SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Digital Workbook (5 - 1)

SAFe® Advanced
Scrum Master
Advancing Scrum Master Servant
Leadership with SAFe
SAFe® Course — Attending this course gives students

access to the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master exam and
related preparation materials.
5.1
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IscALE□
PROVIDED BY
AGIL ~ ®
© Scaled Agile, Inc.
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1/23/20 scaledagileframewo rk.com/implementation-roadm ap © Scaled Agile, Inc.
SAFe® Courses and Certifications
Leading SAFe" I Thriving in the Digital Age with Business Agility I• with SAFe® 5 Agilist Certification
Implementing SAFe" I Achieving Business Agi lity with the Scaled Agile Framework I♦ with SAFe• 5 Program Consultant Certification
SAFe" for Government I Applying Lean-Agile Practices in the Public Sector with SAFe® I• with SAFe® 5 Government Practitioner Certification
Lean Portfolio Management I Aligning Strategy with Execution I• with SAFe® 5 Lean Portfolio Manager Certification
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Agile Product Management I Using Design Thinking to Create Valuable Products in the Lean Enterprise I • with SAFe® 5 Agile Product Manager Certification
SAFe" Scrum Master I Applying the Scrum Master Role within a SAFe® Enterprise I• with SAFe® 5 Scrum Master Certification
SAFe" Advanced Scrum Master I Advancing Scrum Master Servant Leadership with SAFe® I• with SAFe® 5 Advanced Scrum Master Certification
SAFe" Release Train Engineer I Facilitating Lean-Agi le Program Execution I♦ with SAFe® 5 Release Train Engineer Certification
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SAFe" for Teams I Establishing Team Agility for Agi le Release Trains I♦ with SAFe® 5 Practitioner Certification
Agile Software Engineering I Enabling Technical Agility for the Lean Enterprise I• with SAFe® 5 Agile Software Engineer Certification
Table of Contents
Privacy Notice.....................................................................................................Page 11
Course Introduction.............................................................................................Page 12
Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in SAFe.........................................Page 14
Lesson 2: Applying the SAFe Lean-Agile Principles...........................................Page 27
Lesson 3: Exploring Agile and Scrum Anti-Patterns...........................................Page 60
Lesson 4: Facilitating Program Execution...........................................................Page 72
Lesson 5: Improving Flow with Kanban and XP..................................................Page 113
Lesson 6: Building High-Performing Teams........................................................Page 139
Lesson 7: Improving Program Performance........................................................Page 153
Lesson 8: Practicing SAFe..................................................................................Page 167
SAFe Glossary....................................................................................................Page 175

Privacy Notice
Your name, company and email address will be shared with Scaled Agile, Inc. for
course fulfillment, including testing and certification. Your information will be used in
accordance with the Scaled Agile privacy policy available at
https://www.scaledagile.com/privacy-policy/.
Page 11
SAFe®
Advanced Scrum Master I
Advancing Scrum Master Servant

Leadership with SAFe
SAFe® Course - Attending this course gives students access to the
SAFe Advanced Scrum Master exam and related preparation
materials.
5.1
~ · scAi:.Eo
SAFe 1 AGIL ~ ·
© Sca led Agi le, Inc.
© Scaled Agile. Inc.
Logistics
► Course meeting times
► Breaks
► Facilities
► Technology requirements
► Working agreements

1-2
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 12
Duration
Discussion: Introductions 10
► Step 1: Meeting in pairs, introduce

yourself and share:
– Your strengths as a Scrum Master

and your favorite event to facilitate
– What you would like to learn and
practice in this course to improve
in your role as a Scrum Master
► Step 2: Introduce each other to the

class. Note similar strengths and
challenges.

1-3
SCALED AGILE '"
Course outline
► Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in SAFe

► Lesson 2: Applying SAFe Principles
► Lesson 3: Exploring Agile and Scrum Anti-Patterns
► Lesson 4: Facilitating Program Execution
► Lesson 5: Improving Flow with Kanban and XP
► Lesson 6: Building High-Performing Teams
► Lesson 7: Improving Program Performance
► Lesson 8: Practicing SAFe

1-4
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 13
Lesson 1
Exploring the Scrum Master
Role in SAFe
SAFe® Course - Attending this course gives students
access to the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master exam and
Lesson Topics
1.1 Explore Scrum Master
challenges in the
Enterprise
1.2 Explain the purpose

and the basic constructs
of SAFe
1.3 Establish Scrum

Master connections
in SAFe

1-6
Page 14
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

► Define the challenges of the Scrum Master in the Enterprises
► Analyze the basic constructs of SAFe
► Create connections between the role of the Scrum Master and the
SAFe competencies

1-7
SCALED AGILE '"
1.1 Explore Scrum Master challenges

in the Enterprise
1-8
SCALED AGILE • ©©Scaled
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 15
Prepare Share
Discussion: Solving issues with facilitation 5 2
► Step 1: Working in your groups,

brainstorm team challenges that require
facilitation and that originate from within
and outside the team.
► Step 2: Add the challenge to the Scrum

Master challenges board.
► Step 3: Share a few of the challenges

with the class.
► Step 4: We will address the challenges

and how to address them throughout
the course.
1-9
SCALED AGILE ' " © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Iteration Event Facilitator’s Guides
► Available on the SAFe TheFacilitator

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Community Platform
IterationPlanning
PreparationChecklist
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streamline preparation and
execution
1-10
SCALED AGILE '" © Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 16
Characteristics of an effective Agile Team
► Displays the Lean Enterprise competency of Team and Technical Agility
► Can reliably deliver value
► Has members who are not afraid to challenge each other’s ideas
► Makes processes visible to team members and to stakeholders
► Collaborates to achieve Iteration Goals and PI Objectives
► Produces consistent, high-quality increments of value
► Sustains a predictable pace of development
1-11
Modern Enterprises introduce a bigger challenge
The team in the Enterprise is affected by other teams, stakeholders,

and processes that fall outside of its control.
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1-12
Page 17
Teams must relentlessly improve
Aside from the impediments to developing and delivering value,

Agile Teams in the Enterprise may encounter significant
roadblocks to growth.
Agile Teams
111
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Product
t Owner
1h11
Scrum
Master
- - --
1-13
Discuss
Discussion: Enable team growth 7
► Step 1: Discuss the following:
– What are some impediments that you have experienced with your Agile
Team?
– How do these impediments prevent your team from growing, improving,

learning, and becoming stronger?
– What strategies and techniques have you used to remove impediments?
1-14
Page 18
1.2 Explain the purpose and the
basic constructs of SAFe
1-15
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Why SAFe?
SAFe’s business benefits are derived directly from case studies written by SAFe customers.
30%
Happier, 50%
more motivated Faster
employees time-to-market
35 %
Increase in
50 %
Defect
productivity reduction
Typical results from scaledagile.com/customer-stories

1-16
Page 19
The Scaled Agile Framework
SAFe synchronizes alignment, collaboration, and delivery for large numbers of teams.
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1-17
The Seven Core Competencies of Business Agility
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1-18
Page 20
Team andTeam and Technical
Technical Agility Agility
► High-performing, cross-functional Agile Teams
► Teams of business and technical teams build Solutions
► Quality business Solutions delight Customers
Agile Teams Teams of Agile Teams Built-In Quality
1-19
Team andAgile Product

Technical Delivery
Agility
► The Customer is the center of your product strategy
► Decouple the release of value from the development cadence
► Continuously explore, integrate, deploy, and release
Customer Centricity Develop on cadence DevOps and the

and Design Thinking and release on demand Continuous Delivery Pipeline
@ • •
•••••• AGILE RELEASE TRAIN
00
1-20
Page 21
Team andEnterprise Solution Delivery
Technical Agility
► Apply Lean system engineering practices to build really big systems
► Coordinate and align the full supply chain
► Continue to enhance value after release
Lean System and Coordinate Trains Continually Evolve

Solution Engineering and Suppliers Live Systems
Solution Train
--------------- 1-21
Team andLean Portfolio

Technical Management
Agility
► Align strategy, funding, and execution Strategy&

InvestmentFunding
► Optimize operations across the
portfolio
► Lightweight governance empowers

decentralized decision-making
Lean AgilePortfolio
Governance Operations
1-22
Page 22
Team andOrganizational Agility
Technical Agility
► Create an enterprise-wide, Lean-Agile mindset
► Map and continuously improve business processes
► Respond quickly to opportunities and threats
Lean-thinking People Lean Business Strategy Agility

and Agile Teams Operations
•••••
PNNN1 '4
--- .......
1-23
Team andContinuous Learning Culture

Technical Agility
► Everyone in the organization learns and grows together
► Exploration and creativity are part of the organization's DNA
► Continuously improving Solutions, services, and processes is everyone's

responsibility
Learning Organization Innovation Culture Relentless Improvement

• 1-24
Page 23
Team andLean-Agile Leadership
Technical Agility
► Inspire others by modeling desired behaviors
► Align mindset, words, and actions to Lean-Agile values and principles
► Actively lead the change and guide others to the new way of working
Leading by Example
iii
••
Mindset & Principles
·---,
Leading Change
(-- ---❖
1-25
1.3 Establish Scrum Master connections in SAFe
1-26
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 24
Prepare Share
Activity: The Seven Core Competencies and 5 2
the Scrum Master role
► Step 1: Working in your groups, use the

SAFe Big Picture graphic and draw
connections from the Scrum Master to
other Framework elements, based on:
– Communication
=
a
-r T .!!..
– Collaboration
– Problem-solving
– Inputs/outputs
– Other ideas you have
► Step 2: Be ready to present and

discuss the identified connections
1-27
Lesson review
In this lesson you:

► Defined the challenges of the
Scrum Master in the
--.... ˚
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Enterprises -~~
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► Analyzed the purpose and Scrum
Master -..
basic constructs of SAFe
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Created connections between

0
►
II ~ •
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the role of the Scrum Master
SAFe competencies ..~
~
· ··-=
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/scrum-master/
1-28
Page 25
Lesson notes
Enter your notes below:
Reminder: If using a digital workbook, save your PDF often so you don't lose any of your notes.
Page 26
Lesson 2
Applying SAFe® Principles
SAFe® Course - Attending this course gives students access

to the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master exam and related
preparation materials.
Lesson Topics
2.1 Apply the SAFe
Principles in the role of
a Scrum Master

2-2
Page 27
Learning Objectives

► Apply the SAFe Principles in the role of a Scrum Master

2-3
SCALED AGILE '"
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles
#1 Take an economic view
#2 Apply systems thinking
#3 Assume variability; preserve options
#4 Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles
#5 Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
#6 Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths
#7Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning
#8 Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
#9 Decentralize decision-making
#10 Organize around value

2-4
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 28
#1 Take an economic view
2-5
SCALED AGILE • © ©Scaled Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Apply a comprehensive economic framework
SAFe’s economic framework contains four primary elements:
► Operating within Lean Budgets and Guardrails
► Understanding Solution economic trade-offs
► Leveraging Suppliers
► Sequencing jobs for the maximum benefit

2-6
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 29
Agile economics: Deliver early and often
Waterfall
Requirements
Design
Implementation
Verification
[j [j[j[j
Documents Documents Unverified System System
Incremental delivery
_b_ _b_ _b_ _b_ _b_ _b_ _b_

2-7
SCALED AGILE '"
Deliver value incrementally
Fast feedback
...
>-
a,
>
a,
-0
a,
:::,
(IJ
>
Time

2-8
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 30
Early delivery has higher value
Agile cumulative
gross margins
Market value of a
feature over time
...
>-
Q)
>
• ..
Q)
"'O
Q)
:::,
IIJ
>
Time

2-9
SCALED AGILE '"
Solution economic trade-offs
Understanding trade-off parameters

► Sequence jobs for maximum
benefit Lead Time Product Cost
► Do not consider money already

spent
► Make economic choices
continuously Value
Development
Expense
► Empower local decision making
► If you only quantify one thing, Risk
quantify the cost of delay

2-10
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 31
Examples of high-impact indicators
Here are examples of indicators that may

have a surprisingly high economic impact
in the long run.
► Cost of late defect fixing
Cost
► Cost of branching with late merge
► Cost of delayed performance testing
► Cost of large batch of cross-team

dependencies
Time
► Economic value of test automation
The cost of fixing a defect grows nearly
► Economic value of Enablers like exponentially over time.
research spikes, refactors, etc…

2-11
SCALED AGILE '"
Prepare Share
Discussion: Economic decisions 6 6
► Step 1: Looking at the economic trade-offs,

discuss with your group the economic impact of
the following challenges:
– Cost of late defect fixing Lead Time Product Cost
– Cost of branching with late merge

– Cost of delayed performance testing
Development
Value
Expense
– Cost of large batch of cross-team dependencies
Risk
– Economic value of test automation and Enablers, such
as research spikes, refactors, etc.
► Step 2: Be prepared to share with the class

2-12
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 32
#2 Apply systems thinking
2-13
__ A-L~EDAGILE . © ©Scaled
sc ::....:: Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Attributes of systems thinking
The Solution and the Enterprise are both

