This lesson introduces the foundational aspects of Agile and Scrum as implemented within the SAFe framework. It emphasizes the essential principles of Agile development, the responsibilities of Scrum team members, and how Agile teams align with broader enterprise objectives in a SAFe environment. Participants will gain a solid understanding of scaling Scrum principles to enhance organizational success and the critical role Agile teams play in delivering value.

Topic One: Basic Agile Development Concepts

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the foundational principles and practices of Agile methodologies, with a focus on iterative development and collaboration.
• This topic examines the core principles of Agile, rooted in the Agile Manifesto, which prioritize customer collaboration, adaptability to change, and incremental value delivery. It highlights how frameworks like Scrum and Kanban align with these principles to ensure efficient and sustainable development. Practical examples include iterative planning, real-time prioritization, and fostering a balanced workload to drive consistent progress.

Topic Two: SAFe as an Operating System for Business Agility

• What You’ll Learn: Learn about Scrum values, roles, events, and artifacts that form the backbone of Agile teamwork.
• This topic explores Scrum as a widely used Agile framework, outlining the roles of Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team. It emphasizes key Scrum values like commitment and openness, along with artifacts such as the Product Backlog and Sprint Backlog. The importance of structured events like Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, and Retrospectives is discussed, showcasing how they contribute to transparency, feedback loops, and continuous improvement.

Topic Three: The Agile Team in a SAFe Enterprise

• What You’ll Learn: Explore the roles of Agile teams and their integration within the SAFe framework.
• This topic investigates the structure and operation of Agile teams as cross-functional, self-organizing groups delivering iterative value. It explains how these teams function within Agile Release Trains (ARTs) to maintain alignment with organizational goals. Additionally, it highlights the responsibilities of various team roles, including developers and testers, while emphasizing the collaborative leadership required to foster an environment conducive to high-quality outcomes.

This lesson emphasizes the importance of understanding and defining the Scrum Master's diverse role within a SAFe environment. It highlights the key responsibilities, essential skills, and traits needed to effectively support Agile teams. Participants will also gain insights into nurturing high-performing teams, facilitating key Scrum events, and employing coaching methods to resolve conflicts and enhance team performance.

Topic One: Responsibilities of the Scrum Master

• What You’ll Learn: Explore the detailed responsibilities of the Scrum Master in guiding Scrum practices and empowering teams.
• This topic delves into the crucial role of the Scrum Master as a servant leader dedicated to team success. It covers responsibilities such as organizing and facilitating Scrum events, shielding the team from external distractions, and mentoring them in Agile principles. Real-world examples highlight how Scrum Masters can remove impediments, ensure process alignment, and create a supportive environment for achieving team goals.
  

Topic Two: Characteristics of an Effective Scrum Master

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the traits and skills essential for effective leadership and team facilitation.
• This topic examines the qualities that define successful Scrum Masters, including strong communication, empathy, and adaptability. It explains how these traits help build trust, encourage self-organization, and support team growth. The focus is on fostering a culture of collaboration, actively addressing team needs, and serving as a catalyst for positive organizational change.

Topic Three: High-Performing Teams 

• What You’ll Learn: Gain insights into creating and sustaining high-performing Agile teams.
• This topic explores strategies for cultivating high-performing teams that excel in collaboration, accountability, and trust. Scrum Masters are provided with practical guidance on setting clear objectives, creating a safe environment for experimentation, and empowering team members to take ownership of their work. The discussion also includes identifying and overcoming challenges that may disrupt team dynamics.

Topic Four: Team Events

• What You’ll Learn: Learn about key Scrum events facilitated by the Scrum Master, including stand-ups and retrospectives.
• This topic focuses on the Scrum Master’s role in organizing and leading effective Scrum ceremonies. It explains the purpose and execution of events such as Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, and Retrospectives. Participants learn techniques to enhance engagement, manage time effectively, and ensure that these events drive alignment, transparency, and continuous improvement.

