Explain why the digital age increases the need for rapid learning and adaptation.
Distinguish business agility from team-level agility in terms of scope and outcomes.
Identify indicators that an organization is constrained by long handoffs and big-batch delivery.
Explain how faster feedback loops reduce risk and improve decision-making in product development.
Recognize how complex dependencies and distributed work increase the need for alignment and coordination.
Explain why customer value and outcomes should drive prioritization in the digital age.
Distinguish leading indicators from lagging indicators when assessing agility and flow.
Describe how decentralizing decisions can improve speed while maintaining appropriate governance.
Identify common causes of slow time-to-market in large organizations (queues, WIP, and handoffs).
Build a Lean-Agile organization with SAFe
Explain the purpose of SAFe as an operating system for business agility.
Identify the primary SAFe levels (team, ART/program, large solution, portfolio) and what each level addresses.
Distinguish an Agile Release Train (ART) from a project team or temporary program.
Describe how value streams and ARTs relate when organizing around value.
Identify the role of PI Planning in aligning multiple teams on an ART.
Explain how SAFe supports alignment, built-in quality, transparency, and program execution.
Recognize when a minimal SAFe configuration (Essential) is sufficient versus when broader configurations are needed.
Distinguish responsibilities across key ART roles (RTE, Product Management, System Architect/Engineer) at a high level.
Explain how governance can be enabled through objective evidence rather than heavy stage-gate controls.
Core Competencies of Business Agility
List the seven core competencies of business agility and the intent of each.
Map a scenario to the most relevant core competency of business agility.
Distinguish Continuous Learning Culture from Organizational Agility.
Explain how Lean-Agile Leadership enables the other business agility competencies.
Describe how Team and Technical Agility supports sustainable, predictable delivery.
Describe how Agile Product Delivery connects customer centricity to value realization.
Explain the purpose of Lean Portfolio Management in aligning strategy, funding, and execution.
Recognize what Enterprise Solution Delivery adds beyond ART-level delivery when solutions require multiple ARTs.
Explain how Organizational Agility helps teams collaborate across functional boundaries.
Describe how a Continuous Learning Culture supports relentless improvement and innovation.
Building a Foundation with Mindset, Values and Principles (21%)
Lean-Agile Mindset
Explain the difference between Lean thinking and traditional utilization-focused optimization.
Describe how systems thinking changes decisions compared to optimizing individual functions.
Identify examples of local optimization that reduce end-to-end value delivery.
Explain why limiting WIP improves flow and reduces cycle time.
Distinguish reducing batch size from simply "working faster".
Recognize when a policy is creating queueing delays and propose a Lean alternative.
Explain the purpose of the House of Lean and its pillars (respect for people and culture, flow, innovation, relentless improvement).
Identify behaviors that demonstrate respect for people and culture in a Lean-Agile organization.
Explain how flow is achieved by reducing handoffs, delays, and rework.
Distinguish intrinsic motivation from extrinsic, compliance-driven motivation in knowledge work.
Explain how innovation is supported through exploration time, empowerment, and fast learning.
Describe the role of relentless improvement in sustaining agility at scale.
Explain how Lean-Agile leadership differs from command-and-control management.
Recognize coaching behaviors that help teams adopt Lean-Agile practices.
Explain how the Agile Manifesto values influence decision-making in SAFe.
Distinguish empiricism (inspect and adapt) from predictive control in complex domains.
Explain why decentralized decision-making can improve speed and engagement.
Identify situations where decisions should remain centralized versus decentralized.
Explain the concept of customer value and how it differs from measuring output.
Describe how lean product development principles (set-based design, fast feedback) reduce risk.
Recognize the difference between managing cost and optimizing economic outcomes using cost of delay concepts.
Explain the role of leaders in creating clarity of purpose and alignment.
Distinguish aligned autonomy from uncontrolled independence.
Identify common anti-patterns that indicate a weak Lean-Agile mindset (overcommitment, hero culture, hidden work).
SAFe Core Values
Explain why alignment is needed at scale and how PI Planning supports it.
Identify artifacts and practices that enable alignment (vision, roadmap, PI objectives).
Recognize symptoms of misalignment (conflicting priorities, duplicate work) and the best SAFe response.
