Free Practice Questions for Scaled Agile SAFe-RTE Exam

The Enterprise Solution Delivery competency of SAFe is specifically designed to provide guidance on how to build and evolve large, complex solutions. It includes principles and practices for coordinating and aligning multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and suppliers within a value stream. This competency ensures that all parties are working towards a shared business and technology mission, using coordinated Vision, Backlogs, and Roadmaps with shared Program Increments (PIs) and synchronization points12. It is one of the seven core competencies that are essential for achieving Business Agility within the SAFe framework1.

One benefit of the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is that it provides an opportunity to integrate and perform end-to-end testing. This time is allocated specifically for activities such as integration, testing, innovation, and planning, which are crucial for maintaining the quality and coherence of the solution being developed by the Agile Release Train.

When planning for a distributed Program Increment (PI) Planning event with a significant difference in time zones, a Release Train Engineer (RTE) should focus on adjusting the PI agenda to accommodate overlapping hours and ensuring robust audio and video connectivity across all locations.

Adjusting the PI agenda to 2.5 – 3 days allows for overlapping hours where all participants can engage synchronously, which is crucial for collaboration and alignment1. This adjustment ensures that teams across different time zones can contribute effectively without being excluded due to their local time.

Ensuring that presentation audio and video connectivity is arranged and tested in all locations is essential for a distributed PI Planning event1. This preparation is vital to avoid technical issues that could disrupt the communication and collaboration necessary for successful PI Planning. It’s important to have reliable technology and infrastructure that supports the different planning activities, including tooling to facilitate remote interaction1.

These focus areas are critical for the RTE to prepare and facilitate a distributed PI Planning event effectively, ensuring that all teams, regardless of their location, can participate fully and contribute to the planning process.

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) collaborates closely with Product Management and the System Architect to guide the Agile Release Train (ART) toward successful delivery. This leadership trio is essential in maintaining a constant synergy between product strategy and implementation. The RTE, along with Product Management and the System Architect, forms a critical alignment that ensures the ART’s focus on delivering value and achieving operational excellence. They work together to steer the ART, align on solution and enterprise architecture, and lead Value Stream Management activities for the ART123.QUESTION NO: 86

Which value is used when calculating flow efficiency?

A.Flow time

B.Flow velocity

C.Flow load

D.Flow distribution

Answer: A

Flow efficiency is calculated as the ratio of the total time spent in value-added work activities divided by the total flow time. This metric is used to measure how efficient an organization is at delivering value. Flow time, therefore, is the value used when calculating flow efficiency, as it represents the time elapsed from when a backlog item enters the workflow to when it is released12.

 DevOps is defined within the SAFe framework as a mindset, a culture, and a set of technical practices. It is not just a set of tools or a single process, but rather a combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity. This definition aligns with option C, which emphasizes the importance of close cooperation between development and operations teams to provide value to the customer.

The SAFe framework further elaborates that DevOps is part of the Agile Product Delivery competency and is essential for a Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP). It helps break down organizational silos and enables the fast flow of planned work into production, while achieving stability, reliability, availability, and security. The goal of DevOps is to deliver value whenever there is a business need, and it is supported by the CALMR approach—Culture, Automation, Lean-flow, Measurement, and Recovery—which guides the implementation of DevOps in a SAFe enterprise1.

The Iteration and PI (Program Increment) calendar is a tool used within the SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) to help visualize the timing of the iterations and PIs for an Agile Release Train (ART). This visualization is crucial for several reasons:

1.Cadence and Synchronization: The calendar helps all teams involved in the ART to align on a common cadence, which is the rhythm of the iterations and PIs. This alignment ensures that all teams are working in sync, which is essential for the ART to function effectively as a whole1.

2.Facilitating PI Planning: The Iteration and PI calendar is used during PI planning to help teams understand when iterations will begin and end, which aids in the planning of work and the setting of objectives2.

3.Visualizing ART Events: The calendar provides a visual representation of all the key events in the ART’s timeline, including iterations, PIs, and IP iterations (Innovation and Planning iterations), which are essential for continuous learning and improvement3.

4.Supporting Predictability: By visualizing the ART’s cadence and synchronization, the Iteration and PI calendar supports better predictability in delivery and helps manage stakeholders’ expectations1.

5.Enabling Relentless Improvement: The calendar also supports the SAFe principle of relentless improvement by making it clear when the ART will have time to reflect on the past PI and identify areas for improvement3.

According to the SAFe 6 Release Train Engineer documentation, the Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a servant leader who facilitates Agile Release Train (ART) events and processes, and supports teams in delivering value. One of the key aspects of being a servant leader is the ability to understand and empathize with others1. This behavior is essential for RTEs as they communicate with stakeholders, escalate impediments, help manage risk, and drive relentless improvement. The documentation emphasizes that RTEs operate most effectively as servant leaders, which includes having a solid grasp of how to scale Lean and Agile practices and understanding the unique opportunities and challenges associated with facilitating and continuously aligning a large development program1. Empathy is a core component of servant leadership, which enables RTEs to support their teams effectively.

Lean-Agile leaders are essential for the successful implementation of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). A key characteristic they need to have is the understanding and exhibition of SAFe’s values, principles, and practices1.

Lean-Agile leadership involves driving and sustaining organizational change and operational excellence by empowering individuals and teams to reach their highest potential. Leaders achieve this by leading by example; learning and modeling SAFe’s Lean-Agile mindset, values, principles, and practices; and leading the change to a new way of working1.

The Lean-Agile Leadership competency is one of the seven core competencies of Business Agility, which is essential to achieving Business Agility. Leaders are responsible for the adoption, success, and ongoing improvement of Lean-Agile development. They have the authority to change and continuously improve the systems that govern how work is performed. Moreover, they create an environment that encourages high-performing Agile teams to flourish and produce value1.

In summary, Lean-Agile leaders must internalize and model leaner ways of thinking and operating so that team members will learn from their example, coaching, and encouragement. This is more than just supporting the transformation; it’s about actively leading the change and guiding the activities necessary to understand and continuously optimize the flow of value through the enterprise1.

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) in SAFe® is responsible for facilitating ART events and processes, and part of this role involves understanding and improving team and employee satisfaction. One effective method for assessing employee satisfaction within an organization is through the use of an employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) survey1. This survey measures the willingness of employees to recommend their workplace to friends and acquaintances. An eNPS survey is a tool that can provide insights into employee loyalty and satisfaction, which aligns with the RTE’s responsibility to create an environment that motivates employees and keeps them healthy2. By conducting such surveys, the RTE can gather valuable feedback, identify areas of improvement, and take action to enhance the overall work environment, thereby supporting the teams in delivering value1.

The core competency that describes the ability to deliver continuous value in SAFe is Agile Product Delivery. This competency is focused on developing and delivering products and services that meet customer needs and provide sustainable competitive advantage. It emphasizes the importance of a customer-centric approach, developing on cadence, releasing on demand, and building in quality from the beginning. Agile Product Delivery ensures that the right solutions are delivered at the right time, enabling a flow of value to customers with speed and efficiency1.