This lesson delves deeply into the Program Increment (PI) Planning process, a pivotal event within the SAFe framework. Participants will explore its objectives, key activities, and outcomes, learning how to create and refine PI plans, align teams under a shared vision, and establish actionable business objectives. This comprehensive session equips Scrum Masters with the tools to facilitate PI Planning sessions that foster collaboration and drive organizational success.

Topic One: PI Planning Basics

• What You’ll Learn: Understand the structure and purpose of this cadence-based event that aligns all teams on the ART toward a common goal.
• This topic introduces participants to PI Planning, emphasizing its role as a collaborative forum for Agile teams on the Agile Release Train (ART). It provides an overview of the two-day agenda, including presentations from business owners, team breakouts, and iteration planning. The discussion highlights how consistent cadences and alignment across teams ensure the delivery of value and adherence to organizational priorities.

Topic Two: Draft PI Plans

• What You’ll Learn: Learn how to create initial PI plans with prioritized features and stories.
• This topic provides practical guidance on drafting initial PI plans by breaking down epics into features and prioritizing work based on business needs and technical considerations. Participants explore tools such as story mapping and estimation techniques to create well-structured and actionable plans that set the foundation for successful program increments.

Topic Three: Final Plans and Business Value

• What You’ll Learn: Refine and finalize PI plans to maximize stakeholder value.
• Teams enhance their preliminary plans by addressing risks, identifying dependencies, and optimizing resources. This topic focuses on stakeholder collaboration to ensure that the final plan includes high-value features and aligns with business priorities. The importance of clearly communicating the anticipated business value of the plan to all stakeholders is also emphasized.

Topic Four: Final Plan Review and PI Objectives

• What You’ll Learn: Conduct a thorough review of the finalized PI plan and establish measurable objectives.
• This topic explains the process of reviewing the completed PI plan to verify its feasibility and alignment with strategic goals. Participants learn how to define measurable PI objectives that not only guide team execution but also provide a clear framework for assessing success at the end of the Program Increment.

Topic Five: Facilitating PI Planning

• What You’ll Learn: Master the Scrum Master’s role in organizing and leading PI Planning sessions.
• This topic explores the critical responsibilities of the Scrum Master in planning and executing PI Planning events. Strategies for effective team preparation, fostering productive collaboration, managing event logistics, and overcoming common challenges are discussed. Real-world examples showcase best practices and lessons learned to ensure impactful and efficient PI Planning sessions.

This lesson focuses on the practical execution of Agile iterations, equipping Scrum Masters with the skills and techniques necessary for planning, tracking, and facilitating effective iterations. It underscores the value of ongoing feedback, regular backlog refinement, and team collaboration to achieve continuous progress. Scrum Masters will also explore how to incorporate DevOps practices into their workflows and foster a culture of relentless improvement within their teams.

Topic One: Plan the Iteration 

• What You’ll Learn: Learn how to establish iteration goals and plan team capacity effectively.
• This topic guides participants through the iteration planning process, starting with the creation of clear, actionable iteration goals aligned with Program Increment (PI) objectives. It covers practical techniques for assessing team capacity, prioritizing work from the backlog, and creating achievable iteration plans. Tools like capacity charts and planning poker are explored to facilitate balanced workload planning and realistic commitments.

Topic Two: Track Iteration Progress

• What You’ll Learn: Explore methods for tracking and maintaining iteration progress.
• This topic introduces effective tools and techniques to monitor iteration progress, such as burndown charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and real-time dashboards. Participants learn the importance of regular communication during daily stand-ups to identify and resolve roadblocks early, ensuring the iteration stays on course and meets its objectives.

Topic Three: Refine the Backlog

• What You’ll Learn: Master the continuous refinement and prioritization of the product backlog.
• This topic highlights the importance of backlog refinement as a critical, ongoing activity. Scrum Masters will learn methods for breaking down large user stories into manageable tasks, reprioritizing items based on evolving business needs, and clarifying acceptance criteria through collaboration with Product Owners and team members. The focus is on maintaining a ready backlog to support future iterations.

