SAFe Value Streams and Business Agility 3

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of SAFe's five flow metrics used to measure the health of a value stream?

Accepted Answer

Flow Complexity

Answer

The five SAFe flow metrics are Flow Velocity, Flow Time, Flow Load, Flow Efficiency, and Flow Distribution. Flow Complexity is not a defined SAFe flow metric.

Question 2

What does Flow Time measure in a SAFe value stream?

Accepted Answer

The elapsed time from when a work item is accepted into the value stream until it is delivered

Answer

Flow Time (also called cycle time or lead time) measures how long a work item takes from entry into the value stream to delivery, capturing both active work time and wait time.

Question 3

Flow Efficiency in SAFe is calculated as:

Accepted Answer

Active time divided by total flow time, expressed as a percentage

Answer

Flow Efficiency = (Active Time / Total Flow Time) × 100%. In most organizations this is surprisingly low (5–15%), revealing how much time is spent waiting rather than actively working.

Question 4

What is Flow Load in SAFe?

Accepted Answer

The total number of work items in a value stream, including those actively in progress and those waiting

Answer

Flow Load is the total number of work items—in-progress and waiting—currently inside the value stream, and high flow load is a leading indicator of congestion and long flow times.

Question 5

Which flow metric helps teams understand the balance of different work types (features, defects, risks, debt) flowing through the value stream?

Accepted Answer

Flow Distribution

Answer

Flow Distribution shows the proportion of each work item type (feature, bug, risk, technical debt) being processed, helping leadership make informed decisions about where to allocate capacity.

SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework Practice Test

SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework Practice Test

SAFe Value Streams and Business Agility 3