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

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

A story map is a tool that visualizes features representing a workflow. A story map is a two-dimensional arrangement of user stories that shows the relationship between the user activities and the features that support them1. A story map helps the team to understand the user journey, prioritize the features based on value and dependencies, and plan the releases and iterations2.

References:

•Story Mapping - Scaled Agile Framework

•What is User Story Mapping? | Definition and Overview

One strategy for managing complex critical path challenges is to adjust work between teams or split Features and Stories. Complex critical path challenges are situations where the delivery of value depends on the completion of multiple interdependent tasks by different teams1. These challenges can cause delays, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies in the value stream. To overcome these challenges, one option is to adjust work between teams or split Features and Stories, so that the dependencies are minimized or eliminated2. This can help improve the flow of work, reduce the risk of integration issues, and increase the flexibility and responsiveness of the teams3.

References:

•Accelerating Flow with SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

•Managing Dependencies - Scaled Agile Framework

Journey mapping is one method for designing the end-to-end customer experience. It is a visual representation of the steps, emotions, and pain points that a customer goes through when interacting with a product or service. It helps to identify the customer needs, expectations, and goals, as well as the gaps and opportunities for improvement in the current experience. Journey mapping also helps to align the stakeholders on the customer perspective and prioritize the features and solutions that will deliver the most value and satisfaction123

References:

•The expanding role of design in creating an end-to-end customer experience

•End to End Customer Experience: Know and Control its 3 Elements - HEFLO BPM

•How Design thinking Can Shape end to end Customer Experience

The iteration retrospective is an Agile Team event that supports relentless improvement by allowing the team to reflect on the iteration just completed and to derive new ideas to improve the team’s process12. This reflection helps instill the concept of relentless improvement—one of the pillars of the SAFe House of Lean3—in the individuals and the team.

References:

•Iteration Retrospective - Scaled Agile Framework

•SAFe POPM 5 Flashcards | Quizlet

•SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Scaled Agile Framework

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

Market dynamics are one of the influences on Solution and PI Roadmaps, which are visual tools that forecast and communicate the planned deliverables, milestones, and investments over a time horizon12. Market dynamics are the external factors that affect the demand and supply of a product or service in the market, such as customer needs, competitor actions, regulatory changes, technological trends, and economic conditions3. Market dynamics influence Solution and PI Roadmaps in the following ways:

•They help identify the market problems or opportunities that the solution aims to address or capture12.

•They help prioritize the features and capabilities that deliver the most value to the customers and stakeholders12.

•They help align the solution delivery with the market rhythms and events, which are the periodic or one-time occurrences that have a significant impact on the solution adoption or performance12.

•They help validate the assumptions and hypotheses about the customer and the solution through feedback and learning12.

Some additional information that might be helpful for you are:

•The other options (A, B, and D) are not influences on Solution and PI Roadmaps, but rather elements or outcomes of the roadmaps.

•Value Streams are the primary constructs for understanding, organizing, and delivering value to the customer. Value Streams are the basis for defining the solution vision, strategy, and roadmap4.

•Customer-centric Features are the work items that represent the benefits or outcomes that the solution provides to the customer or user. Customer-centric Features are the main content of the Solution and PI Roadmaps5.

•ART capacity is the amount of work that an Agile Release Train (ART) can handle in a Program Increment (PI). ART capacity is a factor that determines the feasibility and scope of the Solution and PI Roadmaps.

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration is a unique, dedicated iteration that occurs every Program Increment (PI). A PI is a timebox of 8 to 12 weeks, during which an Agile Release Train (ART) delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems. Therefore, in a 12-week PI, the IP Iteration occurs every quarter

Product Management is the role that ensures that the Agile Release Train (ART) has the Vision and Backlog needed to engage in PI Planning successfully. Product Management is responsible for defining and communicating the Vision, which describes the future state of the solution and its features1. Product Management also develops and maintains the Program Backlog, which contains the features and enablers that the ART will implement in the upcoming Program Increments (PIs)2. Product Management collaborates with stakeholders, customers, architects, and other roles to discover, prioritize, and refine the backlog items and present them to the ART during PI Planning3.

References:

•Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

•Product Management - Scaled Agile Framework

•PI Planning - Scaled Agile Framework

One characteristic of writing effective PI Objectives is describing the value that the objectives will deliver to the customers and stakeholders. PI Objectives are a summary of the business and technical goals that the Agile Release Train (ART) intends to achieve in the upcoming Program Increment (PI)1. They are not just a list of features or stories, but rather a statement of the outcomes and benefits that the features or stories will provide2. By describing the value, the PI Objectives help align the teams and stakeholders to a shared vision and mission, and provide a basis for measuring the progress and performance of the ART3.

References:

•PI Objectives - Scaled Agile Framework

•Your Guide to Writing Great Iteration and PI Objectives - Scaled Agile

•How to Write PI Objectives - ValueGlide