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The Continuous Delivery Pipeline enables ongoing learning by providing fast and frequent feedback loops throughout the value delivery process. The pipeline consists of four aspects: Continuous Exploration, Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, and Release on Demand, each of which supports the validation of assumptions, hypotheses, and outcomes. By applying the Lean Startup cycle of Build-Measure-Learn, the pipeline allows the organization to test and learn from the market, the customers, and the users, and to adapt and improve the solutions accordingly. The pipeline also fosters a culture of innovation and experimentation, where teams can explore new ideas and opportunities, and learn from failures and mistakes. References: Continuous Delivery Pipeline - Scaled Agile Framework, Build-Measure-Learn - Scaled Agile Framework

During the PI Planning event, planning adjustments are agreed upon during the management review and problem-solving meeting, which is the last activity of the first day of the event1. In this meeting, the management team reviews the draft plans of the teams, identifies and resolves any issues, risks, or dependencies, and makes any necessary changes to the scope, people, or resources1. The management team also communicates the planning adjustments back to the Agile Release Train (ART) the next day, before the teams continue their planning and make the appropriate adjustments2. References: PI Planning, Management Review and Problem-Solving

A technical exploration enabler is a type of enabler that supports research, prototyping, and other activities needed to develop an understanding of customer needs, including the exploration of prospective solutions and evaluation of alternatives1. A technical exploration enabler can be demonstrated by showing the knowledge gained by the exploration, such as the results of experiments, the insights from data analysis, the feedback from customers or stakeholders, the lessons learned from failures, or the recommendations for future actions2. Showing the knowledge gained by the exploration helps to validate the assumptions and hypotheses, measure the value and feasibility of the solution, and inform the decision-making process3. The other options are not valid ways to demonstrate a technical exploration enabler, as they either do not reflect the purpose of the exploration, or imply that the exploration is not necessary or valuable. References: Enablers - Scaled Agile Framework, How can a technical exploration enabler be demonstrated?, Principle #4 - Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles - Scaled Agile Framework

According to the Scaled Agile Framework, the ART Planning Board is a visualization of the PI’s feature delivery dates, feature dependencies among teams, and relevant milestones1. Features are the primary elements that are planned and tracked on the ART Planning Board2.

Epics, user stories, and tasks are not found on the ART Planning Board, but they are related to features in different ways. Epics are large initiatives that span multiple ARTs and PIs, and they are decomposed into features and enablers2. User stories and tasks are smaller units of work that are used by teams to implement features within iterations2.

he Problem Solving Workshop is a structured approach to identifying the root cause and actions to address systemic problems. It is part of the Inspect and Adapt event that occurs at the end of each Program Increment. The six steps in the Problem Solving Workshop are:

Choose a problem to solve—agreement not required: The Release Train Engineer (RTE) facilitates a brainstorming session to generate a list of potential problems that affect the ART’s performance. The participants use dot voting to prioritize the problems and select the most important one to solve. Agreement is not required, as the majority vote determines the problem to focus on.

Perform root cause analysis: The RTE leads the team in applying the ‘Five Whys’ technique to drill down to the root cause of the problem. The team asks ‘why’ repeatedly until they reach a cause that is actionable and within their control.

Brainstorm solutions: The team generates a list of possible solutions to address the root cause. They use divergent thinking to come up with as many ideas as possible, without judging or evaluating them.

Decide on the best solution: The team uses convergent thinking to narrow down the list of solutions and select the best one. They can use criteria such as feasibility, impact, cost, and alignment with the SAFe Principles and Values to evaluate the solutions.

Define and visualize the improvement backlog items: The team defines the improvement backlog items that will implement the chosen solution. They write them in the format of ‘As a [role], I can [action], so that [outcome]’. They also visualize the items on a Kanban board or a similar tool to track their progress and status.

Assign owners and agree on the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals: The team assigns owners to each improvement backlog item and agrees on the SMART goals that will measure the success of the solution. They also define the acceptance criteria and the expected benefits of the improvement.

References: Inspect and Adapt - Scaled Agile Framework, Problem-solving workshop: Step-by-Step - Agilephoria, SAFe for Teams Student Workbook: materials and exercises from Lesson 7, Exam Study Guide: SP (6.0) - SAFe® Practitioner

Team and Technical Agility is one of the core competencies of the Lean Enterprise that helps drive Agile Quality practices. This competency describes the critical skills and Lean-Agile principles and practices that high-performing Agile teams and teams of Agile teams use to create high-quality solutions for their customers. The main aspects of this competency are: team and technical agility, Agile team, Built-in Quality, and Agile architecture. Built-in Quality is a set of practices to help ensure that the outputs of Agile teams in business and technology domains meet appropriate quality standards throughout the process of creating customer value. Built-in Quality practices include test-first, test automation, continuous integration, refactoring, pair work, code reviews, exploratory testing, and more. References: Team and Technical Agility - Scaled Agile Framework, Built-In Quality - Scaled Agile Framework

= The PI Planning process is a key activity for successfully implementing the Scaled Agile Framework. It is a two-day event that brings together all the teams and stakeholders of an Agile Release Train (ART) to align on a common vision, identify dependencies, plan the features and stories for the next Program Increment (PI), and commit to a set of PI objectives. The PI Planning process follows a regular cadence, typically every 8 to 12 weeks, to synchronize the work of the ART and ensure alignment with the business strategy and customer needs. The PI Planning process also fosters collaboration, trust, and empowerment among the teams and stakeholders, and enables fast feedback and learning cycles. References: = PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework, Implementing SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

The PO’s best course of action is to communicate the status of the Iteration to all stakeholders, including the other teams on the Agile Release Train (ART), the Release Train Engineer (RTE), the System Architect/Engineer, the Product Management, and the Business Owners. This will help to align expectations, manage dependencies, and mitigate risks. The PO should also collaborate with the team and the stakeholders to prioritize the remaining work and identify the most valuable Stories to deliver by the end of the Iteration. The PO should not defer acceptance testing to the next Iteration, as this would violate the Definition of Done and compromise the quality of the system increment. The PO should not have an emergency Iteration Planning meeting, as this would disrupt the cadence and synchronization of the ART and waste time and resources. The PO should not stop the current Iteration and plan a new Iteration with the new knowledge, as this would also disrupt the cadence and synchronization of the ART and create confusion and uncertainty.

References: Team Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework, Iteration Planning - Scaled Agile Framework, Iteration Execution - Scaled Agile Framework

This statement is one of the 12 principles behind the Agile Manifesto1, which guides the agile software development approach. It means that agile teams should focus on delivering the most valuable features and avoid unnecessary work that does not add value to the customer or the product. By applying simplicity, agile teams can reduce waste, increase efficiency, and improve quality. References: 12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto

The Lean Thinking principle, “make value flow without interruptions” means identifying and eliminating any delays that prevent the smooth and fast movement of work product from step to step in a value stream. Delays are a form of waste that reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of the system, increase the lead time and cost, and lower the customer satisfaction. Delays can be caused by various factors, such as handoffs, queues, bottlenecks, rework, defects, approvals, dependencies, and variability. To make value flow without interruptions, SAFe applies the following eight flow accelerators: Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths Implement full test automation and continuous integration Take an economic view Apply product development flow principles Understand and exploit variability Implement fast feedback and integrated learning Build quality in Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems References: Principle #6 - Make Value Flow Without Interruptions - Scaled Agile Framework, Accelerating Flow with SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework