This lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the core elements of Agile and Scrum within the SAFe framework. It highlights the fundamental principles of Agile development, the key responsibilities of Scrum team members, and the ways Agile teams contribute to achieving broader organizational goals in a SAFe environment. Participants will gain valuable insights into scaling Scrum practices to support enterprise success and the vital role Agile teams play in delivering measurable value.

Topic One: Basic Agile Development Concepts

• What You’ll Learn: Grasp the essential principles and practices of Agile methodologies, emphasizing iterative development and collaboration.
• This topic delves into the foundational principles of Agile, inspired by the Agile Manifesto, which focus on customer collaboration, responsiveness to change, and incremental value creation. It demonstrates how frameworks like Scrum and Kanban align with these principles to foster efficient, sustainable workflows. Practical examples include iterative planning, dynamic prioritization, and maintaining balanced workloads to drive consistent team progress.

Topic Two: SAFe as an Operating System for Business Agility

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the key values, roles, events, and artifacts that support effective Agile teamwork.
• This topic explores the Scrum framework, detailing roles like Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team. It emphasizes foundational Scrum values such as commitment and transparency, alongside essential artifacts like the Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog. Participants will learn the significance of structured events, including Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, and Retrospectives, in fostering alignment, iterative feedback, and continuous improvement.

Topic Three: The Agile Team in a SAFe Enterprise

• What You’ll Learn: Examine the roles and dynamics of Agile teams within the SAFe framework.
• This topic investigates Agile teams as cross-functional, self-organizing units that deliver value incrementally. It explains how these teams integrate within Agile Release Trains (ARTs) to achieve alignment with enterprise objectives. The discussion covers the responsibilities of key team roles, such as developers and testers, while highlighting the importance of collaborative leadership in building a high-performing, value-driven environment.

This lesson focuses on the critical role of the Scrum Master within a SAFe environment, emphasizing the importance of defining their responsibilities and cultivating the skills needed to effectively lead Agile teams. Participants will explore the key traits and strategies necessary to support high-performing teams, facilitate essential Scrum events, and implement coaching techniques to resolve conflicts and boost team performance.

Topic One: Responsibilities of the Scrum Master

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the Scrum Master’s responsibilities in facilitating Scrum practices and empowering teams.
• This topic outlines the Scrum Master’s role as a servant leader dedicated to enabling team success. It highlights their responsibilities, including organizing and facilitating Scrum events, protecting the team from external distractions, and mentoring team members in Agile practices. Real-world scenarios showcase how Scrum Masters effectively remove impediments, align processes, and establish an environment where teams can thrive.
  

Topic Two: Characteristics of an Effective Scrum Master

• What You’ll Learn: Discover the traits and skills that define effective leadership and team facilitation.
• This topic explores the qualities essential for successful Scrum Masters, such as clear communication, empathy, and adaptability. These traits enable Scrum Masters to foster trust, encourage self-organization, and support ongoing team development. Emphasis is placed on building a collaborative culture, addressing team needs proactively, and serving as a driving force for positive change within the organization.

Topic Three: High-Performing Teams 

• What You’ll Learn: Learn strategies for creating and sustaining high-performing Agile teams.
• This topic provides actionable insights into cultivating teams that excel in trust, accountability, and collaboration. Scrum Masters will learn how to set clear objectives, create a psychologically safe environment for innovation, and empower team members to take ownership of their work. The discussion also addresses common challenges in team dynamics and offers solutions to overcome them effectively.

Topic Four: Team Events

• What You’ll Learn: Master the facilitation of key Scrum events, including stand-ups and retrospectives.
• This topic focuses on the Scrum Master’s role in planning and executing effective Scrum ceremonies. It covers the purpose, structure, and execution of events such as Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, and Retrospectives. Participants gain practical tips for enhancing engagement, managing time efficiently, and ensuring these events foster alignment, transparency, and continuous improvement.

