Leading SAFe Questions And Answers

Scrum is to agile team as SAFe is to the agile enterprise Enabler Supports the activities needed to extend the Architectural Runway to provide future business functionality Enterprise Architects define enablers at which level? Portfolio level System and Solution architects define enablers at which level? Program and Large Solution Levels Architectural Runway Consists of the existing code, components and technical infrastructure needed to implement near-term features without excessive redesign and delay Why is the Architectural Runway necessary? Provides the technical foundation for developing business initiatives and implementing new features/capabilities Agile Architecture A set of values and practices that support the active evolution of the design and architecture of a system while implementing new system capabilities Emergent Design The process of discovering and extending the architecture only as necessary to implement and validate the next increment of functionality Intentional Architecture Purposeful, planned architectural initiatives, which enhance solutions design, implementation and synchronization Architecture principles (7) 1. Design emerges. Architecture is a collaboration. 2. The bigger the system, the longer the runway. 3. Build the simplest architecture that can possibly work. 4. When in doubt, code or model it out. 5. They build it, they test it 6. There is no monopoly on innovation 7. Implement architectural flow DBT Define, Test, Build teams comprised of 5-9 members that deliver working, fully tested software every two weeks ART Agile Release Train, primary vehicles for value delivery at the program level. Delivers a value stream for the organization. Product Manager They have content authority at the program level, they define and prioritize the program backlog. System Architect They provide user interface design and user experience guidelines and design elements for the team. They ensure that NFRs are met. Release Train Engineer They are the uber scrum masters UX and Shared Resources They provide user interface design, user experience guidelines and design elements for the teams. They could provide security, performance and database administration across teams. Release Management Team Cross functional teams that approves frequent releases of quality solutions to customers. Features are in which level's backlog? The Program Level Which level do features originate? The Program level or epics at the portfolio level Features decompose into what? User Stories How are features prioritized? WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) WSJF Weighted Shortest Job First Epic Define large development initiatives that encapsulate the new development necessary to realize the benefits of investment themes A business epic is for: Customer Facing An architectural epic is for: Technology solutions How are epics managed? Kanban systems Lean Thinking: Become relentless in: Reflection and Continuous improvement House of Lean: Roof The Goal: Value Four (4) Pillars in the House of Lean: Respect for People and Culture, Flow, Innovation, Relentless Improvement Respect for People and Culture: Build partnerships on trust and mutual respect Flow: Build a foundation for value delivery. Establish a continuous _____________ of work that supports incremental value delivery from constant feedback and adjustment. Faster value delivery, better built in quality practices, relentless improvement and evidence based governance (3) Principles of Flow: Understanding the full value stream, visualizing and limiting WIP, Reducing Batch Sizes and managing queue lengths Innovation: Leaders must get out of the office and into the actual workplace where the value is produced. You must provide time/space for people to be creative Continuous Exploration: Continually exploring the market and user needs and defining a vision, roadmap and a set of features of address those needs (4) parts to the continuous delivery pipeline Continuous Exploration, Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, Release on Demand Continuous Deployment Takes validated features from continuous integration and deploys them into the production environment where they are tested and readied for release Vision A description of the future state of the solution under development. It reflects customer and stakeholder needs, as well as the feature and capabilities proposed to meet those needs Roadmap A schedule of events and milestones that communicate planned solution deliverables over a timeline. Includes commitments for the planned, upcoming PI and offers visibility into deliverable forecasted for the next few PIs PI stands for what Program Increment Feature A service that fulfills a stakeholder need. Each ____________ includes a benefit hypothesis and acceptance criteria, and is sized or split as necessary to be delivered by a single ART in a PI Capbilitiy Higher-level solutions behavior that typically spans multiple ARTs. They are sized and split into multiple features to facilitate their implementation in a single PI. Relentless Improvement Encourages learning and growth through