Your organization is implementing SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) across five agile teams working on an integrated product. During PI (Program Increment) Planning, the teams identified 23 dependencies between them. After three sprints, only 30% of planned features are completed because teams are waiting on each other. The Release Train Engineer asks you, as one of the Scrum Masters, how to address the delivery delays. Analysis shows that eight dependencies are technical integration points, ten are related to shared specialist resources, and five involve sequential work that cannot be parallelized. What is the most effective approach to improve flow?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B. Option B is correct because it addresses the systemic root causes of most dependencies through team restructuring and capability building (ECO Process Task 4.2 - Establish team structure). Feature-vertical teams reduce integration dependencies, cross-training eliminates specialist bottlenecks, and acknowledging legitimate sequential dependencies shows mature understanding. This structural approach delivers sustainable improvement. Option A only addresses 35% of the dependencies (technical integration) and ignores the larger specialist and sequential work issues. While CI/CD is valuable, it's a partial solution. Option C increases coordination overhead without reducing dependencies themselves—more meetings don't eliminate waiting. Option D creates additional process overhead and a potential bottleneck in the coordinator role rather than empowering teams to self-organize.

PMP Practice Question: Process — Agile, Hard

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