This lesson provides an in-depth exploration of the Program Increment (PI) Planning process, a cornerstone event within the SAFe framework. Participants will learn about its objectives, critical activities, and outcomes. This session equips Scrum Masters with the knowledge and tools needed to create and refine PI plans, align teams under a unified vision, and establish actionable business objectives. By the end, participants will be prepared to facilitate PI Planning sessions that foster collaboration and drive organizational success.

Topic One: PI Planning Basics

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the purpose and structure of this cadence-based event that aligns all teams on the Agile Release Train (ART) toward shared goals.
• This topic introduces participants to the foundational concepts of PI Planning, highlighting its role as a collaborative forum for Agile teams within the ART. It outlines the two-day agenda, including business owner presentations, team breakout sessions, and iteration planning. Participants will learn how consistent cadences and cross-team alignment contribute to delivering value and achieving enterprise priorities.

Topic Two: Draft PI Plans

• What You’ll Learn: Discover how to create initial PI plans with prioritized features and stories.
• This topic provides step-by-step guidance on drafting effective PI plans by breaking down epics into manageable features and prioritizing tasks based on business needs and technical feasibility. Participants will explore practical tools like story mapping and estimation techniques to develop actionable and structured plans, laying the groundwork for successful program increments.

Topic Three: Final Plans and Business Value

• What You’ll Learn: Refine and finalize PI plans to maximize value for stakeholders.
• This topic focuses on refining preliminary plans by addressing potential risks, managing dependencies, and optimizing resource allocation. Participants will gain insights into collaborating with stakeholders to prioritize high-value features and ensure alignment with business goals. Emphasis is placed on effectively communicating the expected business value of finalized plans to key stakeholders.

Topic Four: Final Plan Review and PI Objectives

• What You’ll Learn: Conduct comprehensive reviews of finalized PI plans and establish measurable objectives.
• This topic delves into the process of reviewing PI plans to ensure they are realistic and aligned with organizational strategies. Participants will learn how to define clear, measurable objectives that guide team execution and serve as benchmarks for assessing success at the conclusion of the Program Increment.

Topic Five: Facilitating PI Planning

• What You’ll Learn: Gain mastery of the Scrum Master’s role in planning and leading PI Planning sessions.
• This topic emphasizes the responsibilities of the Scrum Master in organizing and executing impactful PI Planning events. Strategies include preparing teams, fostering collaborative discussions, managing logistics, and addressing challenges effectively. Real-world examples illustrate best practices and lessons learned, ensuring participants can facilitate productive and efficient PI Planning sessions.

This lesson dives into the practical aspects of Agile iteration execution, providing Scrum Masters with the essential skills and tools to plan, monitor, and facilitate effective iterations. It emphasizes the importance of continuous feedback, regular backlog refinement, and strong team collaboration to maintain steady progress. Additionally, participants will learn how to integrate DevOps practices into their workflows and cultivate a culture of relentless improvement within their teams.

Topic One: Plan the Iteration 

• What You’ll Learn: Develop the skills to set iteration goals and effectively plan team capacity.
• This topic walks participants through the process of iteration planning, starting with defining clear and actionable goals that align with Program Increment (PI) objectives. Techniques for evaluating team capacity, prioritizing backlog items, and creating achievable iteration plans are covered. Tools such as capacity charts and planning poker are explored to help teams balance workloads and make realistic commitments.

Topic Two: Track Iteration Progress

• What You’ll Learn: Master tools and methods to monitor and maintain iteration progress.
• This topic introduces participants to various tools and techniques for tracking iteration progress, including burndown charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and real-time dashboards. It emphasizes the importance of daily stand-ups as a means to address impediments early, ensuring that teams stay on track and meet iteration objectives.

Topic Three: Refine the Backlog

• What You’ll Learn: Learn the continuous process of backlog refinement and prioritization.
• This topic highlights the critical role of backlog refinement as an ongoing activity that keeps teams prepared for future iterations. Participants will learn how to break down large stories into manageable tasks, adjust priorities based on changing business needs, and collaborate with Product Owners to clarify acceptance criteria. The focus is on maintaining a well-prepared backlog that drives team efficiency.

