SAFe ®

Scrum Master
Applying the Scrum Master Role
within a SAFe Enterprise

6.0

Workbook
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 BUSINESS AGILITY

Enterprise Solution Delivery Lean Portfolio Management

Strategy & Investment Funding

Lean Systems Coordinating Trains Continually Evolve

Engineering and Suppliers Live Systems
Lean Governance Agile Portfolio Operations

Agile Product Delivery Organizational Agility

Customer Centricity Develop on Cadence Lean-thinking People Lean Business

& Design Thinking Release on Demand and Agile Teams Operations
Customer
Centricity

DevOps and the Continuous

Delivery Pipeline Strategy Agility

Team and Technical Agility Continuous Learning Culture

Lean-Agile Leadership

Agile Teams Built-in Quality Learning Organization Innovation Culture

Mindset & Principles

Teams of Agile Teams Leading by Example Leading Change Relentless Improvement

© Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Business results
SAFe ® Implementation Roadmap
30 – 75%

e-to-Marke
Tim t

10 – 50% 25 – 75%
Measure
Q u al i t y

gagement
Leading SAFe ® Executive & Grow

En
SAFe ® workshop
Lean Portfolio SAFe ® Value Stream and
(Reach the tipping point) Leading SAFe ® Management ART Identification workshop Pro
d uc t i vit y
Implementing
SAFe ®
20 – 50%
Leading in the Digital Age

Go Train Lean-Agile Train Executives,

Organize Around Value
SAFe Change Agents Managers, and Leaders Cr
ea
te

Lean-Agile Center of Excellence

the

SAFe ® for SAFe ® for SAFe ® Scrum SAFe ® Product Owner/ Leading SAFe ®
Teams Architects Master Product Manager (for ART stakeholders)
Implement
at
i

on
Pla
n
Train Teams and
Prepare for ART Launch
Launch ART

PI Planning
n

tio
Agile Product
Management
Implementing SAFe ® Lean Portfolio SAFe ® Release SAFe ® Advanced
(more SPCs) Management Train Engineer Scrum Master

ART Execu
SAFe ®
DevOps

ch
oa
C
Launch More ARTs Enhance the
Accelerate
and Value Streams Portfolio

© Scaled Agile, Inc.

Table of Contents
Privacy Notice.................................................................................10

Course Introduction.......................................................................11

Lesson 1: Introducing Scrum in SAFe............................................14

Lesson 2: Characterizing the Role of the Scrum Master...............38

Lesson 3: Experience PI Planning..................................................79

Lesson 4: Facilitating Iteration Execution...................................118

Lesson 5: Finishing the PI.............................................................155

Lesson 6: Practicing SAFe............................................................168

SAFe Glossary...............................................................................175

Workbook 9 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

Privacy Notice
Your name, company, and email address will be shared with Scaled Agile, Inc. for course fulfillment,
including testing and certification. Your information will be used in accordance with the Scaled Agile
privacy policy available at https://www.scaledagile.com/privacy-policy/.

Workbook 10 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 SAFe®
Scrum Master
Applying the Scrum Master Role within
a SAFe Enterprise
SAFe® Course - Attending this course gives learners
access to the SAFe® Scrum Master exam and related
preparation materials.

6.0

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

Logistics

► Course meeting times

► Breaks

► Facilities

► Technology requirements

► Working agreements

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-2

Workbook 11 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Duration

Activity: Access the Class Page 5

min

► Step 1: Navigate to the

Class Page on the SAFe
Community Platform

► Step 2: Select Learn, then

My Classes, then SAFe
Scrum Master (6.0)
COMMUNITY
► Step 3: Click on the link to
Visit the SAFe Scrum Master Class
Download the SAFe Scrum Page to download the workbook

Master (6.0) workbook (PDF) https://bit.ly/CP-SAFeScrumMaster

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-3

Course outline

► Lesson 1: Introducing Scrum in SAFe

► Lesson 2: Characterizing the Role of the Scrum Master

► Lesson 3: Experiencing PI Planning

► Lesson 4: Facilitating Iteration Execution

► Lesson 5: Finishing the PI

► Lesson 6: Practicing SAFe

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-4

Workbook 12 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 The SAFe Scrum Master/Team Coach role

► In SAFe 6.0, the role of the Agile Team

coach is called the Scrum Master/
Team Coach

► This course will exclusively use the term

Scrum Master in alignment with the course
certification

► Both terms are correct and can be used

interchangeably to meet the needs of
teams and organizations

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-5

Duration

Discussion: Spell out SAFe Scrum Master 3

min

► Step 1: Introduce yourself to someone you

don’t know.
'C’ for
► Step 2: Choose one letter from the course ‘Communication’
title. Use it to explain what you hope to learn
in this class.
'F’ for
- Example: “I selected ‘C’ for ‘Communication’ ‘Facilitation’
because I want to know how to communicate better
with my team.”

