Top 50 Scaled Agile Interview Question and Answers | Edureka

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01 What is Agile? Explain Agile in 2 minutes?
Agile SDLC model is a combination of iterative and incremental process models with
focus on process adaptability and customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of working
software product

02
List some popular agile frameworks? Do you know any other agile
methodology apart from Scrum?
Extreme Programming (XP)
Kanban
Test Driven Development
Feature Driven Development
Crystal

03
Have you ever worked in an Agile environment? What do you think are some
issues that organizations face when scaling agile principles and practices?
Coping with longer planning horizons
Lack of coordination and common goal
Lack of innovation
Dealing with delegated authority
Lack of agile practices at management levels
Too many team members to collaborate and manage
Unmapped dependencies creating unexpected issues
and obstacles
Multiple source of requirements from multiple teams
Multiple source of requirements

04
What are some agile frameworks available for large-scale enterprise
projects?
Scrum at Scale
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD)
Large Scale Scrum
(LeSS)
Spotify Model

05 What is the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)?
Pioneered by Dean Leffingwell, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is an enterprise-scale
development framework which uses a combination of existing lean and agile principles and
combines them into a templated framework for large-scale projects.
It leverages 3 primary bodies of knowledge:
Agile Software Development
Lean Product Development
System Thinking

06 What is the difference between Agile and SAFe Framework?
Agile
Agile refers to a set of
“methods and practices
based on the values and
principles expressed in
the Agile Manifesto”.
SAFe
SAFe is an acronym for the
Scaled Agile Framework,
which is an agile framework
available for large-scale
enterprise projects.

07 Name the four levels of the latest version of SAFe.
Portfolio Level
Value Stream Level
Team Level
Product Level

08 What are the different configurations of SAFe?
Essential SAFe
It is the heart of the
framework & is
the simplest starting
point for implementing
SAFe
Large Solution SAFe
This configuration is for
developing the largest
and most complex
solutions
Portfolio SAFe
This configuration helps
to align portfolio
execution to enterprise
strategy
Full SAFe
Most comprehensive
version of the framework
and consists of all the
four levels of SAFe

09 Are the core values and principles in safe lean based or agile-based?
Alignment
Built-in Quality Transparency
TransparencySAFe Core
Values
SAFe Core
Values
Scaled Agile Framework 9SAFe) is based on both Lean and
Agile principle

10 What is an Agile Release Train (ART)?
An Agile Release Train (ART) is a long-lived, self-organizing team of
Agile Teams.
• ART departs the station & arrives at destination on reliable
schedule
• All teams work at fixed cadence
• All ‘cargo’ including prototype, models, software etc goes on
train
• People needed on train are dedicated full time
• Teams that power the train are cross-functional & self
organizing

11 What is Program Increment (PI)?
A Program Increment is a timebox during which an Agile Release
Train (ART) delivers incremental value in the form of the working,
tested software and systems.
5
Iterations = 4 Development Iteration + 1 Innovation &
Planning Iteration

12 Who is the Release Train Engineer?
Release Train Engineer
Release Train Engineer, is a servant leader and the chief
scrum master for the Agile Train.

13 What is Iteration Review in SAFe?
Iteration Review is a cadence-based event in which every team inspects the
increment at the end of every iteration to assess progress and then adjusts the
team backlog based on the feedback received in the meeting

14 What is the difference between a Capability and a Feature?
Feature Capabilities
A feature is a service provided by the
system that addresses stakeholders
requirements.
Capabilities are similar to features,
however, they describe higher-level
solution behaviour.

15 Apart from Scrum, which frameworks can be used at the team level?
Teams can use agile frameworks
that work best for them:
• Scrum
• Kanban
• Extreme Programming (XP)
• ScrumXP
• Scrumban

16 Describe team Kanban. How are they different from other teams?

17 What are Stories? Can you explain it with an example?
Stories are the primary artifacts used to define system behaviour in Agile development.
Format: As a <user role> I can <activity> so that <business value>
User Story in user voice form
User Story with system as a user

18 What is the difference between User Stories and Enabler Stories?

19 When to use the Scaled Agile Framework?
Interested to implement Agile for larger projects
You can use Scaled Agile Framework in scenarios when,
Multiple teams are implementing agile but facing issues
Teams want to work in decentralized decision-making
environment
When organization is not sure of
No limit on time and budget

20
Can you describe the four-tier hierarchy of artifacts that describe
functional system behaviour?
Capabilities
describe
higher-level
solution
behaviors
A feature is a service
provided by the system
that addresses
stakeholders
requirements
Stories are the
primary
artifacts
Epics are defined
at Portfolio Level

21 Explain what is a scrum of scrums.
Team 1 Team 2 Team 3
Scrum of Scrums
Scrum of scrum is used to refer the meeting after the daily scrum. The
responsible person from each team attends the meeting and discuss
their work and answer different questions.

