SAFe-APM Practice Exam Questions with Answers SAFe Agile Product Manager (APM 5.1) Certification

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, innovation context type refers to the level of uncertainty and risk associated with the innovation. There are four types of innovation context: portfolio, solution, feature, and business agility. Solution context type is the most complex and uncertain type, as itinvolves creating integrated, end-to-end products and service offerings that solve complex market problems across trains. Solution context type requires a high degree of collaboration and alignment among multiple teams and stakeholders, as well as frequent experimentation and validation of assumptions.

References:

• SAFe Innovation Framework for Lean Enterprises: What to Know
• Solution Context - Scaled Agile Framework

The Golden Circle is a framework developed by Simon Sinek that suggests that the most effective way to communicate a product or service to prospective customers is to start with the “why” - the core purpose, belief, or cause that drives an organization or individual. By explaining the “why” before the “how” (the strategies and methods) and the “what” (the products, services, or offerings), the communicator can inspire and connect with the customers on a deeper level, and differentiate themselves from the competitors who focus on the features or benefits of their products or services.

References:

• Frameworks for Setting Company Priorities: The Golden Circle: This article from Geckoboard explains how the Golden Circle can help organizations align their actions and strategies with their purpose and values, and communicate them effectively to their customers and stakeholders.
• How to Use the Golden Circle in Business: This article from ActiveCampaign provides a detailed guide on how to apply the Golden Circle to various aspects of business, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and leadership.
• Golden Circle: A different approach for a unique value proposition: This article from ThePowerMBA illustrates how the Golden Circle can help businesses create a unique value proposition that resonates with their customers and stands out from the crowd.

Buy a Feature is a research game that involves presenting customers with a list of possible features for a product or service, and giving them a limited budget to spend on their preferred ones. This game helps to understand customer needs, priorities, trade-offs, and willingness to pay. It also encourages collaboration and discussion among customers, and generates feedback and insights for the product team.

References:

• Buy a Feature: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, process, and benefits of the Buy a Feature game, and provides an example of how it can be used in a SAFe context.
• Buy a Feature: The Game that Teaches Prioritization: This article from Innovation Games describes the rules, variations, and outcomes of the Buy a Feature game, and provides tips and resources for facilitating it.
• Customer Needs Analysis: Definition & Research Methods: This article from Qualtrics XM provides an overview of customer needs analysis, and discusses various research methods, including Buy a Feature, to identify and understand customer needs.

Using personas and empathy maps together is a result of applying design thinking, which is a customer-centric development process that creates desirable products that are profitable and sustainable over their lifecycle. Personas are fictional characters that represent archetypal users of a product or service, while empathy maps are visual tools that capture the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and needs of the users. Using personas and empathy maps together can help to improve product design by:

• Understanding the problem and the context from the user’s perspective
• Generating ideas and solutions that address the user’s pain points and goals
• Testing and validating the assumptions and hypotheses behind the product
• Aligning the stakeholders on the scope, value, and quality of the product

References:

• Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework
• Personas - Scaled Agile Framework
• Empathy Map vs Persona: What’s the Difference and Why You … - Userpilot

Gemba is a Japanese term that means “the real place” or “the place where value is created”. In the context of the CDP, Gemba refers to the practice of going to the source of customer needs and feedback, and observing and learning from them. Gemba is an integral part of Continuous Exploration (CE), which is the first aspect of the CDP that drives innovation and fosters alignment on what should be built. CE involves applying Customer Centricity and Design Thinking to understand and create alignment on new development opportunities, and validating them with customers using hypothesis-driven experiments.

References:

• Continuous Exploration: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, process, and benefits of CE, and how it uses Gemba, design thinking, and lean startup methods to explore the market and customer needs, and define a vision, roadmap, and set of features for a solution.
• Gemba Walk: How to Drive Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing with Connected Work: This article from Parsable describes how Gemba walks can help manufacturing leaders and teams identify and solve problems, improve processes, and increase customer value. It also provides some tips and best practices for conducting effective Gemba walks using connected worker technology.

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic benefit. It is calculated by dividing the cost of delay by the job duration or size. To estimate the cost of delay, three factors are considered: user and business value, time criticality, and risk reduction or opportunity enablement. To estimate the job duration or size, a relative scale such as Fibonacci is used. The highest value in the Fibonacci scale is set as the “ceiling” and the lowest value is set as the “floor”. The items are then scored by comparing them to the ceiling and the floor, and assigning them the closest Fibonacci number. The WSJF score is then obtained by dividing the cost of delay score by the job duration or size score. The items with the highest WSJF score are prioritized first.

