SAFe SAFe Roles and Responsibilities 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary responsibility of a Release Train Engineer (RTE)?
- Writing acceptance criteria for Features
- Serving as the ART's servant leader and coach, facilitating ART events and removing impediments (Correct answer)
- Managing the program-level budget
- Designing the system architecture
Correct answer: Serving as the ART's servant leader and coach, facilitating ART events and removing impediments
The RTE is the ART's chief Scrum Master — a servant leader who facilitates ART events, coaches teams, and escalates impediments that teams can't resolve.
Question 2: What does the Product Manager (PM) own in SAFe?
- The Team Backlog
- The Program Backlog and Feature definitions for the ART (Correct answer)
- The Solution Backlog
- The Sprint Backlog
Correct answer: The Program Backlog and Feature definitions for the ART
The Product Manager owns the Program Backlog, defines and prioritizes Features, and ensures the ART builds the right things to meet market and customer needs.
Question 3: In SAFe, what is the key difference between a Product Manager and a Product Owner?
- Product Managers focus on internal processes; Product Owners focus on external markets
- Product Managers define Features and program-level priorities; Product Owners manage team-level stories and the Team Backlog (Correct answer)
- Product Managers own the Team Backlog; Product Owners own the Program Backlog
- There is no difference — they are the same role
Correct answer: Product Managers define Features and program-level priorities; Product Owners manage team-level stories and the Team Backlog
Product Managers operate at the ART/program level (Features, what to build), while Product Owners operate at the team level (Stories, how to build it).
Question 4: What is the System Architect/Engineer's primary role in a SAFe ART?
- Writing user stories for teams
- Defining the technical architecture vision and ensuring Enablers maintain architectural integrity (Correct answer)
- Managing the Program Backlog
- Facilitating PI Planning
Correct answer: Defining the technical architecture vision and ensuring Enablers maintain architectural integrity
The System Architect defines the technical vision and works with teams to ensure Enabler Stories maintain architectural runway and system integrity.
Question 5: What is the primary responsibility of the Business Owner in SAFe?
- Managing the Agile teams' daily work
- Providing business context, approving PI Objectives, and scoring business value at I&A (Correct answer)
- Writing Epics in the Portfolio Backlog
- Reviewing code pull requests
Correct answer: Providing business context, approving PI Objectives, and scoring business value at I&A
Business Owners are key stakeholders who participate in PI Planning, score PI Objectives, and hold teams accountable to delivering business value.
Question 6: In SAFe, who is responsible for the Lean-Agile transformation of the enterprise?
- The Release Train Engineer
- Lean-Agile Leaders (executives and managers) who model and coach the mindset change (Correct answer)
- External SAFe consultants only
- The Scrum Masters on each team
Correct answer: Lean-Agile Leaders (executives and managers) who model and coach the mindset change
Lean-Agile Leaders — executives and senior managers — must model and embody the Lean-Agile mindset to drive the transformation from the top.
SAFe SAFe Roles and Responsibilities 1
What is the primary responsibility of a Release Train Engineer (RTE)?