Distinguish alignment from uniformity (allowing local decisions within shared goals).
Apply alignment thinking to choose the right level of coordination (team vs ART vs portfolio).
Explain what built-in quality means in SAFe and why it is a core value.
Identify practices that support built-in quality (definition of done, automated tests, continuous integration).
Recognize the risk of "quality later" approaches and likely impacts on flow and predictability.
Distinguish built-in quality from end-of-phase testing and inspection.
Choose a SAFe-aligned action when quality issues threaten PI objectives.
Explain how transparency supports trust and better decision-making on an ART.
Identify transparency mechanisms (visual management, system demos, objective metrics).
Recognize behaviors that reduce transparency (hidden work, optimistic reporting) and how to correct them.
Distinguish reporting progress from demonstrating working, integrated solutions.
Choose the best approach to make dependencies and risks visible early.
Explain what program execution means and why it matters for delivering value.
Identify practices that support reliable execution (cadence, synchronization, WIP management).
Recognize when work is not flowing (too much WIP, context switching) and how to improve execution.
Distinguish planning from execution discipline and why both are needed.
Choose a SAFe-aligned response when an ART is missing PI commitments due to unmanaged dependencies or overcommitment.
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles
Explain why taking an economic view guides tradeoffs and prioritization in SAFe.
Identify the cost of delay concept and how it affects sequencing decisions.
Distinguish optimizing a component from optimizing the whole system in a scaled environment.
Choose a systems-thinking action when an improvement benefits one team but harms end-to-end flow.
Explain why preserving options reduces risk when requirements and solutions are uncertain.
Identify an example of set-based design versus committing early to a single design.
Explain how small increments and fast feedback reduce integration and delivery risk.
Recognize the difference between incremental learning and simply breaking work into tasks.
Explain why objective evaluation of working systems is preferred over document-only milestone reviews.
Choose evidence that qualifies as objective evaluation of progress (for example, an integrated system demo).
Explain how limiting WIP improves value flow on an ART.
Identify common sources of flow interruption (handoffs, approvals, large batches, blockers).
Choose an action that reduces queues and improves end-to-end cycle time.
Explain how cadence and synchronization reduce uncertainty and improve coordination.
Identify events that provide synchronization in SAFe (PI Planning, ART sync, system demo, inspect and adapt).
Explain why autonomy, mastery, and purpose help unlock intrinsic motivation in knowledge work.
Recognize management behaviors that suppress intrinsic motivation and choose a correction.
Explain what kinds of decisions should be decentralized to improve speed and flow.
Identify cases where centralized decisions are appropriate (enterprise-wide standards, significant economic impact).
Choose a decentralization approach that avoids delays while maintaining appropriate governance.
Explain why organizing around value streams improves delivery compared to organizing around functional silos.
Distinguish operational value streams from development value streams.
Identify what an Agile Release Train (ART) is and how it aligns to a value stream.
Apply the economic view to choose between accelerating a feature and reducing technical debt within a PI.
Recognize when cadence is being misused (ceremonies without outcomes) and choose a correction.
Map a scenario to the most relevant SAFe principle being violated and choose the best correction.
Empower agility with AI
Choose an appropriate use of AI assistance in SAFe work while keeping human accountability for decisions.
Craft a high-quality prompt to help an AI assistant produce a useful agile artifact (for example, refine a feature or draft PI objectives) with clear constraints.
Identify risks when using AI in planning and execution (hallucinations, bias, sensitive data) and select practical mitigations (validate outputs, sanitize data, disclose use).
Choose how to validate AI-generated suggestions using objective evidence and stakeholder feedback before acting.
Establishing Team and Technical Agility (8%)
Cross-functional Agile Teams
Explain characteristics of a high-performing cross-functional agile team.
Distinguish when Scrum versus Kanban is appropriate for team-level work in SAFe.
Identify the responsibilities of the Scrum Master and Product Owner within a SAFe team context.
Recognize common team-level anti-patterns (siloed roles, multitasking) and choose corrective actions.
Explain how teams contribute to ART objectives through iteration goals and committed stories.
Built-in Quality
Explain why built-in quality is essential for sustainable delivery in SAFe.
Identify what a portfolio is in SAFe terms (value streams, budgets, and governance).