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-6

Workbook 13 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Lesson 1
Introducing Scrum in SAFe

SAFe® Course - Attending this course gives learners access to

the SAFe Scrum Master exam and related preparation materials.

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

Lesson Topics
1.1 Basic Agile
development concepts

1.2 Scrum basics

1.3 The Agile Team in

a SAFe Enterprise

© Scaled Agile. Inc.

Workbook 14 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

► Explain basic Agile development concepts

► Discuss Scrum basic concepts and values

► Identify an Agile Team in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-9

1.1 Basic Agile development concepts

©©
Scaled Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 1-10

Workbook 15 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Duration

Activity: Too much work in process (WIP) 4

min

► Step 1: On your instructor’s command, write

the numbers 1 to 26 as many times as
possible until the instructor says to stop

► Step 2: On your instructor’s command, write

the letters A to Z as many times as possible
until the instructor says to stop

► Step 3: On your instructor’s command, write

number/letter pairs (such as 1A, 2B, 3C) as
many times as possible until the instructor
says to stop
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-11

Duration

Discussion: Too much work in process (WIP) 4

min

► Step 1: As a class, discuss the following:

- How many numbers did you write down? How many letters? How many
number/letter pairs?
- How many active projects are you currently juggling?
- How much of your day is actually spent adding value versus running from
meeting to meeting?

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-12

Workbook 16 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Agile economics: Deliver early and often

Waterfall

Requirements
Design
Implementation
Verification

Documents Documents Unverified System System

Incremental delivery

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-13

Workbook 17 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Agile frameworks

Agile Development
A general term defined by values and principles

Agile Frameworks
• SAFe • Scrum • Kanban

Practices
• Timeboxing • Frequent demos • Information radiators
• Stories • Test-driven development • Retrospectives
• Team syncs • Behavior-driven • Continuous Integration
• Pair/mob programming development • DevOps

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-15

Duration

Activity: Manifesto for Agile software development 2

min

► Step 1: Locate the activity in your workbooks

► Step 2: Individually fill in the following value statements using the

appropriate phrases

Value statements Phrases

1) _______________ over processes and tools responding to change

2) Working software over ___________________ individuals and interactions
3) Customer collaboration over ______________ comprehensive documentation
4) _______________ over following a plan contract negotiations

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-16

Workbook 18 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Agile Manifesto
Title
value statements

Type the complete four Agile Manifest value statements by adding the appropriate phrases:

Workbook 19 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 The Agile Manifesto

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
Reference: Agile Manifesto

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-17

The Agile Manifesto Principles

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early

and continuous delivery of valuable software.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.

Agile processes harness change for the customer's
competitive advantage.

3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a

couple of months, with a preference for the shorter timescale.

4. Business people and developers must work together daily

throughout the project.

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-18

Workbook 20 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 The Agile Manifesto Principles

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the

environment and support they need and trust them to get the
job done.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying

information to and within a development team is
face-to-face conversation.

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.

8. Agile processes promote sustainable development.

The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to
maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-19

The Agile Manifesto Principles

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design

enhances agility.

10.Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not

done—is essential.

11.The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from

self-organizing teams.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more

effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-20

Workbook 21 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Prepare Share
Discussion: Adopting Agile principles 5 5
and practices min min

► Step 1: Working in your groups, discuss the following:

- Do the Agile values and principles align with the culture in your organization?
- Are there any contradictions?
- Which principle or practice stands out to you?
- What are some of the biggest areas where Agile challenges traditional
development?

► Step 2: Be prepared to share with the class

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-21

1.2 Scrum basics

©©
Scaled Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 1-22

Workbook 22 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 The roots of Scrum

“The traditional sequential or ‘relay race’ approach to product

development… may conflict with the goals of maximum speed and
flexibility. Instead, a holistic or ‘rugby’ approach—where a team tries to
go the distance as a unit, passing the ball back and forth—may better
serve today’s competitive requirements.”

—Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka, The New New Product Development Game

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-23

Scrum Values

The three pillars of Scrum — transparency, inspection, and

adaptation — support the Scrum Values.

