Scaled Agile SSM (6.0) - SAFe Scrum Master Exam

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 Iteration123Backlog 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 Backlog4One 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 Iteration2By 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

Backlog Refinement is the Agile Team event where team members estimate relative story sizes.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 Backlog1One 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 iteration2To achieve this, the team uses relative story sizing, which is a technique to compare the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of different stories based on a common reference point3Relative story sizing helps the team to create a consistent and shared understanding of the scope and value of the work, as well as to optimize the flow and predictability of the delivery process4The team can use various methods to estimate relative story sizes, such as story points, T-shirt sizes, or Fibonacci numbers35(Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

Team Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework

Backlog Refinement - Scaled Agile Framework

Story - Scaled Agile Framework

How to Estimate Agile Stories: Introducing Relative Sizing - LeanDog

Why Your Agile Team Should Use Relative Story Point Estimation

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. (Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

System Demo - Scaled Agile Framework

SAFe Scrum Master Course Outline

Backlog Refinement is the Agile Team event where team members estimate relative story sizes.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 Backlog1One 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 iteration2To achieve this, the team uses relative story sizing, which is a technique to compare the effort, complexity, and uncertainty of different stories based on a common reference point3Relative story sizing helps the team to create a consistent and shared understanding of the scope and value of the work, as well as to optimize the flow and predictability of the delivery process4The team can use various methods to estimate relative story sizes, such as story points, T-shirt sizes, or Fibonacci numbers35(Must be taken from SAFe 6 Scrum Master resources)

Team Backlog - Scaled Agile Framework

Backlog Refinement - Scaled Agile Framework

Story - Scaled Agile Framework

How to Estimate Agile Stories: Introducing Relative Sizing - LeanDog

Why Your Agile Team Should Use Relative Story Point Estimation