Topic Four: Facilitate the Iteration Review

• What You’ll Learn: Structure and lead iteration reviews to maximize feedback and alignment.
• This topic provides practical guidance on conducting effective iteration reviews. It explains how to showcase completed work, gather actionable feedback from stakeholders, and align team efforts with organizational goals. Tips for creating engaging presentations and managing stakeholder expectations are included, ensuring that reviews add value to the development process.

Topic Five: Facilitate Relentless Improvement

• What You’ll Learn: Drive continuous team improvement through retrospectives.
• This topic focuses on retrospectives as a tool for fostering a culture of relentless improvement. Participants learn how to identify both successes and challenges from past iterations and implement actionable improvements. Various retrospective formats, such as start/stop/continue and fishbone analysis, are explored to encourage meaningful discussions and drive positive changes.

Topic Six: Support DevOps and Release on Demand

• What You’ll Learn: Integrate DevOps practices to enhance delivery speed and quality.
  This topic introduces participants to DevOps principles and practices, including continuous integration and deployment, automated testing, and infrastructure as code. It emphasizes how these approaches enable Agile teams to deliver reliable, high-quality software at a faster pace while maintaining the flexibility to meet evolving customer needs efficiently.

This lesson focuses on the critical activities that bring a Program Increment (PI) to a successful conclusion. It ensures teams align their efforts with organizational goals and reflect on their achievements. Participants will explore the significance of the Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration, the preparation required for the Inspect and Adapt (I&A) event, and strategies for fostering a culture of continuous improvement across the Agile Release Train (ART).

Topic One: Coach the IP Iteration

• What You’ll Learn: Learn how to support innovation and planning iterations to address challenges and drive creativity.
• This topic highlights the essential role of the IP Iteration in encouraging team innovation, tackling technical debt, and promoting ongoing learning. Participants will explore practical techniques such as hackathons, technical spikes, and collaborative brainstorming to stimulate creative problem-solving within teams. The topic also covers how to effectively plan activities to align cross-team efforts, allocate time for non-functional requirements, and refine backlogs to ensure future readiness.

Topic Two: Prepare for the Inspect & Adapt Event 

• What You’ll Learn: Master the preparation required for impactful problem-solving and improvement workshops.
• This topic delves into the necessary steps for preparing teams to participate in the I&A event, a cornerstone of continuous improvement in SAFe. It focuses on collecting relevant metrics, such as performance data and feature delivery rates, to provide a foundation for reflection and decision-making. Participants will learn to structure the I&A event effectively, facilitate root cause analysis using tools like the "Five Whys," and identify actionable improvement opportunities that align with the organization's strategic objectives.

In the concluding lesson, participants consolidate their understanding of SAFe principles by exploring their practical application in real-world contexts. This session also provides valuable guidance on utilizing available resources for continuous learning and preparing effectively for the SAFe certification exam. By the end of this lesson, participants will feel prepared to apply their knowledge confidently, enabling teams and organizations to achieve business agility.

Topic One: Practicing SAFe Fundamentals

• What You’ll Learn: Learn to apply course knowledge and tools to real-world scenarios.
• This topic bridges theoretical knowledge with practical application, helping Scrum Masters implement SAFe principles in diverse organizational settings. Through case studies and role-playing exercises, participants tackle challenges like resolving team conflicts, managing inter-team dependencies, and facilitating events at the ART level. The session offers actionable tips for adapting facilitation techniques for remote or distributed teams and aligning team activities with overarching business goals.

Topic Two: Resources and Exam Preparation

• What You’ll Learn: Gain insights into tools and strategies for ongoing learning and exam success.
• This topic introduces participants to the comprehensive resources available on SAFe Studio, including training materials, templates, and community support forums. Strategies for SAFe Scrum Master certification exam preparation are discussed, such as reviewing core concepts, utilizing practice tests, and leveraging official study guides. Emphasis is placed on maintaining professional growth through continuous learning and staying updated with the latest SAFe practices and industry trends.