SAFe-POPM SAFe Product Owner-Product Manager (POPM) Questions and Answers

Journey mapping is one method for designing the end-to-end customer experience. It is a visual representation of the steps, emotions, and pain points that a customer goes through when interacting with a product or service. It helps to identify the customer needs, expectations, and goals, as well as the gaps and opportunities for improvement in the current experience. Journey mapping also helps to align the stakeholders on the customer perspective and prioritize the features and solutions that will deliver the most value and satisfaction123

References:

•The expanding role of design in creating an end-to-end customer experience

•End to End Customer Experience: Know and Control its 3 Elements - HEFLO BPM

•How Design thinking Can Shape end to end Customer Experience

One of the questions that helps Product Management create a Vision is what problem(s) will the Solution solve for the customers and stakeholders. The Vision is a description of the future state of the Solution under development, and it reflects the needs and expectations of the customers and stakeholders1. The Vision also provides the context and purpose for the features and capabilities of the Solution2. Therefore, Product Management needs to understand the problem(s) that the Solution aims to address, and how it will deliver value and benefits to the customers and stakeholders3.

References:

•Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

•Solution Vision - Scaled Agile Framework

•What is a Product Vision Statement? | Definition and Overview

Fostering Built-in Quality is a Product Owner responsibility that supports the team with value delivery. Built-in Quality is one of the four core values of SAFe® and it means that every aspect of the solution is continuously verified for quality1. The Product Owner fosters Built-in Quality in the following ways:

•Collaborating with the Development team and other stakeholders to define clear and testable acceptance criteria for each work item2.

•Participating in team events such as Iteration Planning, Backlog Refinement, and Iteration Review to provide feedback and guidance on the quality of the work2.

•Reviewing and approving the work items that meet the Definition of Done and the acceptance criteria2.

•Encouraging the team to apply Agile testing practices such as Test-First, Test-Driven Development, and Behavior-Driven Development3.

•Supporting the team’s continuous integration and continuous delivery practices to ensure fast and frequent feedback on the quality of the solution3.

Some additional information that might be helpful for you are:

•The other options (A, B, and C) are not Product Owner responsibilities that support the team with value delivery, but rather responsibilities that belong to other roles or activities.

•Understanding market forces is a responsibility of Product Management, who is accountable for the market and business aspects of the solution4.

•Supporting the Architectural Runway is a responsibility of System Architects/Engineers, who provide technical guidance and enablement to the teams.

•Testing benefit hypotheses is an activity that occurs in the Continuous Exploration step of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, where Product Owners and Product Managers collaborate to validate their assumptions about the customer and the solution.

The System Demo is an event where the Agile Release Train (ART) demonstrates the integrated and working software to the stakeholders and customers1. The System Demo aligns with the Agile Manifesto principle that states: "Working software is the primary measure of progress"2. This principle emphasizes the value of delivering functional and usable software over comprehensive documentation or adherence to a plan3. The System Demo provides feedback on the quality, usability, and value of the software, as well as the effectiveness of the ART1.

References:

•System Demo - Scaled Agile Framework

•12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto | Agile Alliance

•Manifesto for Agile Software Development

The iteration retrospective is an Agile Team event that supports relentless improvement by allowing the team to reflect on the iteration just completed and to derive new ideas to improve the team’s process12. This reflection helps instill the concept of relentless improvement—one of the pillars of the SAFe House of Lean3—in the individuals and the team.

References:

•Iteration Retrospective - Scaled Agile Framework

•SAFe POPM 5 Flashcards | Quizlet

•SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Scaled Agile Framework

Product Management works with System Architect to prioritize Enablers, which are backlog items that extend the architectural runway of the solution under development or improve the performance of the development value stream1. System Architect provides technical guidance and enablement to the Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and helps identify and define the enablers needed to support the features and capabilities2. In collaboration with System Architect, Product Management negotiates capacity allocations that balance the concentration of business and enabler features in the ART backlog3.

Some additional information that might be helpful for you are:

•The other options (B, C, and D) are not the role that Product Management works with to prioritize Enablers, but rather roles that have different responsibilities or collaborations with Product Management.

•Development Manager is a role that supports the Development teams in building quality solutions and fosters a culture of technical excellence and innovation4. Development Manager may work with Product Management to provide feedback on the feasibility and effort of the features and enablers, but not to prioritize them.

•Product Owner is a role that represents the customer and stakeholders to the Development team and defines and accepts the work items in the Team Backlog. Product Owner may work with Product Management to align on the product vision and roadmap and to decompose the features and enablers into stories, but not to prioritize them.

•Solution Management is a role that is responsible for defining and delivering complex solutions that require multiple ARTs and Solution Trains. Solution Management may work with Product Management to coordinate the dependencies and interfaces between the solutions and the products, but not to prioritize the enablers.

A story map is a tool that visualizes features representing a workflow. A story map is a two-dimensional arrangement of user stories that shows the relationship between the user activities and the features that support them1. A story map helps the team to understand the user journey, prioritize the features based on value and dependencies, and plan the releases and iterations2.

References:

•Story Mapping - Scaled Agile Framework

•What is User Story Mapping? | Definition and Overview

Identifying the Value Stream for each product is one of the five Lean Thinking principles proposed by Womack and Jones in 1996. A value stream is the sequence of activities that deliver value to the customer, from the initial request to the final delivery1. Identifying the value stream for each product helps to eliminate waste, optimize flow, and increase customer satisfaction2.

References:

•The Five Principles of Lean - Project Management Institute

•Value Streams - Scaled Agile Framework

One method to establish a team’s velocity is to compare the average story points completed throughout the previous iterations. This gives an indication of how much work the team can realistically deliver in a given time frame, based on their past performance. To calculate the team’s velocity, you can use the following formula: Team velocity = total story points completed / number of iterations. You can also use various charts and tools to visualize the team’s velocity and track itsprogress over time1234

References:

•Velocity in Scrum: How to Measure and Improve Performance - Atlassian

•Discover the Concept of Team Velocity - OpenClassrooms

•A Word on Velocity - LeadingAgile

•Increasing Your Scrum Team’s Velocity — ClearlyAgile

One of the key responsibilities of Product Management in SAFe is to connect with the customer and understand their needs, preferences, and feedback. Product Management is the voice of the customer for the Agile Release Train (ART) and represents their interests in defining and prioritizing the features and capabilities of the solution1. Product Management also engages withthe customer throughout the product life cycle, conducting market research, validating assumptions, soliciting feedback, and ensuring customer satisfaction2.

References:

•Product Management - Scaled Agile Framework

•The Role of Product Management in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) - iZenBridge