SAFe-APM Sample Questions Answers

Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of the lean business case. The lean business case is a lightweight and collaborative artifact that captures the rationale, assumptions, and financial projections for an Epic. The lean business case includes the Epic value statement, which consists of the value proposition, the benefit hypothesis, and the Epic estimate. The Epic estimate is the total effort required to implement the Epic, expressed in story points. The Epic estimate is derived from the sum of the Feature estimates, which are the effort required to implement each Feature that contributes to the Epic, also expressed in story points. The Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of the lean business case to provide a realistic and data-driven projection of the cost and duration of the Epic.

References:

Lean Business Case - Scaled Agile Framework

Epic - Scaled Agile Framework

Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of …

A milestone is a specific point in time that marks a significant event or achievement for the ART or Solution Train. A milestone can indicate a market window occurrence during a PI, which is a limited period of time in which a product or service can be launched to gain acompetitive advantage or meet a customer demand. A milestone can help the ART or Solution Train align their delivery with the market window, and communicate their progress and readiness to the stakeholders.

References:

Milestones: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of milestones, and describes the four types of milestones: Program Increment (PI), Fixed-Date, Learning, and Benefits.

ART Planning Board: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the role and structure of the ART Planning Board, and how it supports the PI Planning process and the Program Board.

ART Planning Board - PI Planning: This article from Ivar Jacobson International provides practical advice and examples of how to use the ART Planning Board during the Management Review, and what to look for in terms of market windows, dependencies, risks, and objectives.

A successful minimum viable product (MVP) that has value in the market reveals that the Epic hypothesis has been validated and that development should continue. An MVP is an early and minimal version of a new product or solution that is used to test the assumptions and hypotheses behind an Epic. An MVP provides the fastest and cheapest way tolearn from real customers and to measure the impact and value of the Epic. A successful MVP means that the Epic has proven its desirability, viability, feasibility, and sustainability, and that there is still more value to be delivered by implementing additional features and capabilities. Therefore, development should continue until the Epic is completed or the value hypothesis changes.

References:

Epic - Scaled Agile Framework

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) - Scaled Agile Framework

Innovation Accounting in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

One of the strengths of qualitative research is that it can be applied to a large number of people, as it does not require a fixed sample size or a predefined set of questions. Qualitative research can use various methods, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, or document analysis, to collect data from different sources and contexts. This allows researchers to explore a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and meanings, and to generate rich and diverse insights.

References:

23 Advantages and Disadvantages of Qualitative Research

5 Strengths and 5 Limitations of Qualitative Research

A measurement that can help drive Value Stream innovation and improvements is the percentage of Customers activating the product. This metric indicates how many Customers are actually using the product after acquiring it, and how well the product meets their needs and expectations. A high percentage of Customers activating the product means that the product delivers value and solves a problem for the Customers, and that the Value Stream is aligned with the Customer-centric mindset. A low percentage of Customers activating the product means that there is a gap between the product offering and the Customer demand, and that the Value Stream needs to innovate and improve the product design, delivery, and marketing.

References:

Value Stream KPIs - Scaled Agile Framework

The Four Most Useful Value Stream Metrics in Software

What is an example of a measurement that can be used to help drive …

The strategic sweet spot of a company is where it meets customer’s needs in a way that rivals can’t, given the context in which it competes12. It is where the company’s capabilities match customer needs in a way that the competition can’t. Finding the strategic sweet spot is a key challenge of strategic thinking and a source of competitive advantage.

References:

How to find your strategic sweet spot and why it matters

The Strategic Sweet Spot - Harvard Business Review

Investment horizon 3 is the longest-term horizon that focuses on exploring and developing breakthrough innovations that can create new markets and revenue streams for the business. It is important for every business to allocate funding to investment horizon 3, because it enables the business to anticipate and respond to the changing customer needs, technological trends, and competitive threats, and to secure its future growth and survival. Investment horizon 3 requires a high level of creativity, experimentation, and risk tolerance, but it can also generate a high level of return and differentiation.

References:

Horizon Planning: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of horizon planning, and describes the four horizons and their characteristics, challenges, and best practices.

SAFe®’s investment horizon model — A synopsis: This article from Medium provides a summary of the SAFe investment horizon model, and illustrates how it can help organizations allocate their resources and manage their portfolio.

Enduring Ideas: The three horizons of growth | McKinsey: This article from McKinsey presents the original framework of the three horizons of growth, and discusses how it can help businesses balance their current and future opportunities and challenges.

The BMC is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It consists of nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business, such as customer segments, value propositions, channels, and cost structure. The BMC helps you to design, analyze, optimize, and communicate your business model, and to test and iterate it as you learn from the market feedback. The BMC can be used for any type of business or product, regardless of whether it generates revenue or not, as long as it delivers value to the customers.

References:

Business Model Canvas - Wikipedia: This article from Wikipedia explains the concept and history of the BMC, and describes its nine building blocks and their relationships.

Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples | Creately: This article from Creately provides a detailed guide on how to create a BMC, with examples and templates for different types of businesses and products.

Business Model Canvas – Download the Official Template: This website from Strategyzer offers the official template and online courses, books, and webinars to master the BMC.

One of the key job functions that differentiates a Product Manager from a Product Owner (PO) in SAFe® is prioritizing the backlog. A Product Manager is responsible for defining and prioritizing the features and capabilities that deliver value to the customers and the business. A Product Manager owns and maintains the Program Backlog, which is the single source of truth for the work that needs to be done by the Agile Release Train (ART). A Product Owner, on the other hand, is responsible for defining and accepting the user stories that implement the features and capabilities. A Product Owner owns and maintains the Team Backlog, which is the subset of the Program Backlog that the Agile Team works on. A Product Owner collaborates with the Product Manager to align the Team Backlog with the Program Backlog and the Vision.

References:

Product and Solution Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Product Owner (PO) Sync - Scaled Agile Framework

SAFe Product Manager vs Product Owner - Striking Differences - KnowledgeHut

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic benefit. It is calculated by dividing the cost of delay by the job duration or size. To estimate the cost of delay, three factors are considered: user and business value, time criticality, and risk reduction or opportunity enablement. To estimate the job duration or size, a relative scale such as Fibonacci is used. The highest value in the Fibonacci scale is set as the “ceiling” and the lowest value is set as the “floor”. The items are then scored by comparing them to the ceiling and the floor, and assigning them the closest Fibonacci number. The WSJF score is then obtained by dividing the cost of delay score by the job duration or size score. The items with the highest WSJF score are prioritized first.

References:

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) | Definition and Overview - ProductPlan

Weighted Shortest Job First - Open Practice Library

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Business Owners are key ART stakeholders who have the primary business and technical responsibility for return on investment (ROI), governance, and compliance. They are critical for evaluating fitness for use and actively participating in solution development. They can provide current business feedback to guide feature enhancements by assessing the value proposition, the competitive advantage, and the expected market share of the features. They can also help align the features with the product vision and roadmap, and prioritize them based on the WSJF method.

References:

Business Owners - Scaled Agile Framework

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

A portfolio canvas is a visual tool that defines and communicates the value streams, solutions, customers, budgets, and key activities and events of a SAFe portfolio. It describes how a solution fits into the overall strategy by showing the value proposition, the customer segments and relationships, the key performance indicators, and the alignment with the strategic themes and the portfolio vision. A portfolio canvas provides business context by helping the portfolio stakeholders understand and align on the portfolio strategy, and by guiding the Agile teams and ARTs in delivering value to the customers and the enterprise.

References:

Portfolio Canvas: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of the portfolio canvas, and how it can be used to define and manage the portfolio strategy and execution.

What is SAFe Portfolio Canvas : What are its Sections and Blocks: This article from StarAgile provides a detailed guide on how to create and use a portfolio canvas, with examples and templates for different types of portfolios.

 Time criticality is one key component of Cost of Delay (CoD), which is the money or value that will be lost by delaying or not doing a job for a specific time period relative to other jobs. Time criticality reflects the urgency or sensitivity of a job to time, and how its value changes over time. For example, a job that has a fixed deadline, a seasonal demand, or a high risk of obsolescence has a high time criticality, and its CoD increases rapidly as time passes. A job that has a stable demand, a low risk of competition, or a long-term benefit has a low time criticality, and its CoD increases slowly or remains constant over time.

References:

WSJF: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF), which is a prioritization model that uses CoD and job duration to sequence jobs for maximum economic benefit. It also describes the four components of CoD: user or business value, time criticality, risk reduction and/or opportunity enablement, and job size.

Cost of Delay - Scaled Agile Framework: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines CoD as the numerator in WSJF prioritization, and provides some examples of how to estimate CoD for different types of jobs.

An Enabler Feature is a type of feature that supports the development and delivery of future business features by extending the architectural runway, improving the infrastructure, or addressing compliance. An Enabler Feature is usually defined and prioritized by System/Solution Architects, who are responsible for designing and guiding the technical aspects of the solution. Therefore, the best stakeholder to collaborate with if a Product Manager wants to discuss an Enabler Feature for the upcoming PI is the System/Solution Architect, as they can provide the necessary technical expertise, guidance, and alignment.

References:

Enablers - Scaled Agile Framework

System and Solution Architect/Engineering - Scaled Agile Framework

PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework

A roadmap is an artifact that shows the planned features and milestones for a solution over a timeline. It helps Product Managers communicate the vision and strategy to Product Owners and other stakeholders, and align them on the priorities and dependencies of the work. A roadmap also provides a feedback loop for validating assumptions and adapting to changing customer needs and market conditions.

References:

SAFe Roadmap

Product and Solution Management

Product Owner