References:

• WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework
• Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) | Definition and Overview - ProductPlan
• Weighted Shortest Job First - Open Practice Library

The Architectural Runway is a key part of the Feasible aspect of the Design Thinking model. The Design Thinking model is a framework that guides the creation of innovative solutions that are desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable. The Feasible aspect focuses on the technical and operational aspects of the solution, such as the architecture, infrastructure, integration, performance, and security. The Architectural Runway is a concept that describes the existing code, components, and technical infrastructure that enable the development and delivery of near-term features without excessive redesign and delay. The Architectural Runway supports the Feasible aspect by providing the necessary technical foundation and alignment for developing business initiatives and implementing new features and capabilities.

References:

• Architectural Runway - Scaled Agile Framework
• Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

An up-sell feature is a feature that encourages customers to buy a more expensive or advanced version of a product or service, or to add additional products or services to their purchase. An up-sell feature can increase the revenue and profit per customer, and enhance the customer value proposition. An add-on feature is a type of up-sell feature that adds functionality or benefits to the existing product or service, and usually requires an extra payment or subscription. For example, a cloud storage service may offer an add-on feature of extra storage space or enhanced security for a higher fee.

References:

• Feature Categories: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of feature categories, and how they can help product teams prioritize and communicate the value of features. It also describes the four main feature categories: new business, up-sell, operational efficiency, and retainment.
• Product Roadmap: Examples, Types and Key Features: This article from AltexSoft provides a comprehensive guide on product roadmaps, including their key features, common types, and examples. It also provides some tips and best practices on roadmap creation and communication.

Journey maps are a design thinking tool that help visualize the steps, interactions, and emotions of a user as they go through a process or a service. Journey maps can help redesign work processes by identifying the pain points, opportunities, and gaps in the current state, and by generating ideas for improving the user experience and value proposition in the future state. Journey maps can also help communicate the user needs and expectations to the stakeholders and align them on a common vision and goal.

References:

• Journey Maps - Scaled Agile Framework
• Journey Mapping 101 | Nielsen Norman Group
• Journey Mapping: The Ultimate Guide | Miro
• Journey Mapping: How to Create One and Why It’s Important

A product vision is a description of the future state of the product and what problems it tries to solve or what ambitions it tries to fulfill. The most important information to communicate in a product vision is how life/work will improve by using this solution. This information captures the value proposition and the benefit hypothesis of the product, which reflect the needs and expectations of the customers and the stakeholders. This information also inspires and motivates the people who work on the product, as well as the potential users of the product. This information sets the direction and the purpose of the product, and guides the development and delivery of the features and capabilities.

References:

• Vision - Scaled Agile Framework
• Solution Vision - Scaled Agile Framework
• Product Vision | Agile Product Management

The ART Sync is a weekly event that brings together the representatives of the teams and stakeholders of an Agile Release Train (ART) to review the progress and status of the current Program Increment (PI). The ART Sync tracks the progress of the ART toward meeting the PI Objectives by using various metrics and indicators, such as the PI burnup chart, the team and ART predictability measures, the feature completion report, and the dependencies and risks status. The ART Sync also provides an opportunity to identify and resolve any impediments, issues, or blockers that may affect the PI delivery.

References:

• ART Sync: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, agenda, and participants of the ART Sync, and how it supports the alignment, collaboration, and execution of the ART.
• PI Objectives: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines the concept and attributes of PI Objectives, and how they can be used to align and measure the outcomes of an ART or Solution Train.

Personas are fictional characters that represent the ideal customers or users of a product or service. They help product teams understand and empathize with the needs, goals, and preferences of their target segments. Personas can help define the features and benefit hypothesis of a product’s strategic intent, which is the assumption that a certain set of features will deliver a specific benefit to the customers or users. By using personas, product teams can validate their feature and benefit hypothesis with real user feedback, and prioritize the features that deliver the most value and satisfaction to their personas.

References:

• Personas: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of personas, and how they can be used in a SAFe context to support customer-centricity, design thinking, and lean UX.
• Strategic Intent: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines the concept and components of strategic intent, and how it guides the portfolio vision, lean budget guardrails, and portfolio backlog.
• Feature and Benefit Hypothesis: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the concept and process of feature and benefit hypothesis, and how it helps product teams test and validate their assumptions about customer value.

Retainment is the category of a new feature that aims to keep existing customers loyal and satisfied with the product or service, and prevent them from switching to competitors or alternatives. Retainment features can include loyalty programs, referral incentives, customer feedback mechanisms, personalized offers, and improved customer service. Retainment features can help the business reduce customer churn, increase customer lifetime value, and enhance customer advocacy.

References:

• Feature Categories: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of feature categories, and how they can help product teams prioritize and communicate the value of features. It also describes the four main feature categories: new business, up-sell, operational efficiency, and retainment.
• How to Stop Losing Customers: 6 Proven Ways | Pressfarm: This article from Pressfarm provides some practical tips and examples of how to stop losing customers and increase customer retention, such as staying connected, offering excellent customer experience, and providing value-added services.