continuous reflection and process enhancements. Optimize the whole, not the parts, of the organization and development process. Consider facts carefully, then act quickly. Consider facts carefully then Act quickly Optimize the ________, not the ___________ whole, not the parts of the organization and development process Base of the House of Lean: Foundation: Lean-Agile Leadership Foundation: Lean-Agile Leadership Managers become leaders who embrace the values of Lean, they are competent in the basic practices, they eliminate impediments, they take an active role in driving organizations change and facilitation of unrelenting improvement Agile Manifesto:___________________ over processes and tools Individuals and interactions Agile Manifesto: ________________________ over comprehensive documentation Working software Agile Manifesto: _________________________ over contract negotiation Customer Collaboration Agile Manifesto: _________________ over following a plan Responding to change Agile Manifesto (4) parts: 1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools 2. Working software over comprehensive documentation 3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation 4. Responding to change over following a plan PI A timeline during which an ART delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems--this is like the sprint/iteration in an Agile TEa, Each PI uses ___________________ and _________________ Cadence and syncronization (4) Goals of PI 1. Facilitate planning 2. Limit WIP 3. Summarize newsworthy value for feedback 4. Assure consistent, Program Level retrospectives PDCA Plan, Do, Check and Adjust P in PDCA Plan: the PI Planning Event D in PDCA Do: PI Execution C in PDCA Check: System Demo A in PDCA: Adjust: Inspect and Adapt. Reflect and ID improvement backlog items via a structured and problem-solving workshop Release on Demand Cycle Features deployed into production are released incrementally or immediately to customers based on market demand (whenever the stakeholder says) PI Planning Teams estimate what will be delivered and highlight their dependencies on other Agiles teams and trains PI objectives should be: SMART SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Bound PI Objective Summary of the business and technical goals that an Agile Team or Train intends to achieve in the upcoming PI. PI objectives are built _______________ from the bottom up by Agile teams who estimate and ID their part of the solution during PI planning Stretch Objectives Help improve predictability of delivering business value since they are not included in the team's commitment or counted against teams in program predictable measures Scrum of Scrums Meeting that coordinates of the dependencies of the ARTs and provides visibility into progress and impediments Who facilitates the Scrum of Scrums RTE Product Owner Sync Held for POs and Product Managers, timeboxed 30-60 min, get visibility into how well the ART is progressing toward meeting the program PI objectives to discuss problems or opportunities with feature development and assess any scope adjustments I&A Inspect and Adjust Three parts to the I&A PI System Demo, Quantitative measurement, Retrospective and problem solving Weighted Shortest Job First Prioritization model used to sequence jobs to produce maximum economic benefit WSJF= Estimated COD/Job Size (also known as job duration) Cost of Delay= User Business Value +Time Criticality + Risk reduction and/or opportunity enablement Building the Release (4) increments 1. Team Increment 2. System Increment 3. Solution Increment 4. Release Increment Team Increment The first step in this process is that each agile team ensures that it produces a working increment for the stories, features and components they are responsible for System Increment An integrated stack of new functionality, representing all the backlog items completed by the ART during the current and previous iterations Solution Increment When developing large solutions, ARTs typically contribute to only a part of the solution Release Increment Building solutions incrementally affect this increment as a whole. All capabilities are finished and they meet acceptance critera Apply cadence, synchronize with cross domain planning Cadence creates predictability and provides a rhythm for development. Synchronization causes multiple perspectives to be understood, resolved and integrated at the same time Manage queue lengths to ____________ reduce the wait times for new capabilities Why decentralize decision making Reduces delays, improves product development, enables faster feedback and creates more innovative solutions by those closest to the local knowledge Solution Train The organizational construct used to build large, complex solutions that requires the coordination of multiple ARTs as well as the contributions of suppliers Aligning ARTs and suppliers, the Solution Train helps do what? Manage the inherent risk and variability of large-scale solution development Solution Train Engineer Servant leader of the train, allows the train to run smoothly by identifying and resolving bottlenecks across the entire solution