The Solution is a system
affected by the following:
► Optimizing a component does not optimize

the system
► For the system to behave well as a system,

a higher-level understanding of behavior
t •.o.
=•
and architecture is required The Enterprise building the

system is a system too
► The value of a system passes through its
interconnections
► A system can evolve no faster than its

slowest integration point
2-14
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 33
Optimize the full Value Stream
► Most problems with your process will surface as delays

► Most of the time spent getting to market is a result of these delays
► Reducing delays is the fastest way to reduce time-to-market
Email Email Assign Send to Send to

supervisor tech lead developer verification operations
1 week 2weeks 2 weeks 1 week 1 week
6 hours of value ... . . .delivered in 7 weeks

2-15
SCALED AGILE '"
Reduce lead times and improve flow
A tale of two Stories
Code
Time to complete: 3 Iterations

Test Fix
-- Test
Done
Done
Lead time savings = 25 days

Code
Time to complete: 5 days

Test Fix Test
Done
Done -------•
2-16
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 34
“I say an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour out
of the entire system. I say an hour saved at a
non-bottleneck is worthless. Bottlenecks govern
both throughput and inventory.”
— Eliyahu M. Goldratt, The Goal
©©Scaled
2-17
Scaled Agile.
Agile, Inc.
Inc.
Move from bottleneck to bottleneck
► The Scrum Master helps the team identify and remove bottlenecks
► Every system has only one or two bottlenecks that significantly constrain
performance
► Once you have identified and removed the current bottleneck, there will be
another one, but the system is already operating at a higher level of
performance
, 1111 •
2-18
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 35
Prepare Share
Discussion: Identifying delays 3 5
► Step 1: Working in your groups, select a part of the development

process from your own context or from the example below.
► Step 2: Discuss ways you could increase flow by reducing work in
process (WIP) and eliminating bottlenecks.
► Step 3: Be prepared to share with the class.
Email Email Technical Assign Code To To

Request Approve Verify Deploy
supervisor tech lead assessment developer and test verification operations

2-19
SCALED AGILE '"
#3 Assume variability; preserve options
2-20
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Page 36
Development occurs in an uncertain world
Aggressively evaluate alternatives. Converge specifications and solution set.

—Allen C. Ward
► You cannot possibly know everything at the start
► Requirements and designs must be flexible to build an optimal Solution
► Iterative, incremental development can reduce uncertainty over time
Flexible specifications
Economic
Cone of uncertainty
Trade-offs
Design sets

2-21
SCALED AGILE '"
Common problem of many organizations
When Agile practices are adopted on top of a traditional, phase-gate mindset, teams end
up with a typical problem:
► They follow an iterative and incremental development model while committing to a

specific Solution specification early in the process
► As a result, the power of Agile is significantly underused and reduced to applying only
minor adjustments
Too many
constraints up front
•. ...._______
----- .........
-----------------
1•--- ► ... -------.
~ Iteration
1
…
I I I
Iteration
13
Iteration Iteration
14 15

2-22
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 37
Different thought process is needed
► ‘Just in time’ elaboration of requirements ► Set-based design

and design
► If you can’t be right early on, preserve
► Not everything should be defined at once multiple options until you have more
certainty
► Better requirements and design options
will emerge over the course of Iterations ► Narrow them down over the course of the
► Up-front thinking is not enough; ‘learning learning points and Iterations
by doing’ must extend the paradigm
Multiple •• •• • •
•• ••
Set-based
design
options
•• •• • •
• • • • • •
• Learning points • Time
2-23
SCALED AGILE '" © Scaled Agile. Inc.
#4 Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning

cycles
2-24
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Page 38
Applying fast learning cycles
► Improves learning efficiency by

decreasing the time between The iterative learning cycle
action and effect
► Reduces the cost of risk-taking by

truncating unsuccessful paths Plan Do
quickly
Is facilitated by small batch sizes

►
► Requires increased investment in

development environment
l PDCA
t
Adjust Check
The shorter the cycles, the faster
the learning

2-25
SCALED AGILE '"
Integration points control product development
►
Integration points accelerate
learning
Development can proceed no

Plan
... Do
faster than the slowest learning

loop P ..; D
. t ~
J
..-
t l Adjust Check
► Improvement comes through A ~ C
synchronization of design loops

and faster learning cycles I
e- o
I I
e- o
I
e- o
I I
e- o
I I
e- o
I I
e- o
I I
e- o
I I
•- c •- c •- c •- c •- c A_ C A_ C

2-26
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 39
Integration points reduce risk
Deadline
False positive
feasibility?
~
Ill
?•
a::: Fast, integrated cycles
Time
2-27
SCALED AGILE '"
Prepare Share
Activity: PDCA learning cycles 7 3
representations
► Step 1: Individually, review the list of team and ART events in

your workbook
► Step 2: Working in your groups, create a representation of the

PDCA learning cycle for your team and for the ART events
► Step 3: Discuss where, as a Scrum Master, you anticipate bigger

challenges and why
► Step 4: Present your PDCA representations and share some

insights with the class

2-28
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 40
Team and ART Events
ART Sync ::::::::.

I • ART events
I
r-------------1.-------------. ;::::::,
I I
::::::::-.
-----•=======
I•
Scrum of Scrums PO Sync
;:::::,
Team events
,u u, 11
a,
'
t lhllII I
1h11I 1h11
11~ 11
u u
I
Pl Daily
Stand-up
Iteration
Iteration System
Planning
Review Demo
Iteration
Backlog
Retro Refinement
... , .,
liJ liJ liJ liJ lEJ
• Inspect & Adapt

Prepare for Pl Planning
Page 41
#5 Base milestones on objective evaluation
of working systems
2-29
SCALED AGILE · © ©Scaled Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
The problem of phase gate milestones
► They force design decisions too early; this encourages false-positive feasibility
► They assume a ‘point’ Solution exists and can be built correctly the first time
► They create huge batches and long queues, and they centralize requirements
and design in program management
Requirements Design
Deployment Wishful
complete complete ✓
thinking ...
✓ period of false positive feasibility
Kaboom!

2-30
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 42
Apply objective Milestones
► Build the system in

increments, each of which Progress Product Process
is an integration point that

demonstrates some
[[].
Objectives
a&a
Feedback
1111
Product/Solution
I
Improvement
Performance Backlog Items
evidence of the feasibility
►
of the Solution in process.
Identify Milestones based

• • ♦
I•
System Demo
1,
on objective evaluation of
working systems.
• PI • PI ••

2-31
SCALED AGILE '"
Iterate to the optimum Solution
Objective Milestones facilitate learning and allow for continuous, cost-effective

adjustments towards an optimum Solution.
••
•
Optimum
Solution

• • 2-32
Page 43
#6 Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and
manage queue lengths
2-33
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Duration
Video: Visualize and limit WIP 1
Visualize and limit WIP
http://bit.ly/visualize_and_limit_WIP

2-34
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 44
Prepare Share
Discussion: WIP and Flow 3 2
► Step 1: Working in your group,

consider the flow of work
represented in the previous video
and discuss:
SM Team 1
– How do you think the Scrum Masters for
each team feel about the progress?
What can the Scrum Master from Team 1 SM Team 2
learn from Team 2 and 3?
– What is a large batch in your context and SM Team 3

how can you improve flow?
► Step 2: Be prepared to share with

the class.
2-35
SCALED AGILE '"
How can we reduce lead times?
► Reduce size of work
► Reduce bottlenecks
► Reduce waiting
► Increase swarming
► Improve quality

2-36
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 45
Identify bottlenecks in work in process (WIP)
Track work at the right level to reveal bottlenecks in the workflow.
At the surface, however, it all looks smooth and promising .

2-37
SCALED AGILE '"
Too much WIP slows down the enterprise
Having too much WIP

confuses priorities,
Team A
••.. •
• •u
Product
BACKLOG
4
DEVELOP
1
3
TEST
3
DONE
--
Feature 1
• • --
Owner 4 Feature 2
causes frequent •
llill
Scrum
3 1
2
3
5
Master Feature 3
context switching, and

increases overhead.
Ensure the teams are

~..-.. •.. • • •
Team B
•
1111
Scrum
1
Master
:.
Product
Owner
BACKLOG
2
2
DEVELOP
3
5
TEST
4
DONE
3
5
-
Feature 4
Feature 5
aligned to produce ••
value as an ART.
•
Team L BACKLOG DEVELOP TEST DONE
.... :. • • •• •
-
1 3
•• Product
Owner
2 2
•
11,11
Scrum
3
1
2
3
3
3
3
Master

2-38
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 46
Visualize and limit WIP
One team’s big visible information radiator (BVIR)

How is this team doing? How do you know? Today
Wednesday Thursday Friday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Monday Tuesday
Not Started Development Test Accepted
□□ □□
Story Story
□
10 Story Story 3 Story
9 8 1
Story Story
□□
11 Story 2
Story
7 6
Story
□
4
Story
5

2-39
SCALED AGILE '"
Discuss
Activity: WIP improvement opportunities 8
► Step 1: Referring to the example,

discuss the effect of a three-story WIP
constraint on the Development and
Test stages. Today
Wednesday Thu,.ct.y Frlct.y llonct.y Tuesday Wednnday Thursday Friday Monday Tuesday
► Step 2: Consider this scenario: You’re

a developer. You just finished Story 6.
What would you do if:
– There is no WIP constraint
– The three-Story WIP constraint is in place
► Step 3: Which scenario has the highest

throughput?

2-40
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 47
The importance of small batches
Small batches go through the system faster with lower variability.

► Large batch sizes increase variability
► High utilization increases variability
► Severe project slippage is the most likely result
► The most important batch is the transport (handoff) batch

► Proximity (co-location) enables small batch size
► Good infrastructure enables small batches

2-41
SCALED AGILE '"
Finding optimum batch size
Optimum batch size is an example of

a U-curve optimization.
► Total costs are the sum of holding Optimum batch size

(lowest total cost)
costs and transaction costs
Total cost
Cost
► Higher transaction costs make

optimal batch size bigger
Holding Transaction
cost cost
► Higher holding costs make batch
size smaller
Items per batch
Principles of Product Development Flow, Don Reinertsen

2-42
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 48
Reducing optimum batch size
Reducing transaction costs reduces

total costs and lowers optimum batch
size.
► Reducing batch size: Optimum batch size

Total cost
(lowest total cost)
Cost
– Increases predictability
– Accelerates feedback
Transaction
Holding
cost
– Reduces rework cost
– Lowers cost
Items per batch
► Batch size reduction probably Principles of Product Development Flow, Don Reinertsen
saves twice what you would think

2-43
SCALED AGILE '"
Manage queue lengths
Email from a client service organization: Long queues: All bad
Longer lead times

Thank you for
contacting us.
Increased risk
We are experiencing Long

increased volumes and queues More variability
create
apologize in advance for
the delay. Lower quality
Our goal is to contact you

Less motivation
within…
Principles of Product Development Flow, Don Reinertsen

2-44
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 49
Duration
Video: Formula 1 Pit Stops: 1950 and Today 2
http://bit.ly/Formula1PitStops

2-45
SCALED AGILE '"
Reduce queue lengths
► Understand Little’s Law
- Faster processing time decreases wait Lq

- Shorter queue lengths decrease wait Wq = y
► Control wait times by controlling queue lengths: Average wait time = average queue length
divided by average processing rate
- WIP limits, small batches, defer commitments
Example – Given an average processing speed of 10 30 items

Features per quarter and a committed set of 30 Features, a = 3 Quarters
new Feature will experience an approximate wait time of: 10 items/Quarter

2-46
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 50
#7 Apply cadence, synchronize with
cross-domain planning
2-47
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Cadence and synchronization
Cadence Synchronization
► Converts unpredictable events into predictable ► Causes multiple events to happen simultaneously
occurrences and lowers cost
► Facilitates cross-functional trade-offs
► Makes waiting times for new work predictable
► Provides routine dependency management
► Supports regular planning and cross-functional
► Supports full stem integration and assessment
coordination
► Provides multiple feedback perspectives
► Limits batch sizes to a single interval
► Controls injection of new work
► Provides scheduled integration points
Note: Delivering on cadence requires Note: To work effectively, design

scope or capacity margin cycles must be synchronized

2-48
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 51
Control variability with planning cadence
Cadence-based planning limits variability to a single interval.
Reality
Plan
---• Accumulated
deviation from plan
Infrequent
or one-time
planning Maximum deviation
from plan
Cadence-based
planning

2-49
SCALED AGILE '"
Synchronize with cross-domain planning
Future product development tasks can’t be predetermined. Distribute planning and control to
those who can understand and react to the end results.
—Michael Kennedy, Product Development for the Lean Enterprise
► Everyone plans together at the same time ► Requirements and design emerge
► Management sets the mission with ► Important decisions are accelerated
minimum constraints
► Teams take responsibility for their own
plans

2-50
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 52
#8 Unlock the intrinsic motivation of
knowledge workers
2-51
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
On managing knowledge workers