22 How is Essential SAFe different from Portfolio SAFe?
Essential SAFe
It is the heart of the
framework & is
the simplest starting
point for implementing
SAFe
Portfolio SAFe
This configuration helps
to align portfolio
execution to enterprise
strategy

23 What is the difference between Customers and Business Owners?
Business Owners are a critical group of three to five (3 – 5) stakeholders
who have shared fiduciary, governance, efficacy, and ROI responsibility for
the value delivered by a specific Agile Release Train a
Customers are an integral part of Lean-Agile development and are the
ultimate economic buyer of every solution.

24 What is a Value Stream in SAFe?
A value stream is a long-lived series of steps used to deliver value, from
customer order to delivery of a tangible result for the customer
Trigger
Lead Time
Repeat

25 Who are suppliers in SAFe? What do they do?
A supplier is an internal or external organization that develops and delivers components, sub-
systems or services that help agile trains provide solutions to their customers
They have unique and distinctively competent
skills
They are experts in their technology
They can have a large impact on lead time and
value delivery of the Enterprise’s Value
Streams

26 What is the relationship between Value Stream and Agile Release Train (ART)
Value Stream Agile Release Train
A Value Stream is a long-lived series of steps that
provide a continuous flow of value to the customer
An Agile Release Train is a long-lived, self-organizing
team of Agile Teams that delivers a continuous flow of
incremental releases of value in a Value Stream.

27 What is Architectural Runway in SAFe? Why is it needed?
Architecture runway consists of the existing code, components and technical infrastructure necessary to
support the implementation of prioritized, near-term features, without excessive redesign & delay
Details
Agile development yields the practice of EMERGENT DESIGN
Excessive redesign & delays that slow down velocity
Reduced collaboration & synchronization among teams
Systems too difficult to integrate, validate & maintain
Quality issues
Low reuse of common components
Solution: Intentional Architecture

28 What are the advantages of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)?
Helps teams maintain align with business golas
Makes working on large-scale enterprise
projects easy and organized
Helps cross-functional teams collaborate
more effectively
Puts more emphasis on people over
technology

29
How is the Continuous Delivery Pipeline associated with the Agile
Release Train (ART)?
The Continuous Delivery Pipeline (sometimes just referred to as just ‘pipeline’) represents the
workflows, activities, and automation needed to develop a new piece of functionality all the
way from ideation to an on-demand release of value to the end-user.

30 What is the final element of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline?
The final element of Continuous Delivery Pipeline is Release on Demand. It is the
ability to make the value available to customers all at once or in an ad-hoc
fashion, based on the needs of the market and the business.

31 Have you heard of Solution Demo? Can you explain what is the need for
Solution Demo?
Solution Demo
Solution demo is where the results of combined
development efforts of multiple Agile Release Trains
(ARTs) along with the contribution from Suppliers
are shown to customers and other stakeholders.

32 What is the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration in SAFe?
Product Increment
(8 -12 weeks long & has
5 iterations)
4 Development
iterations
Innovation &
Planning Iteration
(IP)
IP iteration provides a regular, cadence-based
opportunity for teams to work on activities that are
difficult to fit into a continuous, incremental value
delivery pattern.

33 Is customer a part of Value Stream?
Yes, the customer is a part of Value Stream
• Internal Customer can be from one of the departments within the
organization requesting to build solutions around their requirements
• External customers are the ones who are the direct economic buyer of the
solution

34 What are Epics? Explain with help of an example
Epics are defined at Portfolio Level and they are containers for significant initiatives that
help guide value streams toward the larger aim of the portfolio. There are two types of
epics: business epics and enabler epics:
• Business Epics
• Enabler Epics

SAFe is based on Lean
Product Development.
What is the goal of
Lean thinking?
35
The goal of Lean is to deliver maximum customer
value while minimizing waste and providing the highest
possible value to the customer and society as a whole.
Incorporating new tools and techniques
Providing better understanding of
system development process
Optimizing the flow of products and services
Emphasizes more on respecting people
and culture

