Free Practice Questions for Scaled Agile SSM Exam

One benefit of holding regular system demos is that execution can be measured across the whole ART. A system demo is a significant event that provides an integrated view of new Features for the most recent Iteration delivered by all the teams in the Agile Release Train (ART). Each demo gives ART stakeholders an objective measure of progress during a Program Increment (PI). The system demo offers the ART a fact-based measure of current, system-level progress within the PI. It’s the true measure of ART velocity and progress. Achieving this requires implementing the scalable engineering practices necessary to support Continuous Integration across the ART. By holding regular system demos, the ART can evaluate the quality, functionality, and usability of the solution, as well as identify and resolve any issues, risks, or dependencies. The system demo also provides an opportunity for feedback and learning from the customers, Business Owners, and other stakeholders, which can help the ART to align with the vision and goals, and to adapt to changing needs and expectations.

The Team Sync (or Daily Stand-up) in SAFe® is a short, focused, timeboxed event that allows the team to align on progress toward iteration goals, identify impediments, and plan the next 24 hours.

The meeting promotes transparency and collaboration, ensuring that all team members are aware of progress and issues that could affect delivery. It also reinforces self-management by allowing the team to adapt plans daily based on new information.

From SAFe guidance:

“The Team Sync allows team members to align on progress toward iteration goals, discuss impediments, and adjust their plans to stay on track.”

Thus, the correct answer is A. The team aligns on the progress of Iteration Goals, as it captures the event’s primary intent.

One method a Scrum Master/Team Coach can use to help teams overcome a fear of conflict is to give every team member the opportunity to contribute. Fear of conflict is one of the common dysfunctions of a team, which can result in artificial harmony, lack of trust, and avoidance of issues1 To overcome this fear, the Scrum Master/Team Coach can facilitate a safe and respectful environment where team members can express their opinions, ideas, and concerns without being judged, ignored, or attacked23 Giving every team member the opportunity to contribute can help them feel valued, respected, and heard, as well as foster a culture of collaboration, feedback, and learning45 The Scrum Master/Team Coach can use various techniques to ensure equal participation, such as round-robin, fist of five, dot voting, silent brainstorming, and liberating structures45 By encouraging healthy and constructive conflict, the Scrum Master/Team Coach can help the team improve their performance, creativity, and innovation23

Timeboxing discussions is a key Agile development practice that supports efficiency, focus, and predictability in team events and collaboration. A timebox sets a maximum duration for an activity, ensuring that meetings or working sessions remain purposeful and do not overrun.

Agile and SAFe both emphasize timeboxing for events such as Iteration Planning, Daily Team Syncs, Iteration Reviews, and Retrospectives. This discipline encourages concise communication, prioritization of topics, and respect for everyone’s time.

From SAFe guidance:

“Agile Teams use timeboxing to help ensure meetings are effective and efficient, maintain focus on outcomes, and support a predictable rhythm for collaboration.”

Other options such as sequencing processes or exploring diagnostics do not represent standard Agile team development practices. Facilitating meetings is a Scrum Master responsibility, not a development practice.

Thus, the correct answer is D. Timeboxing discussions.

The problem-solving workshop is the third part of the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event in SAFe®. Its main purpose is to use structured root cause analysis to develop solutions to recognized problems that blocked or slowed work during the Program Increment (PI).

Teams and ART stakeholders collaboratively identify systemic issues using techniques like the 5 Whys or fishbone diagrams. They then define concrete improvement actions, which are prioritized and added to the improvement backlog for implementation in the next PI.

From SAFe guidance:

“The purpose of the problem-solving workshop is to identify the root causes of systemic issues that impacted performance during the PI and create improvement actions to address them.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D. Developing solutions to recognized problems that blocked or slowed work.

According to SAFe, one output of a successful Iteration Retrospective is the creation of a few improvement Stories that enter the Team Backlog for the next iteration. These stories reflect the team’s agreement on what they can do better in terms of their process, practices, and performance. The improvement stories are visible and prioritized along with the other stories in the backlog. They help the team implement the concept of relentless improvement, which is one of the core values of SAFe.

One anti-pattern that emerges when teams do not spend enough time refining the backlog is that they enter new Iterations without enough Stories prepared. This can result in several negative consequences, such as: 123

The team may struggle to plan and commit to the Iteration Goals, as they lack clarity, feasibility, and testability of the Stories.

The team may face delays, rework, and waste, as they encounter unanticipated dependencies, risks, or technical issues during the Iteration.

The team may deliver low-quality or incomplete Stories, as they rush to meet the Iteration deadlines or compromise on the Definition of Done.

The team may lose focus, alignment, and motivation, as they work on ambiguous or unrealistic Stories that do not deliver value to the customers or the organization.

To avoid this anti-pattern, the team should dedicate sufficient time and effort to refine the backlog on a regular basis, preferably every Iteration123 Backlog Refinement is an ongoing process where the team collaborates with the Product Owner and other stakeholders to review, split, prioritize, and estimate the Stories in the Team Backlog4 One of the main objectives of Backlog Refinement is to ensure that the Stories are ready for Iteration Planning, which means they are clear, feasible, testable, and small enough to be completed in a single Iteration2 By doing so, the team can improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of their work, as well as deliver value to the customers and the organization