Workers are knowledge workers if they know more about the work they perform
than their bosses. —Peter Drucker
4 Workers themselves are most qualified to

make decisions about how to perform their
work.
4 The workers must be heard and respected
for management to lead effectively.
4 Knowledge workers must manage

themselves. They need autonomy.
4 Continuing innovation must be part of the

work, the tasks, and the responsibilities of
Used with permission from The Drucker Institute at Claremont
Graduate University knowledge workers.
2-52
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 53
#9 Decentralize decision-making
2-53
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Decentralize decision-making
Define the economic logic behind a decision; empower others to make the changes.
Centralize Decentralize everything else
► Infrequent – Not made very often and

► Frequent – Routine, everyday decisions
usually not urgent
(Example: Team and Program Backlog)
(Example: Internationalization strategy)
► Time critical – High cost of delay
► Long-lasting – Once made, highly unlikely
(Example: Point release to Customer)
to change
(Example: Common technology platform) ► Requires local information – Specific and
local technology or Customer context is
► Significant economies of scale – Provide
required
large and broad economic benefit
(Example: Feature criteria)
(Example: Compensation strategy)

2-54
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 54
Prepare Share
Activity: Decentralize decision-making 5 3
► Step 1: Consider three significant decisions you are currently facing. Capture
those decisions.
► Step 2: Rate each decision based on the frequency, time criticality, and
economies of scale, assigning a value of 0, 1, or 2.
► Step 3: Add the total values: 0 – 3 centralize and 4 – 6 decentralize.
Economies of
Frequent? Time-critical?
Decision scale? Total
Y=2 | N=0 Y=2 | N=0
Y=0 | N=2

2-55
SCALED AGILE '"
#10 Organize around value
2-56
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Page 55
Value
Value doesn’t
doesn't follow
follow silos
silos
►
►
Value delivery
Value delivery is
is
inhibited by handoffs
inhibited by handoffs
and delays
and delays
►
► Political boundaries
Political boundaries
can prevent
can prevent
cooperation
cooperation
►
► Silos encourage
Silos encourage
geographic
geographic
distribution of
distribution of
Business
Business System
System Hardware
Hardware Software
Software Test and
Test and QA
QA Operations
Operations
Engineering
Engineering functions
functions
►
► Communication
Communication
across silos
across silos is
is
Management
Management challenge:
challenge: Connect the silos
Connect the silos difficult
difficult
2-57
2-57
SCALED AGILE -• ClScaled
© Sca led Agile.
A gil e. Inc.
Inc.
Instead, organize around Development Value Streams
The aim of development is in fact the creation of profitable operational value streams.
—Allen C. Ward
► Includes activities from recognizing an opportunity through release and validation
► Contains the steps, the flow of information and material, and the people who develop
the Solutions used by the operational Value Streams
Lead Time
,--------------------
•
I
-------------------.. I
Define ••• Build • •• Validate • •• Release

Feature New increment
request of value
t R E P E AT F O R P R O D U C T L IF E T IM E

2-58
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 56
Value at scale is distributed
-
---
t-L-l-~-
- -[-
--
---
L_L_L_
2-59
SCALED AGILE '"
Value flows across organizational boundaries
Identify the Value Streams within which to build one or more Agile
Release Trains.
-

--
- 2-60
Page 57
Prepare Share
Activity: Building and presenting SAFe 15 5
Principles poster
► Step 1: In your group, pick one SAFe Principle

..!. ..!. o,
► Step 2: Document the SAFe Principle with the 1111
1
following requirements:
– Title: Your team's chosen SAFe Principle (e.g., Take an
economic view) Lesson 2 Activity: Building and presenting SAFe Principles Poster
– How does a Scrum Master apply the principle?

– Capture strategies, actions, and events that apply to the
principle in the format of your choice
► Step 3: Present your applications to the class

2-61
SCALED AGILE '"
Lesson review
In this lesson you:

► Applied the SAFe
Principles in the role ..
of a Scrum Master •
..
~· .J.~ •
=b
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/safe-lean-agile-principles/

2-62
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 58
Lesson notes
Page 59
Lesson 3
Exploring Agile and Scrum
Anti-Patterns
Lesson Topics
3.1 Explore anti-patterns
associated with the
Product Owner role
3.2 Explain how Stories

and tasks may lead to
anti-patterns
3.3 Identify context-

specific anti-patterns in
your environment

3-2
Page 60
Learning Objectives

► Identify anti-patterns associated with the Product Owner role
► Analyze how Stories and tasks may lead to anti-patterns
► Evaluate context-specific anti-patterns in your environment

3-3
SCALED AGILE '"
3.1 Explore anti-patterns associated with

the Product Owner role
3-4
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Page 61
Recognizing anti-patterns
As an Agile coach, the Scrum Master must learn to recognize anti-patterns in

the process. An anti-pattern can be …
Structural or behavioral Internal or external
Structural Team has more than one Internal Developers don’t work
example Product Owner example collaboratively on Stories
Partially completed Stories Lack of coordination with

Behavioral External
are being carried over from other teams leads to
example example
Iteration to Iteration excessive WIP

3-5
SCALED AGILE '"
Many anti-patterns can be traced to the PO role
Underperforming in the Product Owner role can lead to dysfunction on the team.
Key responsibilities of the Product Owner:

► Facilitate Team Backlog refinement
► Prepare for and participate in Iteration Planning
► Elaborate Stories and Enablers just-in-time
► Address team questions; be the voice of the customer
► Accept Stories
► Participate in the Iteration Review and Retrospective

► Coordinate with other Product Owners to manage
dependencies

3-6
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 62
Prepare Share
Discussion: Anti-patterns that involve the 5 3
Product Owner
► Step 1: Working in your
groups, brainstorm anti-
patterns that arise from the
interaction between the
Product Owner and the rest of
the team
► Step 2: Discuss how you as a

Scrum Master will address
some of these anti-patterns
► Step 3: Share with the class

3-7
SCALED AGILE '"
3.2 Explain how Stories and tasks may

lead to anti-patterns
3-8
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
Page 63
Big Stories are a frequent source of anti-patterns
A team that can’t iterate isn’t able to inspect

and adapt.
► Big Stories do not support team Iteration
► Smaller Stories allow for faster, more

reliable implementation
► Splitting bigger Stories into smaller ones is

an essential skill

3-9
SCALED AGILE '"
When Stories are too big to fit into an Iteration, they are split
Stories are split using the same techniques as decomposing Features
1 Workflow steps 6 Data entry methods
2 Business rule variations 7 Defer system qualities
3 Major effort 8 Operations
4 Simple/complex 9 Use case scenarios
5 Variations in data 10 Break out a spike

3-10
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 64
Split by business rule variations
Business rule variations often provide a straightforward splitting scheme.
…bronze level
As a shopper, I want extra

benefits based on how
much I buy… …silver level
…gold level

3-11
SCALED AGILE '"
Split by use case scenarios
If use cases are used to represent complex interactions, the Story can be
split via the individual scenarios. Use Case/Story #1: (‘Happy path’)
Notify utility that

consumer has
equipment
As a user, I want to Use Case/Story #2:
enroll in the energy
Utility provisions
savings program equipment and data,
through a retail notifies consumer
distributor… Use Case/Story #3: (“Alternate’)
Notify utility that

consumer has
equipment
3-12
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 65
Split by simple/complex
Simplify. What’s the simplest version that can possibly work?
…respond to the time and

duration of the critical peak
As a user, I basically pricing event
want a fixed price, but I
also want to be notified
of critical peak pricing
events…
…respond to emergency
events

3-13
SCALED AGILE '"
Prepare Share
Activity: Splitting Stories 7 3
► Step 1: Working in your groups, select a big

Story from your actual backlog that is too big
to complete in an Iteration
► Step 2: Considering the patterns we

discussed, split the Story into two or three
smaller Stories that could be completed in an
Iteration

3-14
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 66
Prepare Share
Discussion: A Story that can’t be split? 7 3
► Step 1: Consider the following scenario: Your team is insisting that big Stories
in the backlog cannot be split into smaller ones.
► Step 2: In your group, discuss the following:
– How might you coach the team to reconsider?
– What specific steps would you take to shift their mindset?
– What event is appropriate to have this discussion with the team?
► Step 3: Roleplay how you will facilitate the discussion with the team.

3-15
SCALED AGILE '"
Story Writing and Splitting resources
The following resources are available on the SAFe Community Platform:
► Writing and Splitting Stories Writing and Splitting Stories

Guide
- Also available in the

Iteration Execution Toolkit
► Video Playlist: Stories
Introduction
to Stor ► ;
SCALED AGIL Ei
..._.,o/Wf

3-16
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 67
3.3 Identify context-specific anti-patterns
in your environment
3-17
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile,
PO and backlog, planning, and commitment anti-patterns
PO and Backlog Planning Commitment
Product Owner and team Planning is based on Team does not commit to
do Iteration Planning tasks, not on Stories and clear Iteration goals
without preparation acceptance criteria
There is more than one
PO per team
PO is not sufficiently
involved during Iteration
execution

3-18
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 68
Execution, Demos, and Retrospective anti-patterns
Execution Demos Retrospectives
Developers don’t work Story reported but not “Idea-fest” instead of

collaboratively on Stories demonstrated (non-UI focus on near-term
Stories, spikes, refactors, incremental
Waterfalling Iterations:
etc.) improvements
Team integrates and tests
Stories only at Iteration
end
Done isn’t ‘done’: Debt is
carried forward Iteration to
Iteration

3-19
SCALED AGILE '"
Prepare Share
Discussion: Anti-patterns 8 5

– Which of the anti-patterns resonate most strongly with you?
– What other anti-patterns have you experienced?
– Could these anti-patterns be fully resolved by the Scrum Master?
► Step 2: Choose two or three of these anti-patterns. For each anti-

pattern, build a list of action items and strategies that will allow the
Scrum Master to resolve the anti-pattern.
► Step 3: Share your master list with the class.

3-20
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 69
SAFe resources to help avoid and overcome anti-patterns
Use the following resources, available on the SAFe Community Platform:

► Iteration Execution Toolkit
► Iteration Retrospective Facilitator

Checklist (also included in the
Iteration Execution Toolkit)
► Video: How to Run an Effective

Iteration Retrospective Meeting
► SAFe Collaborate Retrospective
templates:
- Start – Stop – Continue & I Wish ~SAFe · I coLLABoRATE
- Actions for Retrospectives
3-21
SCALED AGILE '"
Lesson review
In this lesson, you:

► Identified anti-patterns
associated with the Product
Owner role
► Analyzed how Stories and

tasks may lead to anti-
patterns
► Evaluated context-specific
anti-patterns in your
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/product-owner/
environment
3-22
SCALED AGILE '"
Page 70
Lesson notes
Page 71
Lesson 4
Facilitating Program
Execution
Lesson Topics
► 4.1 Synchronize
development with the
Agile Release Train
► 4.2 Organize teams

around the flow of
value
► 4.3 Plan the Program

Increment
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-2
Page 72
Lesson Topics
► 4.4 Execute the
Program Increment
► 4.5 Enable teams to

release value on
demand
► 4.6 Prepare for the

next PI Planning
session
Learning objectives

► Execute development with the Agile Release Train
► Establish teams around the flow of value
► Organize the Program Increment
► Execute the Program Increment
► Manage teams to release value on demand
► Prepare for the next PI Planning session
SCALED AGILE ' " © Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-4
Page 73
4.1 Synchronize development with the
Agile Release Train
SCALED AGILE . © ©Scaled Agile.

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-5
Agile
Agile Release
Release Trains
Trains (ARTs) deliver
(ARTs) deliver Solutions
Solutions
An
An ART
ART is
is aa long-lived,
long-lived, self-organizing
self-organizing team of Agile
team of Agile Teams
Teams..
WSJF .------- Continuous Delivery Pipeline -------.
•
"'f •
AGILE RELEASE TRAIN
NFRs
Continuous Continuous Continuous
Program Exploration Integration Deployment
Backlog
Release on Demand ·
SCALED AGILE . ©cScaled

s,.,,,.,11, .,a,.
Agile. Inc.
4-6
4-6
Page 74
Cadence without synchronization is not enough
These teams Time spent thinking you are on track

are iterating When you discover you are not
System
• Integrate
Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate
__ •
Iterate Iterate Iterate
...__,~
Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate
and slip!
Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate Iterate
The slowest component drags the train – still late discovery!
SCALED AGILE" © Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-7
Prepare Share
Activity: Different cadences 2 2
► Step 1: Consider a scenario in which three Team A

teams are working on different Iteration
cadences:
– Team A: 2-week Iterations
....•
• e II
1111
1
2 weeks
– Team B: 3-week Iterations Team B
►
– Team C: 4-week Iterations
Step 2: In your groups, discuss the following:

....•
• t II
1111
1
3 weeks
Team C
– If the teams start at the same time, when is the first
►
point in time they can align on the Iteration outcomes?
Step 3: Share with the class.