Scrum Values

Courage Commitment Focus Respect Openness

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-24

Workbook 23 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Prepare Share

Discussion: Scrum Values create transparency 3

min
2
min

► Step 1: As a group, pick a Scrum value and Courage

discuss it in the context of your work

► Step 2: Write how this Scrum value increases Commitment

transparency in the process, the workflow,

and the work progress Focus

► Step 3: Be prepared to share with the class

Respect

Openness

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-25

Scrum and SAFe terminology

Scrum SAFe
Sprint Planning Iteration Planning
Sprint Review Iteration Review
Sprint Retrospective Iteration Retrospective
Sprint Goals Iteration Goals
Sprint Backlog Iteration Backlog
Daily Scrum Team sync
Increment Team Increment
The Scrum Team Agile Team

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-26

Workbook 24 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Agile for team: Scrum

System Demos

CD Enabler

IP Iteration

PI Planning
PI Planning

Feature
CI
Story
Enabler
CE

PI
PI Objectives

Iterations

Stories from Story

PI Planning Story
PI Objectives
Team
sync

Iteration System
Goals Story Story Review Demos
Story
Story Story
Local team Story
Story
context Story Story

NFRs NFRs

Team Iteration Iteration Iteration

Backlog Planning Backlog Deliver Increment Retrospective
Iteration (typically two weeks)

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-27

Iteration basics

► Definition: Iterations are a single

development cycle where each Agile Team
defines, builds, integrates, and tests the
Stories from their Iteration Backlog Iteration
Planning
Iteration
Execution
► Duration: Each Iteration is the same length, Plan Do

running back-to-back. SAFe advises PDCA

two-week Iterations Adjust Check
Iteration Iteration
► Goal: To deliver new value to the Customer Retrospective Review

at the end of each Iteration

► Avoid adding scope once the Iteration System Demo
has begun

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-28

Workbook 25 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 The Team Backlog organizes the team’s work

► The Team Backlog is everything. If a piece of

work is in the backlog, it might get done. If it
isn’t, there is no chance that it will be done.

► Work sizes may be estimated, but estimates NFRs

do not imply committed delivery. Team
Backlog
► The Team Backlog:
– Is created by the Agile Team
– Is owned and prioritized by the Product Owner
Product
– Represents opportunities, not commitments Owner
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-29

Foundation for incremental development

Implementing Stories in vertical slices is key to incremental development.

► Enables a short feedback cycle
► Allows refinement of understanding of functionality
► Facilitates more frequent integration of working systems
Slice 2
Further
Slice 1 functionality Slice 3
Initial story within the scope Remaining story
STORY functionality of the story functionality

ü ü ü ü ü ü

As a user, I can … log in with … error … client-side

log in to the correct handling validation
system credentials for incorrect of input
(successful credentials
path only)
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-30

Workbook 26 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 1.3 The Agile Team in a SAFe Enterprise

©©
Scaled Agile.
Scaled Inc. Inc.
Agile, 1-31

The Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe)

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-32

Workbook 27 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 SAFe Core Values

Transparency

Respect for People

Alignment
“Before we build cars,
we build people.”

— from The Toyota Way

Relentless Improvement
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-33

SAFe Lean-Agile Principles

#1 Take an economic view

#2 Apply systems thinking

#3 Assume variability; preserve options

#4 Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles

#5 Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems

#6 Make value flow without interruptions

#7 Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning

#8 Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers

#9 Decentralize decision-making

#10 Organize around value

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-34

Workbook 28 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Positioning an Agile Team in a SAFe Enterprise

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-35

Build cross-functional Agile Teams

Agile Teams are cross-functional, self-organizing entities that can define, build,
test, and — where applicable — deploy increments of value.

► Optimized for communication and delivery of value

► Typically include 10 team members or less

► Contain two specialty roles:

– Scrum Master Team 1

– Product Owner Define Build Test Deploy

Team N

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-36

Workbook 29 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Responsibilities of the Agile Team

Improving Relentlessly Connecting with the Customer

Getting Feedback Planning the Work

Agile Team

Delivering Value
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-37

Agile Teams have two speciality roles

Scrum Master Product Owner

• Facilitates PI Planning • Connects with the Customer
• Supports Iteration Execution • Contributes to the Vision and Roadmap
• Improves Flow • Manages and prioritizes the
• Builds a high-performing team Team Backlog
• Improves ART performance • Supports the team in delivering value
• Gets and applies fast feedback

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-38

Workbook 30 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Nothing beats an Agile Team …

► Teams use Scrum and Kanban for Team Agility

► Apply Built-in Quality practices for Technical Agility

Built-in Quality practices

Shift learning left

Pairing and peer review

Collective ownership and T-shaped skills

Artifact standards and definition of done (DoD)