Topic Four: Facilitate the Iteration Review

• What You’ll Learn: Lead structured iteration reviews to gather feedback and align team goals.
• This topic offers practical advice for conducting effective iteration reviews. It covers strategies for showcasing completed work, gathering constructive feedback from stakeholders, and ensuring alignment with broader organizational objectives. Participants will also learn how to create engaging presentations and manage stakeholder expectations to make reviews a valuable part of the development process.

Topic Five: Facilitate Relentless Improvement

• What You’ll Learn: Use retrospectives to foster continuous improvement within teams.
• This topic focuses on the role of retrospectives in promoting a culture of relentless improvement. Participants will explore techniques to identify successes and challenges from previous iterations and turn those insights into actionable improvements. Retrospective formats such as start/stop/continue and fishbone analysis are discussed to encourage meaningful conversations and drive positive change.

Topic Six: Support DevOps and Release on Demand

• What You’ll Learn: Incorporate DevOps practices to enhance delivery speed and quality.
• This topic introduces participants to the principles of DevOps, including continuous integration and deployment, automated testing, and infrastructure as code. The discussion emphasizes how these practices help Agile teams deliver high-quality software more efficiently while remaining flexible enough to adapt to evolving customer needs.

This lesson emphasizes the key activities needed to successfully conclude a Program Increment (PI). It ensures that teams align their work with organizational objectives while reflecting on their performance and outcomes. Participants will learn about the importance of the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration, effective preparation for the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event, and strategies to promote continuous improvement across the Agile Release Train (ART).

Topic One: Coach the IP Iteration

• What You’ll Learn: Gain skills to support innovation and planning iterations, fostering creativity and addressing challenges.
• This topic highlights the critical role of the IP Iteration in driving innovation, addressing technical debt, and encouraging continuous learning. Participants will explore practical approaches such as organizing hackathons, running technical spikes, and conducting collaborative brainstorming sessions to stimulate creative problem-solving within teams. Additionally, the session covers how to plan activities that align cross-team efforts, dedicate time to non-functional requirements, and refine backlogs for future readiness.

Topic Two: Prepare for the Inspect & Adapt Event 

• What You’ll Learn: Develop expertise in preparing teams for impactful problem-solving and improvement workshops.
• This topic focuses on the preparation necessary for a successful I&A event, a cornerstone of SAFe’s continuous improvement process. Participants will learn how to collect and analyze meaningful metrics, such as team performance data and feature delivery rates, to form the basis for reflection and improvement. The session also covers structuring the I&A event, using tools like the "Five Whys" for root cause analysis, and identifying actionable opportunities to align with organizational goals and foster long-term success.

In the final lesson, participants solidify their understanding of SAFe principles by exploring how to apply them effectively in real-world scenarios. This session provides valuable insights into leveraging available resources for continuous professional development and preparing for the SAFe certification exam. By the end of this lesson, participants will feel confident in their ability to use SAFe practices to enable teams and organizations to achieve business agility.

Topic One: Practicing SAFe Fundamentals

• What You’ll Learn: Apply course concepts and tools in practical, real-world situations.
• This topic bridges the gap between theory and practice, guiding participants in implementing SAFe principles across various organizational contexts. Through case studies and role-playing exercises, participants will learn to address challenges such as resolving team conflicts, managing dependencies between teams, and facilitating Agile Release Train (ART) events. Practical strategies for adapting facilitation techniques for remote or distributed teams are also discussed, ensuring team activities align with broader organizational objectives.

Topic Two: Resources and Exam Preparation

• What You’ll Learn: Explore tools and strategies for continuous learning and successful certification.
• This topic introduces participants to the extensive resources available through SAFe Studio, including templates, training materials, and community forums. It also outlines strategies for preparing for the SAFe Scrum Master certification exam, such as reviewing essential concepts, practicing with mock exams, and utilizing official study guides. The session emphasizes the importance of continuous learning to stay current with evolving Agile practices and maintain professional growth within the SAFe ecosystem.