.... • &
1111
1
4 weeks
SCALED AGILE' " © Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-8
Page 75
Synchronize to assure delivery
~
This system is iterating
Probably need help

• System Demos
•
---
System Demos
----
from a System Team
• • • • • •
Sys 1 Sys 2 Sys 3 Sys 4 Sys 5 Sys 6 Sys 7 Sys 8
I II•
Ill t
1h11
------
-- ---
Continuous Integration
------
---P1--- ---P1---
SCALED AGILE " © Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-9
4.2 Organize teams around the flow of value

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-10
Page 76
Build cross-functional Agile Release Trains
Business Product Hardware Software Quality Testing Compliance Operations Security

Mgmt.
Solution
Cross-functional
Agile Teams
Teams on the ART are organized for flow
Stream-aligned team – organized around the flow of work and has

the ability to deliver value directly to the Customer or end user.
Complicated subsystem team – organized around specific

subsystems that require deep specialty skills and expertise.
Platform team – organized around the development and support of

platforms that provide services to other teams. MATTHEWSKELTON
ond MANUEL PAIS
(
,- - .... Enabling team – organized to assist other teams with specialized I
, _- _, capabilities and help them become proficient in new technologies.

\
More information in the Advanced Topic Article:

https://www.scaledagileframework.com/organizing-agile-teams-and-arts-team-topologies-at-scale/
Page 77
ARTs are organized to deliver value continuously
Consider the necessary interactions between the teams and organize to

maximize flow.
L.EA.SE....IRAIN.
G IL.E....Jl.E ---- '-
I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ·-
Stream-Aligned
Stream-Aligned
Complicated Enabling
Subsystem
Stream-Aligned
Platform
~ ----------
SCALED AGILE '" © Scaled Agile. Inc. 4-13
Roles
Roles on
on the
the Agile
Agile Release
Release Train
Train
Release
Release Train
as
as the
Train Engineer
the chief
Engineer (RTE)
chief Scrum
Scrum Master
(RTE) acts
Master for
acts
for the
a Product Management
Product Management owns,
owns, defines,
defines,
II train.
train .
the
II and prioritizes
and prioritizes the
the Program
Program Backlog.
Backlog.
,. System
System Architect/Engineering
provides
technical
Architect/Engineering
provides architectural
architectural guidance
technical enablement
the
the train.
train .
enablement to
guidance and
to the
and
the teams
teams on
on
System Team
System
tools to
tools
early and
early
Team provides
and often.
provides processes
to integrate
integrate and
often.
processes and
and evaluate
and
evaluate assets
assets
••
MIi
Business
Business Owners
Owners are
stakeholders
stakeholders on
Train.
Train.
on the
are key
key
the Agile
Agile Release
Release
SCALED AGILE • ©C Scaled

ScaladAgll o.Inc.
Agile. ln, . 4-14
4-14
Page 78
Responsibilities of the RTE
► Manage and optimize flow of value through the ART
► Facilitate PI Planning readiness and the event itself
► Aggregate and communicate PI Objectives
► Assist with execution and Feature completion tracking
► Assist with economic decision-making through Feature

estimation and roll-up to Value Stream and portfolio
► Escalate and track impediments
► Foster collaboration between teams and system-level

stakeholders; manage risks and dependencies
► Drive relentless improvement via Inspect and Adapt
Operating as a community
► RTEs often the best fit to assist Scrum

Masters in removing systemic impediments
►
►
RTEs and Scrum Masters see problems with
the train/team structure firsthand
Together RTEs and Scrum Masters are
able to take a systems view of the Agile
••
1h111h11
Release Train II I I
► Operating as a community is important
1h111h11
– Regularly meet to discuss problems
– Exchange experiences
Page 79
Prepare Share
Discussion: Scrum Master responsibilities 5 5

– What are your responsibilities as a member of the Scrum Master and RTE
community, that go beyond the day-to-day facilitation of your Agile Team?
– What are some examples and actions you have taken to promote the Scrum
Master and RTE community to innovate the ART?
– What challenges might you face in performing this aspect of your role?
► Step 2: Share with the class.
Product Management owns the Program Backlog
Assumptions about requirements need to be validated.

► Primary responsibilities of Product
Management:
– Understand customer needs; validate

Solutions
– Work with System Architect/Engineering
to understand the value of Enablers
– Develop and communicate Vision and
Roadmap
Page 80
Product Management owns the Program Backlog (cont.)
Additional responsibilities and activities of Product Management:
► Manage and prioritize the flow of work to

the program
► Prepare for and participate in PI Planning

► Define releases and program increments
► Participate in demos and Inspect and

Adapt
► Build an effective Product
Management/Product Owner team
The PO/PM team steers the ART
At scale, a single person cannot handle product and market strategy

while also being dedicated to an Agile Team.
,------------
I
------------, I
I
I a
1 2–4
I 1
I
I
1–2
I
I
I
I Product
II D
Product Owner
•
I
I
I
I Agile Team
I Management owns owns Team I implements value
I Program Backlog I
I.____________
_ Backlog
I
I
~------------ I
Page 81
Prepare Share
Activity: Facilitating PO/PM collaboration 3 2
► Step 1: As a group, discus the following:

– Is your Product Owner effectively collaborating on the priorities and backlog
with Product Management?
– Is the Product Owner sufficiently empowered to represent the voice of the
customer?
– How could you help facilitate PO/PM collaboration to align for backlog
prioritization?
4.3 Plan the Program Increment

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-22
Page 82
View
Video: Agile Development Story: The Power 3
of PI Planning
http://bit.ly/Agile_development
What is PI Planning?
Program Increment (PI) Planning is a cadence-based event that serves as the

heartbeat of the Agile Release Train (ART), aligning all teams on the ART to a
shared mission and Vision.
► Two days every 8 – 12 weeks (10 weeks is typical)

“There is no magic in
► Everyone plans together SAFe…except maybe
► Product Management owns Feature priorities for PI Planning”
► Development teams own Story planning

and high-level estimates —Dean Leffingwell
► Architect/Engineering and UX work as intermediaries

for governance, interfaces, and dependencies
Page 83
The PI Planning process
Input Output
Program
PI Objectives
Team A PI
Objectives
Team B PI
Vision Objectives
Team C PI
Objectives Team J PI
PI Planning Objectives
…
II
NFRs
Top 10
Features
~ -" -·.-.:;._
-·.~:.~ I
Program
Backlog
I
Vision and Top 10 Features Team and Program PI Objectives
and Program Board
PI Planning: Day 1 agenda
Business context 8:00 – 9:00 • State of the business
Product/Solution Vision 9:00 – 10:30 • Vision and prioritized Features
Architecture Vision and development • Architecture, common frameworks, etc.

10:30 – 11:30
practices • Agile tooling, engineering practices, etc.
Planning context and lunch 11:30 – 1:00 • Facilitator explains the planning process
• Teams develop draft plans and identify risks and

Team breakouts 1:00 – 4:00 impediments
• Architects and Product Managers circulate
Draft plan review 4:00 – 5:00 • Teams present draft plans, risks, and impediments
• Adjustments made based on challenges, risks, and

Management review and problem solving 5:00 – 6:00
impediments
Page 84
Business context and Product/Solution Vision
PI Planning begins with executive leadership:

► Sharing the state of the business and upcoming objectives
► Communicating the key portfolio priorities
► Analyzing the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,

and threats (SWOT)
► Introducing Product Management for the Vision and the high-

priority Features
Duration
Video Playlist: Introduction to PI Planning 4
http://bit.ly/PIPlanningPlaylist
Page 85
Architecture, User Experience (UX), and development practices
Architecture, UX, and development practices

are high priorities in PI Planning, not
afterthoughts!
► A System Architect presents the Vision for
architecture, new architecture Epics, and
common frameworks
► Development management may provide
updates on Agile tooling and
improvements in engineering practices
► UX professionals provide guidance
around usability issues
Team breakout #1
► In breakouts, each team

breaks down its Features into
User Stories. Stories are
estimated and placed into
Iterations.
► There is a lot of back and

forth between the teams,
mostly about understanding
and minimizing
dependencies.
Page 86
Team plan
Velocity ___ Velocity ___ Velocity ___ Velocity ___ Velocity ___
D ■■■ ■■ ■■•
Iteration 1.1 Load ___ Iteration 1.2 Load ___ Iteration 1.3 Load ___ Iteration 1.4 Load ___ Iteration 1.5 Load ___
Feature 1
D ••
••
IP Iteration
Feature 2
•• •••• •••• •••• X
PI Objectives BV AV Risks For velocity, use historic information or

8 x (number of developers + testers).
Uncommitted Objectives
Be sure to adjust for holidays and vacation time.
SCALED AGILE "

I■ G
User
Story

• P Maintenance
• Y
Exploration
enabler O
Infrastructure
enablers
• R
Risks and
dependencies
4-31
Duration
Activity: Calculating capacity 5
► Step 1: Consider the following scenario:

– There are nine teams on the train with velocities of 32, 48, 61, 30, 65, 18, 25,
62, 38 in the Iteration. The train operates on a five-Iteration PI cadence (with
the last Iteration reserved for Innovation and Planning).
► Step 2: Discuss as a group, what is the ART’s velocity?

– Note: Each number above is expressed in Story points relevant to that team
only, not comparable with other teams’ numbers.
Page 87
Starting fast with normalized Story points
Normalized estimation technique:

► For every full-time developer and tester on the
& team, give the team eight points (adjust for
part-timers).
Example: Assuming a seven-person

•
11111 ► Subtract one point for every team member
vacation day and holiday.
team composed of three developers,
two testers, one Product Owner, and ► Find a small Story that would take about a
one Scrum Master, with no vacations. half-day to develop and a half-day to test and
Exclude Scrum Master and Product validate. Call it a 1.
Owner from the calculation.
► Estimate every other Story relative to that 1-
Estimated Capacity = point story.
5 * 8 pts = 40 pts/Iteration
► Never look back (don’t worry about
SCALED AGILE" © Scaled Agile. Inc. recalibrating). 4-33
Color-coding Stories
We color-code the backlog items to give visibility into the

investments.
We can visually see that some

teams may have significant
backlog items dedicated to things
like maintenance.
G P Y O R
User Exploration Infrastructure Risks and
■ ■ ■ ■
Maintenance
Story Enabler Enablers dependencies
Page 88
Program board: Feature delivery, dependencies, and Milestones
Iteration 1.1 Iteration 1.2 Iteration 1.3 Iteration 1.4 Iteration 1.5 (IP) PI 2 >>>
Milestones/
Events A program Milestone or event is
Unicorns
happening in Iteration 1.3 (e.g., a trade
show, market release, etc.)
Dolphins
Bears
This Feature cannot be delivered
Eagles
Iguanas
Antelope
- until multiple teams complete their
dependencies.
A Feature placed in a team’s swim lane

Tarantulas
Needs UX Help
Needs Sys - with no strings means that it can be

completed independent of other teams.
- - -
Arch Help
Blue = Features Red/ Pink = Significant Dependency Orange = Milestone/Event Red String = A dependency requiring Stories
or other dependencies to be completed before
the Feature can be completed
Prepare Share
Discussion: Identifying problems 3 2
► Step 1: As a group, review the examples of program boards in

your workbook.
► Step 2: Discuss the following:

– What problems can you identify?
– What can you do during PI planning to mitigate the issues? What can you do
after PI planning?
Page 89
Program Board 1
Example programboard #1
Iteration 1.1 lterati on 1.2 Iteration 1.3 Iteration 1.4 Iteration 1.5 (IP) Pl 2 »>
-
---/
Milestones/
:---- M1
Events ----,--
J
--
Unicorns F1
Dolphins m 1!1--.;;;..
Bears
\ ~ 1'--- F2 --
/
Eagles
Iguanas
'm- ......
'' \, ~
---.
----
F6
"'
- F3
Antelope
/ ~ FS
Tarantulas El( -......__ F4
Needs UX Help
Needs Sys
Arch Help
SCALED AGILE • <>Sode dA g lle.lno.
Page 90
Program Board 2
Example program board #2
Iteration 1.1 Iteration 1.2 Iteration 1.3 Iteration 1.4 Iteration 1.5 (IP) Pl 2 »>
Milestones/
Events ,,,--- -~
F6 F1 F3 F5
_/"m
Unicorns
Dolphins
J \.
Bears
✓ I )
Eagles
m / F4 ma✓
Iguanas
----- I J ~
'--1!1
-----
Antelope F2
Tarantulas El_,, F7
Needs UX Help
Needs Sys
Arch Help
SCA LED AGILE • Ho"' d Agllo.....
Page 91
Create Alignment with PI Objectives
► Objectives are business

summaries of what each team
intends to deliver in the upcoming Objectives for PI 1 BV ABV
PI. 1. Show routing calculations between

the 5 most frequent destinations
2. Navigate autonomously from
► They often directly relate to distribution center the most frequent
intended Features in the backlog. destination
3. Parallel park for a delivery
4. Return to distribution center after
► Other examples: delivery
5. Include traffic data in route planning
6. Recall a delivery that is already in
– Aggregation of a set of Features progress
– A Milestone like a trade show Uncommitted Objectives

– An Enabler Feature supporting the 7. Spike: Reduce GPS signal loss by 25%
8. Demonstrate real-time rerouting to
implementation avoid delays (e.g., accident,
construction)
– A major refactoring
Maintain predictability with uncommitted objectives
Uncommitted objectives help improve the predictability of delivering business value.
► They are planned and aren’t extra things teams

do ‘just in case you have time’ Objectives for PI 1
► They are not included in the commitment, thereby

making the commitment more reliable
► If a team has low confidence in meeting a PI