Does SAFe follow
Agile Architecture or
it does it have its own
model?
36
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is based on
Agile Architecture which applies to all the
levels in SAFe
✓ Take an economic view
✓ Apply system thinking
✓ Assume variability; preserve options
✓ Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles
✓ Base milestones on objective evaluation of working
systems
✓ Visualize & limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, & manage
queue length
✓ Apply cadence; synchronize with cross-domain
planning
✓ Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
✓ Decentralize decision-making

What are Product
Managers responsible
for in SAFe?
37
Product Management
• Responsible for the Program Vision & Program
Backlog
• Works with customers & product owners to
• Understand their needs
• Define system features
• Participate in validation
• Manage & prioritize flow of work
• Participate in PI Planning
• Define releases & product increment

What are the roles and
responsibilities of a Release
Train Engineer (RTE)?
38
➢Servant leader & the chief scrum master for the train
➢Optimize the flow of value through various
mechanisms like:
➢Program Kanban
➢Inspect & Adapt Workshops
➢Product Increment Planning (PI Planning)
➢Gathers team & program PI objectives
➢Encourage collaborations between the team
➢Work with Product Management, Product Owners &
other scrum masters
Release Train Engineer

What do you know about
Value Stream Level of SAFe?39
ARTn
Large & Complex
Solution
ART1
ART2
It is intended for builders of large and complex
solutions, that typically require multiple ARTs as well
as the contribution of Suppliers.

What are the Shared
Services and how can the
SAFe framework benefit
from them?
40
Shared Services are special roles that are necessary for the
success of an Agile Release Train (ART) but that cannot be
dedicated full time.
• Enterprise and information architecture
• Infrastructure and tools management
• Security specialist
• Technical writers

What is the purpose of
Portfolio Level?41
The Portfolio is the highest level in SAFe. It provides
constructs like principles, practices, and roles organizing the
Lean-Agile Enterprise around the flow of value via one or
more Value Streams
Two-way connection to Enterprise
Strategic Themes
Constant Feedback

What are the responsibilities
of a System Team?42
Building development infrastructure that
supports high ART velocity
System Integration
Perform End-to-End and Solution
Performance Testing
Integrate and show progress at the
system and solution demo

Explain the program
level roles in SAFe?
43

What are the five
dimensions of Built-In
Quality?
44
Built-In Quality ensures that every element
and every increment of the build are up to the
same high standard of quality throughout the
development lifecycle.

How is the Solution Train
different from Agile Release
Train?
45
• The Solution Train is the organizational construct that
is used to build very large and complex solutions that
require the coordination of multiple Agile Release
Trains (ARTs)
• It aligns all these ARTs with a shared mission using
the solution vision, backlogs and roadmap, and an
aligned program increment.

What are the roles
present in the Solution
Train?
46

What are the responsibilities
of the System
Architect/Engineer?
47
• Systems Architect/ System Engineer are engineering
teams of ART
• Responsible for architectural and engineering design of
the system and solution
• They participate in
• Defining the system & sub-systems
• Validate technology assumptions
• Evaluate alternative solutions
• Plan & develop Architectural Runway
System Architect

How does SAFe supports
alignment?48
Alignment is necessary to keep up with rapid
change, disruptive competitive forces, and
geographically distributed teams
Clear lines of content authority
PI Objectives and iteration goals are used to
communicate
Cadence and synchronization are applied
All the work is visible, debated, resolved and transparent
Stakeholders are continuously
involved in decision making process
Architectures and user feedback keeps
solution technically robust

How is decentralized
decision making important
in SAFe?
49
Alignment is necessary to keep up with rapid
change, disruptive competitive forces, and
geographically distributed teams
Clear lines of content authority
PI Objectives and iteration goals are used to
communicate
Cadence and synchronization are applied
All the work is visible, debated, resolved and transparent
Stakeholders are continuously
involved in decision making process
Architectures and user feedback keeps
solution technically robust

What are the
disadvantages of adopting
SAFe?
50
Disadvantages of SAFe
Takes too much of a top down
approach
Additional layers of oversight,
administration, and coordination of
SAFe make it resemble the waterfall
SAFe emphasizes the big picture can
often lead to longer planning cycles
and more fixed roles within
development cycles

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