business value (1–10) for accountability.
Question 2: What is a 'Stretch Objective' in a team's PI plan?
- A mandatory goal that must be achieved
- A desirable goal that is planned but not committed to due to uncertainty (Correct answer)
- A goal assigned by management
- A carryover item from the previous PI
Correct answer: A desirable goal that is planned but not committed to due to uncertainty
Stretch Objectives are planned but not committed items — they provide a buffer and represent work the team will attempt if capacity allows.
Question 3: What happens during 'Team Breakouts' in PI Planning?
- Teams attend separate off-site strategy sessions
- Teams independently plan their iterations, identify dependencies, and draft PI Objectives (Correct answer)
- Teams review completed work from the last PI
- Teams complete mandatory SAFe training modules
Correct answer: Teams independently plan their iterations, identify dependencies, and draft PI Objectives
During Team Breakouts, each Agile team plans their sprints within the PI, identifies cross-team dependencies, and drafts their PI Objectives.
Question 4: What does the 'Program Board' track during PI Planning?
- Team member availability and vacation schedules
- Features, cross-team dependencies, milestones, and risks for the upcoming PI (Correct answer)
- Bug counts from the previous PI
- Budget expenditures by team
Correct answer: Features, cross-team dependencies, milestones, and risks for the upcoming PI
The Program Board visualizes Features planned by each team, with dependency threads (strings or lines) showing inter-team dependencies and delivery milestones.
Question 5: How often does PI Planning occur in a typical SAFe implementation?
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Every 8–12 weeks (each PI) (Correct answer)
- Annually
Correct answer: Every 8–12 weeks (each PI)
PI Planning occurs at the beginning of each Program Increment, which runs every 8–12 weeks, creating a regular cadence of alignment.
Question 6: What is the 'PI Confidence Vote' (overall vote) used for at the end of PI Planning?
- To approve individual team plans
- To assess the ART's collective confidence that the overall PI plan is achievable (Correct answer)
- To vote on the next PI Planning date
- To rate the quality of the PI Planning facilitation
Correct answer: To assess the ART's collective confidence that the overall PI plan is achievable
The overall PI Confidence Vote gauges whether the ART collectively believes the committed PI plan is achievable, surfacing systemic concerns before execution begins.
SAFe PI Planning and Events 2
What is the role of the Business Owners during PI Planning?