Objective, it should be moved to uncommitted
► If an objective has many unknowns, consider
7. Spike: Reduce GPS signal loss
moving it to uncommitted and put in early spikes by 25%
avoid delays (e.g., accident,
► Uncommitted objectives count when calculating construction)
load
Page 92
Scrum of Scrums (SoS)
The hourly Scrum of Scrums checkpoint helps keep teams on track

and supports early identification of risk.
Hourly SoS planning checkpoint:
► Keeps teams on track with hourly planning Milestones
► Helps drive out risks, impediments, and dependencies
Prepare Share
Activity: Getting back on track with planning 10 5
► Step 1: In your groups, consider the following scenario:

– You are at the second SoS event. The planning radiator shows that your team is
quite behind. Some Stories are estimated, but none of the Iterations are completely
planned and the team is way too far from formulating the PI Objectives. This
happened because the team got into too much detail with the first bunch of Stories
they considered.
► Step 2: The RTE made a clear suggestion that you need to use any tools
at your disposal as well as any people in the planning room, but the team
must provide a draft plan at the end of the breakout. What would you do
next?
Page 93
Draft plan review
Plans are peer-reviewed by all teams.
Draft plan review agenda:
1. Capacity and load
2. Draft PI Objectives
3. Program risks and

impediments
4. Q&A
Reprinted by permission of TradeStation Technologies
Management review and problem-solving
Management meets to adjust scope and objectives based on Day 1

planning. Some common questions are:
► Where do we need to adjust Vision?
Scope? Resources?
► Where are the bottlenecks?
► What Features must be de-scoped?
► What decisions must we make between

now and tomorrow to address these
issues?
Page 94
Activities during Day 2
Day 1 Day 2
Business context 8:00–9:00 Planning adjustments 8:00–9:00
Product/Solution Vision 9:00–10:30

Team breakouts 9:00–11:00
Architecture Vision and
10:30–11:30
development practices
Final plan review and lunch 11:00 –1:00
Planning context and lunch 11:30–1:00
Program risks 1:00–2:00
Team breakouts 1:00–4:00

PI confidence vote 2:00–2:15
Draft plan review 4:00–5:00 Plan rework if necessary 2:15–???
Management review and Planning retrospective After

5:00–6:00 and moving forward commitment
problem solving
Make planning adjustments
Based on the previous day’s management

review and problem-solving meeting,
adjustments are discussed.
Possible changes:
► Business priorities
► Adjustment to plan
► Changes to scope
► Movement of resources
Page 95
Team breakout #2
Based on new knowledge (and a good night’s

sleep), teams work to create their final plans.
Objectives for PI 1 BV ABV
► In the second team breakout, Business
Owners circulate and assign business 1. Show routing calculations between
the 5 most frequent destinations 10
value to PI Objectives from low (1) to high 2. Navigate autonomously from
(10) distribution center the most frequent 8
destination
► Teams finalize the Program 3. Parallel park for a delivery 7
Increment plan delivery 10
5. Include traffic data in route planning 7
► Teams also consolidate program risks, 6. Recall a delivery that is already in
7
progress
impediments, and dependencies
► Uncommitted objectives provide the 7. Spike: Reduce GPS signal loss by 25% 2
capacity and guard band needed to 8. Demonstrate real-time rerouting to
increase cadence-based delivery avoid delays (e.g., accident, 5
construction)
reliability
Prepare Share
Activity: “We just don’t see much 5 3
business value in it...”
► Step 1: In your groups, consider the following scenario:
– Your team is at a breakout session on Day 2. Business Owners
ranked a PI Objective of “Building batch processing mechanism for
indexing” as 2 and requested that you move it to stretch objectives. •
This function provides a critical architectural enablement to the Objectives for PI 1 BV ABV
entire program in this PI. The team is clearly disappointed and 1. Show routing calculations between
10
the 5 most frequent destinations
concerned that an important technical item is ranked so low. “We 2. Navigate autonomously from
just don’t see much business value in it,” said the VP of Product. distribution center the most frequent
destination
8
3. Parallel park for a delivery 7
10
► Step 2: Considering the role of the Scrum Master, discuss: delivery
5. Include traffic data in route planning 7
6. Recall a delivery that is already in
progress 7
How would you solve the problem?
–
– What tools or techniques would you use in order to come to a

- Uncommitted Objectives
7. Spike: Reduce GPS signal loss by 25%
2
solution? avoid delays (e.g., accident,
construction)
5
■
Page 96
Final plan review
Teams and Business Owners peer-review all final plans
Final plan review agenda

1. Changes to capacity and load
2. Final PI Objectives with business
value
3. Program risks and impediments
4. Q&A session
Building the final plan
► Final plans are collected at the

front of the room
► Final plans are reviewed

by all teams
► Business Owners are asked

whether they accept the plan
► If so, the team’s plan and program

risk sheet are brought to the front
of the room
► If not, the plans stay in place and

the team continues planning after
the review
Page 97
Addressing program risks
After all plans have been presented, remaining

program risks and impediments are discussed and
categorized.
Q esolved (:) wned
ROAMing risks:
Resolved - Has been addressed. No longer a

concern.
Owned - Someone has taken responsibility.
Accepted - Nothing more can be done. If risk occurs,

release may be compromised.
Mitigated - Team has plan to adjust as necessary.

Confidence vote: Team and program
After dependencies are resolved and risks are addressed, a

confidence vote is taken by the team and program.
A commitment with two parts:

1. Teams agree to do everything in their power to meet the agreed-to objectives
2. In the event that fact patterns dictate that it is simply not achievable, teams
agree to escalate immediately so that corrective action can be taken
No
confidence
Little
confidence
Good
confidence
IHigh
confidence
Very high
confidence
Page 98
Plan rework if necessary
What happens if there is low confidence? Rework!
No Little
confidence confidence
The PI Planning timebox:

► Just as the Iteration Planning event is timeboxed, so is the PI Planning
event.
► Leaving the two-day planning event without a committed plan is not an
option. Teams stay to rework their plans and ‘ROAM’ their risks and
impediments.
Prepare Share
Activity: Being proactive about the 5 3
confidence vote
► Step 1: As a group, explore the key factors

that impact the team’s confidence vote
Outside the team
► Step 2: Create a list of action items that you,
During planning
Before planning
as a Scrum Master, would consider to

proactively enable a high confidence level on
your team
► Step 3: Present the list of actions to the class Within the team
– Hint: Split the sheet into four quadrants and explore

action items in each quadrant.
Page 99
Run a planning event retrospective
The PI Planning event will evolve over time. Ending with a retrospective will help
continuously improve it.
The PI Planning Event

The Planning Meeting
The Planning Meeting
Retrospective
retrospective
retrospective
1.What went well
1.What went well
1.What
2.What went well
didn’t
2.What didn’t
2.What
3.What didn’t
we can do
3.What we can do
3.What
better nextwetime
can do
better next time
better next time
Moving forward
The moving forward portion describes what happens after PI Planning ends.
► Capture objectives and Stories in

Agile project management tooling
► Aggregate Team PI Objectives to

Program PI Objectives
► Set Scrum of Scrum cadence,

release management team
cadence, System Demo cadence,
etc.
Page 100
Moving forward, (continued)
Additional actions to describe what to do after the PI Planning ends:

► Refine Program Backlog and
prepare for next PI Planning
events
► Summarize changes to
engineering practices
► Clean up PI Planning space

(physical and/or digital)
PI Planning resources for Scrum Masters
You’ll find the following resources on the SAFe Community Platform:

► PI Planning Toolkit
► Capacity Allocation spreadsheet

- Also included in the PI Planning
Toolkit
► Video Playlist: Introduction to PI

Planning
► SAFe Collaborate Template:

Being proactive about the ~SAFe · I coLLAsoRATE
confidence vote
Page 101
4.4 Execute the Program Increment

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-57
ART events
ART events create a closed-loop system to keep the train on the tracks.
ART Sync ==,.
~ ART events
....Team events
•
Scrum of Scrums
.,.• PO Sync
e1ffl
1i&e
1h11e 1h11
DI 1 ■ 1
DI DI
• 1h11 •
PI
Planning
I • Iteration
Planning
Daily
Stand-up
Iteration
Review • System
Demo
~
Iteration Backlog /2
Retro
• Refinement
•... , .,
Inspect & Adapt Iii
Prepare for PI Planning
Page 102
ART Sync is used to coordinate progress
ARTs coordinate dependencies through sync events.
-
I
llil 1 111 •••
ART Sync
1111111111
Scrum of Scrums PO Sync
► Visibility into progress and impediments ► Visibility into progress, scope, and priority
adjustments
► Facilitated by RTE
► Facilitated by RTE or PM
► Participants: Scrum Masters, other select
team members, SMEs, if necessary ► Participants: PMs, POs, other
stakeholders, and SMEs, as necessary
► Weekly or more frequently, 30–60
► Weekly or more frequently, 30–60
minutes
minutes
► Timeboxed and followed by a meet-after
► Timeboxed and followed by a meet-after
Demo the full system increment every two weeks
► Features are functionally

complete or ‘toggled’ so as not
to disrupt demonstrable
functionality
► New Features work together
and with existing functionality
► Follows the teams’ demo (may Full system
lag by as much as one Iteration, SU
PP
maximum) O
RT
System
team
► Demo from a staging
environment, resembling
production as much as possible
Page 103
Prepare Share
Discussion: “You let us down...” 5 2
► Step 1: Consider the following

scenario:
X
– In SoS, another Scrum Master mentions
that at the end of the Iteration, the
System Demo did not happen. All teams
that had new product functionality
merged their changes; your team was the
last to merge, and the process didn’t go
well. You have nothing to show at the Full system
SU
demo and other Scrum Masters are PP
looking at you and judging you. O
RT
System
► Step 2: Discuss as a group: team
– From a Scrum Master perspective, what

would you do?
Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration
Provide sufficient capacity margin to enable cadence. —Donald G. Reinertsen
Facilitate reliability, Program Increment readiness, planning, and innovation
► Innovation: Opportunity for

innovation, hackathons, and
infrastructure improvements
► Planning: Provides for

cadence-based planning
► Estimating guard band for

cadence-based delivery
Page 104
Example IP Iteration calendar
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2 3 4 5
--- Buffer for leftover work
--- Final verification and validation, and documentation (if releasing)
1
--- Innovation
PI planning readiness
8 9 10 11 12
PI Planning
Business context Optional time for
Continuing education Planning adjustments
distributed planning
Product/solution vision
Team breakouts
Architecture vision and Final plan review

development practices and lunch
Planning requirements Program risks

Innovation continues
and lunch
PI confidence vote
Inspect and adapt
Team breakouts
workshop Plan rework if necessary
PI Planning Draft plan review
readiness Management review and Planning retrospective and
problem-solving moving forward
4.5 Enable teams to release value on demand

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-64
Page 105
ARTs release value on demand
Continuous Delivery Pipeline ----------.
Continuous Continuous Continuous

Exploration Integration Deployment
• Release on Demand •
DevOps enables Continuous Delivery
C1 'IJ:AS
Release on Demand
• • • ••
Continuous
Exploration
Continuous
Integration
Continuous
Deployment
PI
Page 106
Duration
Video: The Continuous Delivery Pipeline 4
https://bit.ly/SAFeCDP
Maximize speed and stability
Operations
Business
Optimized for Optimized for Working together for
development speed stability speed and stability
Page 107
A CALMR approach to DevOps
Establish a culture of shared

C Culture responsibility for development, Culture
deployment, and operations. of shared
responsibility
Automate the Continuous

A Automation
Delivery Pipeline.
Recovery Automation
reduces risk &
Keep batch sizes small, limit preserves value
of continuous
delivery pipeline
L Lean flow WIP, and provide extreme
visibility.
Measure the flow through the

M Measurement pipeline. Implement full-stack
telemetry.
Lean Flow
Measurement
Architect and enable low-risk of flow, quality
accelerates
delivery
releases. Establish fast & value
R Recovery
recovery, fast reversion, and
fast fix-forward.
Separate deploy from release
► Separate deploy to production

from release Deploy
► Hide all new functionality under

feature toggles
► Enables testing background and

Release
foreground processes in the actual
production environment before
exposing new functionality to users 1111111
1111111
► Timing of the release becomes a
business decision 1111111
Page 108
Decouple release elements from the total Solution
► Different parts of the Solution require different release strategies

► Architect the Solution to enable the various strategies and to shift them
over time based on business demand
End-user functionality
Streamlet 1
I (released every 2 weeks)
Security updates
Streamlet 2
/ (released on demand)
Streamlet 3
Streamlet4
--- Back-office functionality
(released every month)
Value ‘streamlets’ Entire Solution
""
Solution
(major release every quarter)
Prepare Share
Activity: Improving flow 5 5
► Step 1: Find a partner and think

of three ideas that you can
implement as a Scrum Master to Release on Demand
improve flow through the

Continuous Delivery Pipeline and
DevOps
• Continuous
Exploration
► Step 2: Find a new partner and Continuous

Integration
share the three ideas you’ve had
with each other Continuous
Deployment
► Step 3: Prepare to share ideas PI
with the class.
Page 109
4.6 Prepare for the next PI Planning event

Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 4-73
Key stakeholders prepare briefings
In preparation for PI Planning, leadership creates a series of briefings

to set context.
► Executive briefing: State of the business
and upcoming objectives
► Product Vision briefing(s): Vision and
top 10 Features Feature
► Architectural Vision briefing: Vision for
architecture, new architectural Epics, Enabler
common frameworks, and more
NFRs
► Development context: Changes to standard
practices, new tools and techniques, and more
Page 110
New PI content should not be a surprise
Upfront presentation of content to the teams solves a lot of problems later

during PI Planning.
- r ~ •
1h11 ~ 3
----
- ' •••
1 Facilitated by RTE 2
• •u• :::Iii!
11 u
Facilitated by SM
, . 1=1
a,. - ~
u.
-• -,t,
&
mar
- ~ & --
Product Management and Features are roughly split into Each PO presents initial Stories
other stakeholders refine Story-like chunks with POs to the team, looks for feedback,
Program Backlog big unknowns, etc.
Lesson review
In this lesson you:
► Executed development with the Agile _ah ~ .

