SAFe-POPM SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager POPM (6.0) Questions and Answers

Fostering Built-in Quality is a Product Owner responsibility that supports the team with value delivery. Built-in Quality is one of the four core values of SAFe® and it means that every aspect of the solution is continuously verified for quality1. The Product Owner fosters Built-in Quality in the following ways:

•Collaborating with the Development team and other stakeholders to define clear and testable acceptance criteria for each work item2.

•Participating in team events such as Iteration Planning, Backlog Refinement, and Iteration Review to provide feedback and guidance on the quality of the work2.

•Reviewing and approving the work items that meet the Definition of Done and the acceptance criteria2.

•Encouraging the team to apply Agile testing practices such as Test-First, Test-Driven Development, and Behavior-Driven Development3.

•Supporting the team’s continuous integration and continuous delivery practices to ensure fast and frequent feedback on the quality of the solution3.

Some additional information that might be helpful for you are:

•The other options (A, B, and C) are not Product Owner responsibilities that support the team with value delivery, but rather responsibilities that belong to other roles or activities.

•Understanding market forces is a responsibility of Product Management, who is accountable for the market and business aspects of the solution4.

•Supporting the Architectural Runway is a responsibility of System Architects/Engineers, who provide technical guidance and enablement to the teams.

•Testing benefit hypotheses is an activity that occurs in the Continuous Exploration step of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, where Product Owners and Product Managers collaborate to validate their assumptions about the customer and the solution.

The primary purpose of PO Sync is to assess progress of the Program Increment (PI) and adjust scope and priority as needed12. PO Sync is a regular event that involves the Product Owners from all the Agile teams in an Agile Release Train (ART)12. In PO Sync, they share the status of their work, identify dependencies, risks, and impediments, and align on the product vision and roadmap12. PO Sync helps to ensure that the ART delivers value to the customers and meets the PI objectives12.

Some additional information that might be helpful for you are:

•The other options (B, C, and D) are not the primary purpose of PO Sync, but rather purposes of other events or activities.

•Building PI Objectives and improving alignment is the purpose of PI Planning, which is a two-day event that occurs at the beginning of each PI3. In PI Planning, all the members of the ART collaborate to define, prioritize, and plan the work for the next PI3.

•Aligning with Coach Sync participants on the status of the PI is the purpose of Scrum of Scrums (SoS), which is a regular event that involves the Scrum Masters from all the Agile teams in an ART4. In SoS, they coordinate and synchronize the work of the teams, resolve cross-team impediments, and report the progress and risks to the RTE4.

•Conducting backlog refinement is an activity that occurs throughout the PI, where the Product Owner and the Development team review and update the Team Backlog to prepare for the upcoming Iterations. Backlog refinement helps to ensure that the work items are clear, feasible, and valuable

A solution is defined as a product, service, or system delivered to the customer in SAFe. A solution can be a small mobile application built by a single Agile Release Train (ART) or a large automotive system of systems built by a network of Development Value Streams (DVSs) in a supply chain1. A solution may also be an insurance or banking product offered by a financial institution. Solutions can be the products a company sells or the internal products they use to run the business. They may provide direct value to an end-user or may be a component of a larger solution1.

References:

•Solution - Scaled Agile Framework

One of the factors that can increase the effectiveness of Backlog Refinement is to schedule the event on a regular cadence. Backlog Refinement is the process of reviewing, updating, and prioritizing the backlog items to prepare them for future iterations or sprints1. By scheduling the event on a regular cadence, such as once or twice per week, the team can ensure that the backlog is always accurate, relevant, and ready for planning2. A regular cadence also helps the team to avoid cramming too much work into a single session, which can lead to lower quality and reduced collaboration3.

References:

•Team Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework

•Backlog refinement - How I learned to love agile business analysis …

•Essential Checklist for Effective Backlog Refinement (and What To Avoid …

The next action for improvement items identified during the Iteration Retrospective is to enter them as Stories in the Team Backlog. By adding these improvement items as Stories, they become part of the team’s ongoing work and are prioritized alongside other tasks and user stories for future iterations or sprints1. This way, the team can track and implement the improvement actions and measure their impact on the team’s performance and quality2.