Workflow automation

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-39

… except a team of Agile Teams

A self-organizing, self-managing team comprised of Agile Teams operates on

common principles:
► Deliver working, tested,
full-system increments
every two weeks
Product
► Have common Iteration Business
Mgmt.
Hardware Software Quality Testing Compliance Operations Security

lengths and start/

end dates Solution
AGILE RELEASE TRAIN (ART)
► Plan work at periodic,
largely face-to-face PI
Planning events

► Develop on cadence and Cross-functional

Release on Demand Agile Team

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-40

Workbook 31 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Agile Release Trains (ARTs)

► A virtual organization of 5–12 teams (50–125+ individuals)

► Synchronized on a common cadence—a PI

► Aligned to a common mission via a single ART Backlog

WSJF
Continuous Delivery Pipeline

AGILE RELEASE TRAIN

NFRs

ART Continuous Continuous Continuous

Backlog Exploration Integration Deployment

Release on Demand
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-41

ART events

Event Timebox Value

Teams commit to a set of objectives to be delivered

PI Planning 2 days
in the PI

The teams on the ART sync regarding the progress

Coach Sync 1 hour
of the PI

Deliverables are reviewed with stakeholders who

System Demo 1 hour
provide feedback

The ART reviews and improves its process before

Inspect and Adapt ½ day
the next PI

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-42

Workbook 32 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Duration
Action Plan: Focus on promoting and 5
coaching transparency min

► Step 1: Locate the Scrum Master Action Plan section in

your workbooks

► Step 2: Begin adding tools to the Action Plan by

brainstorming the following:
– What are some of the key insights from this lesson?
– What is your plan for promoting transparency in the process, the
workflow, and the work progress?
– What are some techniques you can apply for coaching the team in
Scrum values?
– What tools from the class page can you use to help you coach
Scrum Values?

► Step 3: Share one of your insights with the class

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-43

Workbook 33 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Action Plan

Focus on promoting and

coaching transparency

Workbook 34 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Lesson review

In this lesson you:

► Explained basic Agile development concepts

► Discussed Scrum basic concepts and values

► Identified an Agile Team in SAFe

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-44

Articles used in this lesson

Read these Framework articles to learn more about topics covered in this lesson

► “SAFe Core Values”

https://www.scaledagileframework.com
/safe-core-values/

► “Lean-Agile Mindset”
https://www.scaledagileframework.com
/lean-agile-mindset/

► “SAFe Lean-Agile Principles”

https://www.scaledagileframework.com
/safe-lean-agile-principles/

► “Agile Teams”
https://www.scaledagileframework.com
/agile-teams/
© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-45

Workbook 35 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

 Continue your SAFe journey with the following resources:

Watch this three-minute video, Welcome to Your Watch this three-minute video, Navigating the Big
Scrum Team, for an overview of what to expect in Picture, to understand how to use the SAFe
your first days on a Scrum team, and the role each Big Picture.
team member plays in executing as a team. https://bit.ly/Video-NavigatingtheBigPicture
https://bit.ly/Video-WelcometoYourScrumTeam
Share this five-minute video, SAFe Overview in Build your knowledge of the goals and methods of
Five Minutes, with your team to give everyone a SAFe to achieve Business Agility with the What is
basic understanding of SAFe and how it works. SAFe for Lean Enterprise online learning.
https://bit.ly/Video-SAFeOverviewin5Minutes https://bit.ly/Community-GettingStarted

Complete the online learning, Agile Basics, to

learn more about what Agile is and how it
supports value delivery.
https://bit.ly/Community-GettingStarted

©©Scaled
Scaled Agile.
Agile, Inc.
Inc. 1-46

References

Agile Manifesto. “Manifesto for Agile Software Development.” Updated 2001. https://agilemanifesto.org.

Reinertsen, Donald G. The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation of Lean Product
Development. Redondo Beach: Celeritas 2009. 31.

Takeuchi, Hirotaka and Ikujiro Nonaka. "The New New Product Development Game." Harvard Business
Review. January 1986. https://hbr.org/1986/01/the-new-new-product-development-game.

© Scaled Agile. Inc. 1-47

Workbook 36 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

Lesson notes
Enter your notes below. If using a digital workbook, save your PDF often so you don’t lose
any of your notes.

Workbook 37 © Scaled Agile, Inc.

SAFe Glossary
📖 SAFe Glossary:
Visit the Scaled Agile Framework site (www.scaledagileframework.com/glossary/)
to download glossaries translated into other languages.
Workbook 175 © Scaled Agile, Inc.