Release Train
►
Established teams around the flow of
value
Organized the Program Increment

I ~
~-.
ao1.unot1 -
► Executed the Program Increment

·•~ -:
► Managed teams to release value on i+:
demand
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/pi-planning/
► Prepared for the next PI Planning
Page 111
Lesson notes
Page 112
Lesson 5
Improving Flow with
Kanban and XP
access to the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master exam
and related preparation materials.
Lesson Topics
5.1 Build your Kanban board
5.2 Measure and optimize

flow
5.3 Build quality in
5.4 Foster engineering

craftsmanship
5.5 Facilitate collaboration

with Architects, System
Team, and Operations
5-2
Page 113
Learning Objectives

► Build a Kanban board for your team
► Implement metrics to measure and optimize the flow of work on

your team
► Apply activities for the team to build in quality
► Enable teams for engineering craftsmanship
► Establish collaboration with Architects, System Team, and

Operations
5-3
5.1 Build your Kanban board
5-4
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 114
Duration
Video Playlist: Kanban for Teams 5
http://bit.ly/KanbanPlaylist
5-5
Kanban description
Primary aspects for applying Kanban in development:
► The progress of items is tracked by visualizing all

work
► Teams agree on specific WIP limits for each state

and change them when necessary to improve flow
X
► Policies are adopted to specify the management
of work
►
Flow is measured
Classes of service are used to prioritize work

0
based on the Cost of Delay (CoD)
5-6
Page 115
One team's initial Kanban board
2 6 4 2 8 6
r
Team Backlog Analyze Review Build Integrate

Accepted
and Test
•• - -
In In
-■ ~ ■
progress Ready progress Ready
■ ■ -■■-■
••• ■ ■ •• ■
+-------------------------- ►
Average WIP and duration are measured from the point work is pulled from
the backlog until it is accepted.
5-7
Applicability
► Kanban perfectly extends Scrum by

providing granular pull mechanisms that
drive more effective Iteration execution
► Kanban connects capacity-based
planning in Scrum with a throughput-based
approach
► It helps improve Iteration outcomes
► It allows better visibility into the progress of

work based on the team-specific -- -
workflow
SCALED AGILE ' " © Scaled Agile, Inc. - 5-8
Page 116
Prepare Share
Activity: Build your own Kanban board 12 3

groups, pick one context from
any of the team members 2 6 4 2 8 6
Integrate
Team Backlog Analyze Review Build Accepted
and Test
► Step 2: Build a team Kanban

board using the example •• •• •
••••••••
In
progress Ready
In
progress Ready
previously discussed
• •• • •• +------------►
► Step 3: Present your board to Average WIP and duration are measured from the point work
is pulled from the backlog until it is accepted.
the class
5-9
5.2 Measure and optimize flow
5-10
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 117
Duration
Video Playlist: Kanban - Measuring and 3
Improving
http://bit.ly/KanbanPlaylist
5-11
Points accepted vs. points planned
Iteration productivity
Points accepted vs points planned
200%
150%
100%
50%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6
5-12
Page 118
Prepare Share
Discussion: Iteration KPIs (key performance 3 2
indicators)

groups, discuss what the
example chart illustrates about
the team’s flow and
predictability

how you, as a Scrum Master,
can improve flow and
predictability
5-13
Iteration performance Metrics
► Functionality
Metrics measure
things like
velocity and
throughput
► Quality Metrics
measure the
ability to build
quality into the
process
5-14
Page 119
Program execution Metrics: PI burn-down chart
The PI burn-down chart shows the progress being made toward the Program
Increment timebox. Today
500
► The horizontal axis of the PI burn- Actual
down chart shows the Iterations within
400 I
the PI
Story Burn-down
P
► The vertical axis shows the 300
aggregated amount of work (Story Plan

points) remaining at the start of each 200
# of story
Iteration for the ART points behind
100
► Iteration boundaries provide the most

meaning 1 2 3 4 5
Iterations in the PI
5-15
Program execution Metrics: Cumulative flow diagram (CFD)
The CFD is made up of a series of lines or areas representing the amount of work
in the various Kanban states.
80
70
60
50
Funnel
Feature
40
30 Analysis
Backlog Implementing
20
10 Done
0
PI1 — i1 PI1 — i2 PI1 — i3 PI1 — i4 PI1 — i5 PI1 — i6
Done Implementing Backlog Analysis Funnel 5-16

Page 120
Typical program measures in a CFD
► Lead time - The time a backlog item spends in the system after
it has been pulled from the backlog and before it is accepted
► WIP in the system - The number of backlog items currently

in process (all items between funnel and done)
► Throughput - The number of items that can be finished per unit

of time
5-17
Reading cumulative flow diagrams
80
70
60
50
Funnel
Feature
40
30 Analysis
Lead time
Backlog Implementing
20
WIP
Throughput
10
Done
0
PI1 — i1 PI1 — i2 PI1 — i3 PI1 — i4 PI1 — i5 PI1 — i6
Done Implementing Backlog Analysis Funnel

5-18
Page 121
Prepare Share
Activity: Reading cumulative flow diagrams 5 2
► Step 1: Working in your groups, review the two CFD example

charts. Capture answers to the following questions:
– What problems do you see?
– How do you know these are problems?
5-19
Cumulative Flow Diagram – Example 1
120
100
80
Feature
60
Funnel Analysis
40 Backlog
20 Implementing
Done
0
PI1 — i1 PI1 — i2 PI1 — i3 PI1 — i4 PI1 — i5 PI2 — i1 PI2 — i2 PI2 — i3 PI2 — i4 PI2 — i5 PI3 — i1 PI3 — i2 PI3 — i3 PI3 — i4 PI3 — i5

5-20
Page 122
Cumulative Flow Diagram – Example 2
80
70
60
50 Funnel
Feature
40
Analysis
30
Backlog
Implementing
20
10 Done
0
PI1 — i1 PI1 — i2 PI1 — i3 PI1 — i4 PI1 — i5 PI2 — i1 PI2 — i2 PI2 — i3 PI2 — i4 PI2 — i5 PI3 — i1 PI3 — i2 PI3 — i3 PI3 — i4 PI3 — i5

5-21
Classes of service to adjust flow
► Standard - Operate normally. Adhere to WIP limits.
► Fixed Date - Adhere to WIP limits. Must be pulled from the backlog early enough.
► Expedite - Can violate WIP limits. No more than one item at a time.
2 6 4 2 8 6
Team Backlog Analyze Review Build Integrate

Accepted
and Test
In In
progress Ready progress Ready
Expedite
Fixed date
Standard
5-22
Page 123
Prepare Share
Discussion: Classes of service 3 2
► Step 1: Provide examples where the three classes of service would

apply in your context
► Step 2: Discuss what the potential sources of ‘Fixed Date’ and
‘Expedite’ items could be
Standard Fixed date Expedite
5-23
5.3 Build quality in
5-24
©©Scaled
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 124
Built-in Quality
► Ensures that every increment of the

Solution reflects quality standards
► Is required for sustainably high Flow

development velocity
► Includes Continuous Integration, test- Architecture & Design Quality
first, refactoring, pair work, collective

ownership, and more (for software Code Quality
quality practices mostly inspired by

XP) System Quality
► Is supported in hardware by early Release Quality

exploratory Iterations, frequent
system-level integration, design
verification, MBSE, and set-based
design
5-25
Emergent design and intentional architecture
Every team deserves to see the bigger picture.

Every team is empowered to design its part.
► Emergent design - Teams grow the system

design as User Stories require
► Intentional architecture - Fosters team

alignment and defines the Architectural
Runway
A balance between emergent design and

intentional architecture is required for speed of
development and maintainability.
5-26
Page 125
Architectural Runway
► Contains existing code,

components, and technical
infrastructure needed to Feature
Feature
implement near-term Implemented
Features without excessive now …
Enabler … to support
redesign and delay future Features
► Supports the continuous flow

of value through the Architectural Runway
Continuous Delivery Pipeline
5-27
Continuous code integration
Test
Develop Build End-to-end Stage
Build Live Idle

Deploy
Test Idle Live
Continuous Continuous Release on

Exploration Deployment Demand
5-28
Page 126
Continuous system integration
Teams continuously integrate assets, leaving as little as possible to the System Team.
► Integrate every vertical slice of a User

Story Agile Team 1
Story
System System
► Avoid physical branching for software Check out most Team Demo
functionality
Check newest
► Frequently integrate hardware changes back in
Trunk
branches
Check in
► Use development by intention in case each Story
Always current
Full system integration at
of inter-team dependencies mainline increases
program velocity
least once per Iteration
Agile Team 2
– Define interfaces and integrate first; Story
then add functionality
5-29
Traditional testing (V-Model) delays feedback
Write Feature Test Feature
Write Story Test Story
Write Code Test Code
5-30
Page 127
Shift testing left for fast and continuous feedback
Shift testing left
FEATURE TESTS
(BDD) Write Feature Test Feature … always testing …
STORY TESTS
(BDD) Write Story Test Story … always testing …
CODE TESTS
(TDD) Write Code Test Code … always testing …
5-31
Prepare Share
Activity: Integration and ART velocity 5 3
(part 1)
► Step 1: Each group is assigned A or B
► Step 2: Each group A is matched with a

partner B group
► Step 3: Each group will build its own Group A Group B

builds builds
component, as shown in the picture. this part this part
► Note: The partnered teams cannot

communicate with each other
5-32
Page 128
Prepare Share
Activity: Integration and ART velocity (part 2) 5 3
► Step 4: Once your group is done building your components, put

them together for every pair of groups.
– What do the results look like?
– Is any rework required?
► Step 5: Based on what we’ve just seen, what impact does late
cross-team integration have on the program’s velocity?
5-33
Refactoring
Refactoring allows teams to maintain high velocity.

► It is impossible to predict
requirements or design in detail
Maintainability Simplicity
► Refactoring allows teams to quickly
correct the course of action
► Emergent design is impossible

without continuous refactoring Refactor for…
► Most User Stories will include some
refactoring effort
► If technical debt is big—teams track

and implement as separate backlog Future Value Clarity
items—then it’s time to refactor
5-34
Page 129
Pair work
Improves system quality, design decisions, knowledge sharing, and team velocity
► Broader and less constraining than Define any

Interfaces.
pair programming
Implement the
interfaces.
► Collaborative effort of any two team Try to integrate
members: dev/dev, dev/PO,
Resolve integration
dev/tester, etc. conflicts.
Plan for first cut of logic.
► Team members spend 20% to 80% of
their time pairing Code the logic.
Try to integrate.
► Pairs should be spontaneous and
Example User Story
purposefully rotate over time Implementation flow
and so on…
5-35
Collective ownership
► Addresses bottlenecks, increases velocity, and encourages

shared contribution
► Fosters Feature orientation
► Supports the ART by using:

Primary area
– Design simplicity of concern
– Communities of practice
– Pair work
– Joint specification and design workshops

– Frequent integration of the entire system
– Standards
Agile Team
► Facilitates shared understanding of system behavior by
using Collective test ownership
5-36
Page 130
Prepare Share
Activity: Facilitate the adoption of integration 7 3
and testing
► Step 1: Identify current problems

in your group’s experience Agile Team 1
with integration and test Check out most

functionality
Story
System
Team
System
Demo
automation
Check newest
changes back in
Trunk
Check in
each Story
Step 2: Build a realistic plan for

Always current
► mainline increases Full system integration at

program velocity least once per Iteration
enhancing your team’s integration

Agile Team 2
Story Shift testing left
and testing ability FEATURE TESTS

(BDD) Write Feature Test Feature … always testing …
STORY TESTS
(BDD) Write Story Test Story … always testing …
► Step 3: Discuss how this plan CODE TESTS

