SAFe 4.5 Advanced Scrum Master Study

SAFe 4.5 Advanced Scrum Master Study Notes

*Role: Scrum Master*

-- -- Relate note--

• Agile team
• Kanban
• Agile Release Train (ART)
• Lean-Agile Leader
• Lean-Agile Mindset
• SAFe Core Values
• SAFe Principles
• Built-In Quality
• Iteration Goals
• Program Increment (PI) Objectives
• Iteration Planning
• Iteration Review
• Iteration Retrospective
• Iteration
• Program Increment
• System Team
• User Experience
• Shared Services
• PI Planning
• System Demos
• Inspect and Adapt
• Features and Capabilities
• Enterprise - * Scrum Masters are servant leaders and coaches for an Agile Team.

* An effective Scrum Master is a team-based servant leader who:

• Exhibits Lean-Agile leadership
• Supports the team rules
• Facilitates the team's progress toward team goals
• Leads team efforts in relentless improvement
• Facilitates meetings
• Supports the Product Owner
• Eliminates impediments
• Promotes SAFe quality practices
• Builds a high-performing team
• Protects and communicates
• Responsibilities on the train
• Coordinates with other teams
• Facilitates preparation and readiness for ART events
• Supports estimating

-- *The Scrum Master role* is a unique Agile team member who spends much of her time helping other team members communicate, coordinate, and cooperate; generally, this person assists the team in meeting their delivery goals.*The Scrum Master is a servant leader* who enables teams to self-organize, self-manage, and deliver via effective Lean-Agile practices. The Scrum Master supports and enforces the Scrum process and other rules that the team has agreed. The Scrum Master also helps the team coordinate with other teams on the Agile Release Train (ART) and communicates status to management as needed.

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise

*1.1: Characteristics of an effective Agile Team* - * Able to reliably deliver

• Its members are not afraid to challenge each other's ideas for the ultimate win
• Makes process visible to themselves and to their stakeholders
• Collaborates to achieve Iteration goals and PI Objectives
• Produces consistent, high-quality increments of value
• Sustains a predictable pace of development
• Able to pivot when necessary

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise

*1.2: Modern enterprises introduce a bigger challenge* - The team in the Enterprise is affected by other teams, stakeholders, and processes that fall outside of their control

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise

*1.3: Teams must improve relentlessly* - Apart from the impediments to developing and delivering value, Agile Teams in the Enterprise may encounter significant roadblocks to growth

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe *1.4: The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)* - * Synchronizes alignment, collaboration, and delivery for large numbers of team

• Core Values
• Built-In Quality
• Program execution
• Alignment
• Transparency

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe

*1.5: Essential SAFe* - Essential SAFe provides the basis for success

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe *1.6: Nothing beats an Agile Team* - * Empowered, self-organizing, self-managing, cross- functional team

• Delivers valuable, tested, working system every two weeks
• Uses a team framework which combines the best of Scrum project management, XP-

inspired technical practices, and Kanban for flow

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe *1.7: Except a team of Agile Teams* - * Self-organizing, self-managing , team of Agile Teams

• Delivers working, tested full-system increments every two weeks
• Operates with Vision, architecture, and UX guidance
• Common iteration lengths and estimating
• Face-to-face planning for collaboration, alignment, and adaptation

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe

*1.8: Portfolio SAFe* - Portfolio SAFe aligns strategy and execution

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe *1.9: Large Solution SAFe* - Large Solution SAFe coordinates ARTs with a Solution Train

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - Know the purpose and basic constructs of SAFe

*1.10: Full SAFe* - Some enterprises require Full SAFe

Lesson 1: Exploring the Scrum Master Role in the SAFe Enterprise - *Establish Scrum Master connections in the Framework* - Using the Big Picture, draw connections from the

Scrum Master to other Framework elements, based on:

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Problem-solving
• Inputs/outputs
• Other ideas you have

Lesson 2 - Apply SAFe Principles: A Scrum Master Perspective

*2.0: SAfe Lean-Agile Principles* - SAFe Lean-Agile Principles

• Take an economic view
• Apply systems thinking
• Assume variability; preserve options
• Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles
• Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
• Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths
• Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning
• Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
• Decentralize decision-making

Lesson 2 - Apply SAFe Principles: Scrum Master Perspective:

*#1 Take an economic view* - Base decisions on economics - Many decisions at the Team Level impact development economics

• Validate key decisions based on how they impact the five variables
• Team makes thousands of decisions during the PI
• Effective team process leverages more economically-feasible ways of product

development

• Take an economic view does not always require knowing 'dollarized value' but is rather a

general thinking tool --

• Cycle time vs. product cost
• Cycle time vs. value
• Cycle time vs development expense

-- Product cost vs. development expense Product cost vs. Value Product cost vs. Cycle time -- Development expense vs. Value Development expense vs Cycle time Development expense vs. Product Cost -- Risk

Lesson 2 - Apply SAFe Principles: Scrum Master Perspective: #1 Take an economic view *1.1 Base decisions on economics - Consider examples* - Following are examples of indicators that may have surprisingly high economic impact in the long run

• Cost of late defect fixing
• Cost of branching with late merge
• Cost of delayed performance testing
• Cost of large batch of cross-team dependencies
• Economic value of test automation
• Economic value of "Enablers" such as research spikes, refactors, etc.

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NOTE: Cost of fixing a defect grows nearly exponentially over time

Lesson 2 - Apply SAFe Principles: Scrum Master Perspective: *#2 Apply system thinking* - * Complex systems development requires disciplines, systematic systems thinking

• Optimizing a component does not optimize the system
• The value of a system passes through its interconnections
• A system can evolve no faster than its slowest integration point
• Understand and optimize the full Value Stream

Lesson 2 - Apply SAFe Principles: Scrum Master Perspective: #2 Apply system thinking