Recognize when portfolio decisions are creating bottlenecks for ARTs and propose a Lean alternative.
Connect the Portfolio to the enterprise strategy
Explain what strategic themes are and how they connect strategy to portfolio decisions.
Identify how strategic themes guide prioritization of epics and ART roadmaps.
Distinguish strategic themes from a product vision or a team goal.
Choose a SAFe-aligned action when work does not clearly support any strategic theme.
Maintain the Portfolio Vision (value streams)
Explain the purpose of the portfolio canvas and what it helps communicate.
Identify the difference between operational value streams and development value streams.
Describe how value streams influence ART design and portfolio funding decisions.
Recognize a mismatch between organizational structure and value stream flow and choose an improvement.
Realize the Portfolio Vision through Epics
Explain what an epic is in SAFe and when it should be used.
Identify the components of an epic hypothesis statement (hypothesis, expected outcomes, leading indicators).
Distinguish an epic hypothesis statement from a feature description.
Explain the purpose of a Lean business case for an epic.
Choose what evidence to gather to validate an epic hypothesis before scaling investment.
Lean Budgeting and Guardrails
Distinguish traditional project-based funding from Lean budgeting that funds value streams.
Explain the purpose of guardrails in Lean budgeting and what they constrain.
Identify how participatory budgeting supports decentralized decision-making.
Recognize when funding decisions encourage local optimization and how Lean budgeting reduces that.
Explain how portfolio governance can rely on objective evidence and guardrails rather than detailed project approvals.
Choose a SAFe-aligned response when an epic is not delivering expected value (pivot, persevere, or stop).
Establish Portfolio flow
Explain the purpose of the portfolio Kanban and how it improves the flow of epics.
Identify typical states in the portfolio Kanban (funnel, reviewing, analyzing, portfolio backlog, implementing, done) conceptually.
Distinguish analyzing an epic from implementing it and what decisions happen at each stage.
Recognize when too many epics are in progress and choose a flow-improving action (limit WIP, prioritize).
Choose the best next step when an epic lacks sufficient hypothesis and evidence to proceed.
Apply AI tools to LPM
Identify how AI tools can support Lean Portfolio Management decisions (synthesizing data, summarizing epics, detecting flow bottlenecks) without replacing governance.
Decide what portfolio information is appropriate to share with AI tools versus what must be protected or anonymized.
Use AI to draft an epic hypothesis statement and identify what must be validated with measurable outcomes and leading indicators.
Recognize when AI outputs conflict with portfolio guardrails or strategy and choose the correct response (adjust inputs, validate, and escalate when needed).
Leading the Change (8%)
Lead by Example
Explain why leaders must model Lean-Agile behaviors to sustain transformation.
Identify leadership actions that enable psychological safety and learning.
Recognize when leaders are undermining agility (micromanagement, frequent priority changes) and choose a correction.
Distinguish coaching conversations from directing tasks in a Lean-Agile environment.
Choose a leader behavior that improves transparency and trust on an ART.
Lead the Change
Explain why change requires a clear vision and persistent communication.
Identify common sources of resistance to Lean-Agile change and appropriate responses.
Distinguish training, coaching, and structural change as different levers for transformation.
Recognize when change is being treated as a one-time event rather than a continuous journey and choose a correction.
Choose a SAFe-aligned approach to sustain change (measure outcomes, celebrate wins, reinforce learning).
SAFe Implementation Roadmap
Describe the purpose of the SAFe Implementation Roadmap and how it guides adoption.
Identify key early steps in SAFe implementation (establish urgency, train change agents, align leadership).
Explain the role of a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) in supporting implementation.
Identify how to select value streams and identify the first ART for launch.
Explain what it means to prepare for and launch an ART (training, backlog readiness, PI Planning).
Recognize when to expand beyond the first ART and what enables scaling to more ARTs and portfolio.
Empower leaders with AI
Choose how leaders can use AI to communicate vision and support change while reinforcing Lean-Agile leadership behaviors.
Identify ethical and privacy guardrails for leaders using AI with employee, customer, or portfolio data.
Use AI-assisted synthesis of feedback and resistance signals to plan change actions, and identify what must be verified before acting.
Recognize inappropriate leader uses of AI (for example, automated performance decisions) and choose an appropriate alternative.