(TDD) Write Code Test Code … always testing …
connects with the team’s

definition of done
5-37
5.4 Foster engineering craftsmanship
5-38
©©Scaled
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
Page 131
Foster adoption of technical practices
A Scrum Master facilitates the adoption of technical practices through the following actions:
► Helps the team refine the definition of done
► Creates transparency and urgency around continuous system integration
► Encourages small, automated acceptance tests at the beginning and evolves from there
► Encourages team members to coach each other in test-driven design (TDD), behavior-
driven design (BDD), refactoring
► Helps the team adopt a ‘thinking backward’ approach by asking what is the expected
behavior of the functionality that we are about to code?
► Helps facilitate the power of human-readable acceptance tests
► Encourages pairing and peer review
5-39
Encourage learning
Scrum Masters create an environment for continuous learning
Team Inside-Outs Short presentations to the team
Book and Coffee Breaks Discussions of new topics over coffee
Coding Dojo Coding in front of a group
Communities of Practice Self-organizing groups to build knowledge
Agile Software Engineering Learn more with the Agile Software Engineering course
5-40
Page 132
Encourage learning: Inside-Outs
Frequency: Once every 1–2 Iterations

A team member
prepares a short Duration: 30–60 minutes
Team Inside-Outs presentation or flip chart
talk for their team. Example: We will soon start using Hibernate for data
persistence. John has experience and is willing to share
his knowledge.
Help kick-start the first 2–3 Inside-Outs and help participants prepare
Maintain the Inside-Out schedule

Your role
Invite shared resources (System Architect, User Experience, infrastructure, etc.) or
people from other teams to discuss useful topics
5-41
Encourage learning: Book and Coffee Breaks
A normal coffee break Frequency: 3–4 times per Iteration

with 3–4 people
Book and Coffee discussing a book on a Duration: 30–60 minutes
Breaks (BCBs) new technology, practice,
or domain topic that the Example: The team is about to build its first crawler and
team is trying to master. Andrew reads them some excerpts from Soumen
Chakrabarti’s book Mining the Web
Your role Lead a few BCBs and acquaint people with the format
5-42
Page 133
Encourage learning: Coding Dojo
A session where developers and/or Frequency: Once every 1–2 Iterations

automated test engineers gather to
discuss programming and testing
Coding (and
challenges. One or two people sit at the
Testing) Dojo computer and project onto a screen. Duration: 60–90 minutes
As they code, people comment out loud.
After 5–8 minutes, people rotate.
Arrange facilities and equipment
Help brainstorm fun, challenging exercises (could be a spike, a script for retrieving
Your role data, or even code in one of the main modules)
Similarly, testers will enjoy learning how to write test scripts
5-43
Encourage learning: Communities of Practice
Frequency: Once every 1–2 Iterations

Communities of practice
are self-organizing Duration: 30–60 minutes
Communities of groups that form to
Practice (CoPs) discuss new topics, Format: Any of the formats previously discussed (Inside-
challenges and best Out, BCB, Dojo)
practices. Example: An automated testing CoP gathers to attend
Ivan’s presentation on creating FIT tests for complex
branching scenarios.
Work with other Scrum Masters and the Release Train Engineer to create and
maintain the CoPs
Your role Unite people from different teams in the program around the same process
objectives or activities like unit testing, automated acceptance testing, or system
design
5-44
Page 134
5.5 Facilitate collaboration with Architects,
System Team, and Operations
5-45
©©Scaled
Scaled Agile,
Agile, Inc.Inc.
System Architects, Team, Operations
System Architects – Provide architectural guidance to teams,

collaborate on new technical research, address technical questions
from team members
System Team – Assist the ART with frequent system integration and
testing and development of infrastructure support
Operations – Enable the Continuous Delivery Pipeline through

infrastructure and process support
5-46
Page 135
Prepare Share
Discussion: Collaboration with special 5 3
teams
► Step 1: Consider one of the following events:
– PI Planning
– Iteration execution events (DSU, Iteration

Planning, Iteration Review, Iteration Retro)
– Inspect & Adapt
– System Demo
Available Platform Resources:
► Step 2: Determine what kind of collaboration
with Architects, System Team, and Operations • Distributed I&A Problem- • Iteration Retrospective
Solving Workshop Checklist Facilitator Checklist
would be useful in your context. Pro tip: Be • PI Planning Facilitator Guide • Iteration Review Facilitator
specific, for example, will you need to meet • Daily Stand-Up Facilitator Checklist
regularly for release updates? Checklist • Backlog Refinement
• Iteration Planning Facilitator Facilitator Checklist
Checklist
5-47
SAFe resources for Scrum Masters

Additional guides and checklists on the SAFe Community Platform to support flow,
Metrics, and events:
► Iteration Event Facilitator Checklists
► Iteration performance Metrics

Spreadsheet
- Also available in the Iteration

Execution Toolkit
► Video Playlist: Kanban for Teams
► SAFe Collaborate Template: Build

your own Kanban board
5-48
Page 136
Lesson review
In this lesson you:

► Built your Kanban board
► Measured and optimized flow
► Explored building quality in
► Discussed fostering engineering

craftsmanship
► Facilitated collaboration with

Architects, System Team, and
http://www.scaledagileframework.com/team-kanban/
Operations
http://www.scaledagileframework.com/built-in-quality/
5-49
Page 137
Lesson notes
Page 138
Lesson 6
Building High-Performing
Teams
Lesson Topics
6.1 Foster collaboration on
the team
6.2 Facilitate cross-team

collaboration
6.3 Build trust with

stakeholders
6.4 Develop team skill sets
6.5 Build an improvement

Roadmap
6-2
Page 139
Learning Objectives

► Develop practices to foster collaboration on the team
► Apply practices to facilitate cross-team collaboration
► Establish practices to build trust with stakeholders
► Develop T-shaped team skills
► Build an improvement Roadmap

6-3
6.1 Foster collaboration on the team
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
6-4
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 140
Collaboration
Simply following Scrum (or Lean-Agile) processes doesn’t make an Agile Team a team.
Poor collaboration often leads to:
► Low velocity
► Poor product quality
► Low morale, low engagement, lack of

commitment, poor working
environment, and lack of trust
► Missed commitments and poor

results

6-5
Fostering collaboration
Fostering collaboration is one of the most important tasks of a Scrum Master.

Weak collaboration often exists:
► Between developers and testers (late testing,

poor quality, low velocity)
► Among developers (technical debt, poor

knowledge sharing, too much WIP)
► Between the PO and the rest of the team

(unnecessary rework due to misunderstood
acceptance criteria, low velocity)
► With other teams (uncontrolled dependencies,

sense of false progress)
6-6
Page 141
Identify team member responsibilities
► It can be useful both for the team

themselves, but also for other
teams, to understand the
Team Primary Secondary
responsibilities of the individual Member
Role
Responsibilities Responsibilities
team members.
► Primary responsibilities are

typically those things where you
are directly responsible for the
outcome.
► Secondary responsibilities tend to

be those where you are This activity can be found in the Team Formation Toolkit
contributing your expertise and
time.

6-7
Duration
Video: You Can’t Force the Mandate 1
http://bit.ly/Cant-Force-Mandate

6-8
Page 142
Duration
Discussion: Collaboration on your team 5
► Step 1: Consider your actual

team environment:
– What examples of collaboration
would be helpful in your
environment beyond basic Scrum
events?
– What problems would it solve?

6-9
6.2 Facilitate cross-team collaboration
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
6-10
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 143
Collaboration across teams is key
Agile Release Trains are built with a goal to foster team alignment and
collaboration.

6-11
Define key interactions with other teams
Successful collaboration is key to ART

success.
Three common interaction modes are:
- Collaboration: Working together with

other teams for a prolonged period.
- ‘As-a-service’: Providing or receiving a

service to/from another team.
- Facilitation: Helping and mentoring

another team
(Team Topologies, Skelton & Pais)

The ART is a team of Agile teams

6-12
Page 144
Prepare Share
Activity: Cross-Team Collaboration 8 5
► Step 1: Consider the following scenario:

– PI Planning resulted in quite a few dependencies with other teams, some of which must be
fulfilled in the same Iteration. One dependency occurs in Iteration 2. As Iteration 2
approaches, the team feels increasingly uncomfortable about being able to accomplish this
critical dependency, because another team must provide their own part of the functionality
first.
► Step 2: Working in your groups, brainstorm possible solutions to the problem.
► Step 3: Capture at least two solutions. For each solution, identify potential
advantages or disadvantages.

6-13
6.3 Build trust with stakeholders
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
6-14
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 145
Prepare Share
Discussion: Building trust 5 2
► Step 1: Consider the scenario:

– Agile doesn’t work without trust. However, you haven’t been able to establish a
relationship of trust with Product Management. They require frequent status reports
about your team’s current Stories. The relationship is clearly broken.
► Step 2: Discuss:
– What specific activities in SAFe do you think would help you establish trust with
these stakeholders?
– What adjustments (if any) would you make to leverage those activities to build
maximum trust?

6-15
6.4 Develop team skill sets
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
6-16
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 146
Help team members develop new skills
Narrow specialization of skills on the team is not

supportive of any fluctuations in flow.
► Consider moving from an I-shaped skill set

model to a T, or even an E-shaped skill set I, T, E?
► T-shaped example: A Java developer can do
a bit of database development, a bit of
configuration management, and has
rudimentary knowledge in building webpages
► E-shaped example: A Python developer, who
also knows Java very well, has deep
knowledge of SQL and databases
6-17
Prepare Share
Discussion: Developing skills 5 3
► Step 1: Working in your groups,

discuss the following:
– What opportunities for building
T-shaped skill sets would you
consider?
– How would you achieve that?
– Would you take on building
E-shaped skill sets or is that too
much to accomplish?
► Step 2: Be prepared to share

with the class.
6-18
Page 147
6.5 Build an improvement Roadmap
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
6-19
Scaled Agile, Inc.
What are Communities of Practice (CoP)?
“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a common concern or a passion
for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”
—Étienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity
Domain
An area of
shared interest Practice
Shared knowledge
and experiences
Community
A group of individuals
with a shared passion
about a topic

6-20
Page 148
Short-term benefits of CoPs
Benefits to the Benefits to
organization community members
Improves business outcomes Improves experience of work

• Arena for problem-solving • Help with challenges
• Quick answers to questions • Access to expertise
• Reduced time and costs • Improved contribution to the team
• Improved quality of decisions • Increased confidence in approach
• More perspectives on problems • Fun of being with colleagues
• Coordination/synergy across units • More meaningful participation
• Sense of belonging

6-21
Longer-term benefits of CoPs

Benefits to the Benefits to
organization community members
Develops organizational Capabilities Fosters professional development

• Be able to execute a strategic plan • Forum for expanding skills/expertise
• Gain credibility with clients • Network for staying current
• Increase retention of talent • Enhanced professional reputation
• Exploit unplanned Capabilities • Increased marketability
• Enable competitive benchmarking • Strong sense of professional identity
• Leverage advances in technology
• Harness the power of social networks

6-22
Page 149
Prepare Share
Activity: Improvement Roadmap 7 3
► Step 1: Build an improvement

Roadmap for your team for the
next PI
► Step 2: Share with the class:

– What new practices would you
adopt and advance?
– How could a Community of
Practice (CoP) help?
– How does your Roadmap relate to
the team's definition of done? Improvement Roadmap

6-23
Build a high-performing team
Use the following resources from the SAFe Community Platform to build your
high-performing team:
► Team Formation Toolkit
Team Formation Toolkit
► Agile Team Charter Template (also
included in the Team Formation
Toolkit)
► SAFe Collaborate Template: Team

Member Responsibilities
► SAFe Collaborate Template:

Identify Key Stakeholders

6-24
Page 150
Lesson review
In this lesson you:
► Developed practices to foster

collaboration on the team
► Explored applying practices to

facilitate cross-team collaboration
► Established practices to build trust

with stakeholders
► Developed T-shaped team skills https://www.scaledagileframework.com/agile-teams/

https://www.scaledagileframework.com/communities-of-practice/
► Built an improvement Roadmap

6-25
Page 151
Lesson notes
Page 152
Lesson 7
Improving Program
Performance
Lesson Topics
7.1 Explore the Inspect
and Adapt process
7.2 Apply problem-solving

workshop

7-2
Page 153
Learning Objectives

► Practice the Inspect and Adapt process
► Conduct the problem-solving workshop

7-3
7.1 Explore the Inspect and Adapt process
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
7-4
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 154
Inspect and Adapt event: Overview
► Three parts of Inspect and Adapt (I&A):
1. The PI System Demo
2. Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement
3. Problem-Solving Workshop
► Timebox: 3 – 4 hours per PI
► Attendees: Teams and stakeholders
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/inspect
-and-adapt/

7-5
PI System Demo
At the end of the PI, teams demonstrate the current state of the Solution to the
appropriate stakeholders.
► Often led by Product Management,
Product Owners, and the System
Team
► Attended by Business Owners,

program stakeholders, the RTE,
Scrum Masters, and Agile Teams
► Suggested timebox: 45–60

minutes

7-6
Page 155
Team performance assessment
Team PI Performance Report
► During the IP Iteration, the PI Objectives for all
teams are assigned an actual business value Objectives for PI 3 BV ABV
from 1 to 10. 1. Structured locations and validation of 7 7
locations
► Review and rate your PI achievements: 2. Build and demonstrate a proof of

concept for context images
8 8
3. Implement negative triangulation by:

