In SAFe, Scrum Masters help teams manage dependencies and risks. The most effective initial action is to collaborate on a practical plan within the team’s control—reordering work and creating a spike—which is a proactive, problem-solving approach. Immediate escalation (A) bypasses team problem-solving, assuming the other team will deliver early (C) is risky and passive, and dropping the story (D) may not align with PI Objectives without broader discussion.

Program PI Objectives are a primary SAFe practice for creating alignment and mission focus across all teams on an ART. They provide a shared vision of what the train is committing to, which directly counteracts siloed work and integration confusion. While a Scrum of Scrums (A) aids coordination, it is a tactical meeting that supports the higher-level alignment provided by PI Objectives. Strict governance (C) and detailed architectural runways (D) are more about control and technical planning than fostering shared mission alignment.

The scenario describes a classic failure of the ‘build it, they will come’ mindset. The team delivered to specification but missed the customer’s actual need. The root cause is a lack of frequent validation with customers or stakeholders during the build cycle. SAFe emphasizes continuous feedback loops. Improving these loops (e.g., shorter feedback cycles, reviewing mockups) prevents building the wrong thing. While testing (A), estimation (B), and DoD (C) are important, they address quality, predictability, and completeness, not whether the right value is being built.

The IP Iteration serves multiple critical functions: innovation (hackathons, exploring new tech), planning (PI Planning prep), and improvement (retrospectives, training). It is not merely a buffer for spillover (A)—that would undermine predictability. While it may include work on technical debt (B), that is a subset of its purpose. It is also not mandated rest (D), though it provides a different rhythm of work.

Business Owners are key stakeholders who represent the ultimate business and customer needs. Their primary responsibilities are strategic (defining themes), participatory (in planning), and accountable (for ROI and value). They are not meant to write detailed stories (A) or assign work (B)—those are team and Product Management responsibilities. Managing task boards (D) is a team-level Scrum Master or team responsibility.

The System Demo is a fundamental SAFe event held at the end of each Iteration. Its specific purpose is to demonstrate all the new Features working together in a staging environment. This integrated view is critical for obtaining feedback from stakeholders, ensuring the ART is building the right thing, and maintaining alignment. Iteration Retrospectives (A) are for process improvement within a team. PO Sync (C) and ART Sync (D) are coordination meetings, not demonstration events.

Consistently finishing early is a process signal that needs inspection, not just celebration. A Scrum Master should facilitate a retrospective discussion to understand the root cause. Are stories not valuable/sizable enough? Are estimates conservative? Is the team not effectively pulling work? This inspection leads to adaptation and true improvement. Simply adding more work (A) or reassigning work (C) addresses the symptom, not the cause. Mandating training (D) is a prescriptive solution that may not address the underlying issue.

The Program Board is a central, visual alignment tool created during PI Planning. It shows when features are planned, how teams’ work is synchronized, and, most importantly, it surfaces dependencies and integration points. This creates a shared understanding across the ART. Detailed Gantt charts (B) are counter to Agile’s adaptive planning. A signed contract (C) is an external commitment, not an internal alignment tool. Iteration plans (D) are team-level outputs.

SAFe promotes adaptability while respecting team planning. The recommended approach is a collaborative negotiation between the team and Product Owner. If new work is more important than something already planned, they can swap work of similar size to maintain the Iteration’s integrity. This balances responsiveness with predictability. Letting the PO unilaterally insert work (A) undermines team ownership. Flatly rejecting all unplanned work (B) is inflexible. Escalating to the RTE (D) for every issue undermines the team’s self-management.

In SAFe, Scrum Masters help teams manage dependencies and risks. The most effective initial action is to collaborate on a practical plan within the team’s control—reordering work and creating a spike—which is a proactive, problem-solving approach. Immediate escalation (A) bypasses team problem-solving, assuming the other team will deliver early (C) is risky and passive, and dropping the story (D) may not align with PI Objectives without broader discussion.0