References:

•Iteration Retrospective - Scaled Agile Framework

•What happens to improvement items identified during the Iteration Retrospective? - Service Centre List

The Inspect and Adapt (I&A) agenda in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a significant event at the end of each Program Increment (PI), focusing on continuous improvement and adjustment in Agile processes. It comprises three main parts:

1.PI System Demo: This is the first part of the I&A event, intended to showcase all the features developed by the Agile Release Train (ART) over the course of the PI. It typically includes a broader audience and is more formal than regular system demos. Business Owners collaborate with each Agile team to score the actual business value achieved for their Team PI Objectives.

2.Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement: This part involves the collective review of quantitative and qualitative metrics agreed upon by the teams. This review is aimed at discussing data and trends to measure the team's performance. Important metrics like the programpredictability measure are also analyzed, with each team's planned vs. actual business value contributing to this measure.

3.Retrospective and Problem-Solving Workshop: This structured session allows teams to reflect on their performance, identify areas of improvement, and create action plans. It includes identifying improvements, conducting root cause analysis using tools like the "5 Whys" or fishbone diagrams, brainstorming solutions, prioritizing actions, and creating detailed action plans for implementation.

The I&A event promotes continuous improvement, enhanced agility, increased transparency, higher quality outcomes, better decision-making, improved employee engagement, and alignment with organizational goals. It's essential for both Agile Release Trains and Solution Trains to effectively inspect and adapt their processes for optimal performance and continuous improvement.

References:

•Scaled Agile Framework: Inspect and Adapt.

•Dee Project Manager: SAFe Inspect and Adapt: Supercharge Agile Excellence.

Iteration Goals are a high-level summary of the business and technical goals that an Agile Team agrees to accomplish in an Iteration. They are vital to coordinating an Agile Release Train (ART) as a self-organizing, self-managing team of teams1. Iteration Goals help the team and the Product Owner to reach agreement on the business value they intend to deliver, align their work to their team PI objectives, and ground everyone on their shared purpose2.

References:

•Iteration Goals - Scaled Agile Framework

•What Is The Purpose Of Iteration Goals? - GoRetro

The top ten Features are a PI planning input that demonstrates how Product Management plans to accomplish the Vision. The vision is a description of the future state of the solution under development, reflecting customer and stakeholder needs, as well as the features and capabilities proposed to meet those needs1. The top ten Features are the highest priority features of the ART backlog, which are derived from the vision and roadmap, and provide the most value to the customers and stakeholders2. By presenting the top ten Features to the Agile Release Train (ART) during PI planning, Product Management communicates the main objectives and scope of the upcoming Program Increment (PI), and guides the teams to plan their work accordingly2. The top ten Features also help align the teams and stakeholders to a shared mission and vision, and foster cross-team and cross-ART collaboration2.

References: 1 Vision - Scaled Agile Framework, 2 PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework

One input to the Vision is customer feedback. Customer feedback is the information and opinions that customers and stakeholders provide about the solution, its features, and its value proposition1. Customer feedback helps to validate the assumptions, test the hypotheses, and measure the satisfaction of the solution2. Customer feedback also helps to identify the needs, preferences, and expectations of the customers and stakeholders, which are essential for defining and communicating the Vision3. The Vision is a description of the future state of the solution under development, and it reflects the problem(s) that the solution will solve and the benefits that it will deliver4.

References:

•Customer Feedback - Scaled Agile Framework

•Continuous Exploration - Scaled Agile Framework

•Solution Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

•Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

Identifying the Value Stream for each product is one of the five Lean Thinking principles proposed by Womack and Jones in 1996. A value stream is the sequence of activities that deliver value to the customer, from the initial request to the final delivery1. Identifying the value stream for each product helps to eliminate waste, optimize flow, and increase customer satisfaction2.

References:

•The Five Principles of Lean - Project Management Institute

•Value Streams - Scaled Agile Framework