8 6
– How well did you do against your stated objectives, tags, companies and people
10 5
including timeliness, content, and quality? 4.
5.
Speed up indexing by 50%
Index 1.2 billion more web pages 10 8
– Rate on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being max total Uncommitted Objectives

7 0
business value. 6.
7.
Fuzzy search by full name
Improve tag quality to 80%
4 4
relevance
The RTE aggregates and averages the scores

Totals:
► % Achievement: 90% 43 38
across all objectives for a program percent

achievement score
Team Predictability
► Suggested timebox: 45–60 minutes Measure

7-7
Team PI performance report

Team performance is based on the actual business value assignments provided by the
Business Owners.
► Planned total does not include uncommitted objectives
► Actual total includes uncommitted objectives
► Percent achievement equals actual total/planned total
► A team can achieve greater than 100% (as a result of

uncommitted objectives achieved)
► Effort required for uncommitted objectives is included

in the load (i.e., not extra work the team does on
weekends)
► Individual team totals are rolled up into the program

predictability report
7-8
Page 156
Program performance metrics
► Summarize and discuss any other Functionality PI 1 PI 2 PI 3
program Metrics that the team has Program velocity
Predictability measure
agreed to collect # Features planned
# Features accepted
► Suggested timebox: 45–60 minutes # Enablers planned
# Enablers accepted
# Stories planned
# Stories accepted
Quality
Unit test coverage %
Defects
Total tests
% automated
# NFR tests

7-9
7.2 Apply problem-solving workshop
©©
Scaled Agile. Inc.
7-10
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Page 157
The problem-solving workshop overview
After a retrospective, teams use root cause analysis to address the larger
impediments that are limiting velocity
Identify the biggest root-cause using
Agree on the problem to solve Apply root-cause analysis and 5 whys
Pareto analysis
Insufficiently
X reliable release
commitments
Restate the new problem for the biggest

Brainstorm solutions Identify improvement backlog items
root-cause
Insufficient
X architectural
runway

7-11
Build the problem-solving board
1. Original problem 4. Restate problem

People Process statement
2. Root-cause analysis 5. Brainstorm solutions
3. Biggest root cause 6. Identify improvement

backlog items
Tools Program Environment

7-12
Page 158
Agree on the problem to solve
Clearly stating the problem is key to problem identification

and correction
► You must define the problem or situation, so everyone

involved in the workshop understands what to address
► A clearly defined problem focuses your investigation

efforts and saves time
► A problem that is not well-defined may result in failure

to reach the proper countermeasure

7-13
Anatomy of a well-defined problem
Think about the What, When, Where, and Impact
What When
We discovered three significant design problems in the October
deployment of the new EMV vehicles at the Thrills Amusement Park
Impact Where
The design flaws caused us to recall the vehicles and invest three months
in materials, redesign and testing. We delivered late, paid substantial
penalties and lost credibility with the customer.
Concept contributed by Beth Miller

7-14
Page 159
Prepare for the problem-solving workshop
The following resources are available on the SAFe Community platform:
► SAFe I&A Problem Solving

Workshop Checklist
► Video Playlist: Inspect and Adapt

Series
► SAFe Collaborate template: Root

Cause Analysis and Problem-
Solving Board

7-15
Duration
Activity: Agree on the problem 15

groups, build the
problem-solving board
1. Original problem 4. Restate problem
People Process
statem ent
► Step 2: Choose one

2. Root-cause 5. Brainstorm
person’s context to define analysis solutions
the problem and create a

clear problem statement 3. Biggest root
cause
6. Identify
im provem ent
backlog item s
► Step 3: Capture the Tools Program Environment
statement under the

Original problem
statement heading
7-16
Page 160
Finding the root cause: The Five Whys
“By repeating why five times, the nature of the problem, as well as its solution, becomes clear.”
—Taiichi Ohno, father of the Toyota Production System
► The Five Whys is a proven problem- The problem: My car will not start.
solving technique used to explore
Why? The battery is dead.
cause-and-effect relationships
Why? The alternator is not functioning.
► The key is to avoid assumptions and Why? The alternator belt has broken.
logic traps Why? The alternator belt was well beyond its
useful service life.
► Instead, trace the chain of causality in Why? I have not been maintaining my car
direct increments from the effect to a according to the recommended service
schedule (root cause)
root cause

7-17
Root cause analysis diagram
People Process The main bones represent

Cause of
cause of typical sources of problems
cause 1 in development
Cause of
cause 1
Cause 1 Insufficiently
X reliable release
commitments
The problem
to solve

7-18
Page 161
Duration
Activity: Root cause analysis 25
► Step 1: Working in your groups, brainstorm potential causes of the problem

and write them down under the Root Cause Analysis heading on the problem-
solving board
► Step 2: For each cause identified, use the Five Whys technique to get to a
potential root cause
People Process
Cause of
cause of
cause 1
Cause of
cause 1
X reliable release
commitments

7-19
Vote on root causes
People Process
Cause of
cause of
cause 1
Cause of
cause 1
X reliable release
commitments

7-20
Page 162
Pareto analysis – Identify the biggest root cause
► Also known as the 80/20 rule, the

Pareto analysis is a statistical
decision technique used to narrow
down the number of actions that
produce the most significant
overall effect
► It uses the principle that 20% of

root causes can cause 80% of
problems
► It is useful where many possible

sources and actions are competing

7-21
Duration
Activity: Restate the new problem 10
► Step 1: Working in your groups, each member will dot

vote to identify the biggest root cause on your chart Example:
We did not have the ability
► Step 2: Use Pareto analysis to identify the biggest to measure or test the full
root cause. Put it under the Biggest Root Cause electrical load on vehicles
in real operating
heading on the problem-solving board conditions.
Impact:
► Step 3: Restate the problem to address the identified We had to upgrade the
root cause, including the economic impact of the deployed power distribution
system beyond what was
problem under the Restate problem heading on the specified. Major cost and
problem-solving board schedule overrun.

7-22
Page 163
Duration
Activity: Brainstorm solutions 8
► Step 1: Individually brainstorm and write ideas

on sticky notes and put them up on the board
► Step 2: Working in your groups, discuss each

idea as a group
► Step 3: Organize ideas into affinity groups
► Step 4: Dot vote to identify the top contenders

to put in the Identify Improvement Backlog
Items heading on the problem-solving board

7-23
Duration
Discussion: Problem-solving workshop 10
readout
► Step 1: Select a person from your group to do a readout
► Step 2: Start the readout by stating the original problem and conclude with the
proposed improvement backlog items
People Process 1. Original problem 4. Restate problem

statement
2. Root-cause Analysis 5. Brainstorm solutions
3. Biggest root cause 6. Identify improvement

backlog items

7-24
Page 164
ART execution artifacts in the PI Execution Toolkit
► SAFe ART Events and Activities

presentation
► Inspect and Adapt Event template PI Execution Toolkit
► Program Performance Metrics

spreadsheet
► Program Predictability Measure

spreadsheet
► Self-Assessments and Metrics

resources

7-25
Lesson review
In this lesson you:

► Explored how to improve
program performance using
an Inspect and Adapt event
► Experienced a problem-
solving workshop
https://www.scaledagileframework.com/inspect-and-
adapt/

7-26
Page 165
Lesson notes
Page 166
Lesson 8
Practicing SAFe

access to the SAFe® Advanced Scrum Master exam and
Duration
Video: SAFe Certification Benefits 3
https://bit.ly/BenefitsSAFeCertification
Page 167
A Path Towards Certification
Access exam study guides and practice tests

Becoming a
Certified
Download your certificate of course completion SAFe
Professional
Take the Certification Exam
Showcase your Digital Badge and get recognized as

Certified SAFe Professional
Exam and certification details at:

https://bit.ly/BecomingSAFeAgilist
8-3
©©Scaled
ScaledAgile.
Agile, Inc.
Inc.
3
Duration
Video: Welcome to the SAFe Community Platform 3
https://bit.ly/SAFeCommunityPlatform
Page 168
Access tools and resources for your SAFe practice
and continue your professional development
SAFe ART and Team Events and Toolkits to help practice SAFe
Access on-demand, self-paced, Getting Started e-learning Your

modules and resources SAFe
Community
Membership
SAFe Community Video Hub
Organize and run virtual SAFe events in real time with
SAFe Collaborate
Measure Business Agility progress with the SAFe Assessments
SAFe Forums and FAQs to get questions answered
8-5
©©Scaled
ScaledAgile.
Agile, Inc.
Inc.
5
Team
SAFeand
ARTTechnical
and Team Agility
Events
SAFe ART and Team Events: Tools to support RTEs, Scrum
Masters, and coaches in scheduling, preparing for, and
facilitating key SAFe events
Page 169
Team
SAFeand Technical Agility
Toolkits
Explore ready-to-use templates and job resources to help

execute SAFe events and workshops more effectively
Iteration Execution Toolkit SAFe® PI Planning Toolkit
Team Formation Toolkit PI Execution Toolkit
Team and Technical

E-learning resourcesAgility
Discover and develop skills through self-paced, interactive

e-learning modules to achieve your goals
Page 170
Team and Technical
Community Agility
Video Hub
Access videos to support your learning and grow your skills
Team
Collaborate
Organize and run virtual SAFe events in real time

SAFe Collaborate SAFe Collaborate is a visual, cloud-based workspace tool
for organizations to orchestrate virtual SAFe events and activities.
Page 171
Team
Assessments
Evaluate progress towards business agility with the

SAFe assessments, Measure and Grow workshop
and our assessment partners
Measure and Grow

Workshop Toolkit
Business Agility Assessment
Team
Forums
Join the SAFe Release Scrum Masters Community Forum to

connect with a community of Scrum Masters.
Page 172
Team
FAQs
When you need support, check the FAQ page for your
question or contact SAI support directly.
Join us on the
SAFe Community
Platform
We are here to help with

your SAFe role and
practice!
community.scaledagile.com/

14
Page 173
Lesson notes
Page 174
SAFe Glossary
SAFe Glossary:
~
~
Visit the Scaled Agile Framework site (http://bit.ly/SAFeGlossary) to

download glossaries translated into other languages
Page 175

SAFe Advanced Scrum Master Digital Workbook (5 - 1)

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SAFe® Advanced

SAFe® Course — Attending this course gives students

00 Access the SAFe Community Platform

Business I Technology - Core JIil Lean-Agile SAFe •-==> Implementation e- SPC

Business •I L.. - "(

Design Thinking Context

• The customer ls the cente, of your product stra1egy

• DClVelop on eadence and mleasc on demand • Respond qulclctyto opportun,ties cJndthreats

• Continuovsly explore, 1r1tcgr<1te,deploy, .ind innovate

SAFe®Implementation Roadmap Business results

Leading SAFe• for

- SCALED AGILE '

SAFe® Courses and Certifications

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in SAFe.........................................Page 14

Lesson 2: Applying the SAFe Lean-Agile Principles...........................................Page 27

Lesson 3: Exploring Agile and Scrum Anti-Patterns...........................................Page 60

Lesson 4: Facilitating Program Execution...........................................................Page 72

Lesson 5: Improving Flow with Kanban and XP..................................................Page 113

Lesson 6: Building High-Performing Teams........................................................Page 139

Lesson 7: Improving Program Performance........................................................Page 153

Lesson 8: Practicing SAFe..................................................................................Page 167

SAFe Glossary....................................................................................................Page 175

Advancing Scrum Master Servant

► Course meeting times

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

► Step 1: Meeting in pairs, introduce

– Your strengths as a Scrum Master

► Step 2: Introduce each other to the

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

► Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in SAFe

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

1.2 Explain the purpose

1.3 Establish Scrum

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

► Analyze the basic constructs of SAFe

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

1.1 Explore Scrum Master challenges

Discussion: Solving issues with facilitation 5 2

► Step 1: Working in your groups,

► Step 2: Add the challenge to the Scrum

► Step 3: Share a few of the challenges

► Step 4: We will address the challenges

Iteration Event Facilitator’s Guides

► Available on the SAFe TheFacilitator

► Provides event purpose, _______ ..----

issues that can arise -

► Tips for remote facilitation _____ _____

► Offers various checklists to

► Displays the Lean Enterprise competency of Team and Technical Agility

► Can reliably deliver value

► Makes processes visible to team members and to stakeholders

► Collaborates to achieve Iteration Goals and PI Objectives

► Produces consistent, high-quality increments of value

► Sustains a predictable pace of development

Modern Enterprises introduce a bigger challenge

The team in the Enterprise is affected by other teams, stakeholders,

Aside from the impediments to developing and delivering value,

Discussion: Enable team growth 7

► Step 1: Discuss the following:

– How do these impediments prevent your team from growing, improving,

– What strategies and techniques have you used to remove impediments?

► Tips for remote facilitation _ _