Purpose of SAFe Lean Portfolio Management Exam Questions and Answers Already Passed Latest
2025
SAFe LPM - Answers one of the 7 core competencies of lean enterprise
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) - Answers applies strategy and execution by applying Lean and
systems thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations and
governance
Purpose of LPM - Answers governs each SAFe Portfolio
2 primary aspects of Lean Agile Mindset - Answers thinking lean w/ the safe house of lean; embracing
agility w/ the agile manifesto
Agile Manifesto - Answers Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Answers #1 Take an economic view
#2 Apply Systems Thinking
#3 Assume variability; preserve options
#4 Build incrementally fast; integrated learning cycles
#5 Based milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
#6 Visualize and Limit WIP; reduce batch sizes; manage queue lengths
#7 Apply cadence; synchronize with cross domain planning
#8 Unlock intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
#9 Decentralize decision making
#10 Organize around value
Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems (5) - Answers Build the system in
increments, each of which is an integration point that demonstrates evidence of the solution feasibility;
milestones based on objective evaluation of working systems
Take an economic view (1) - Answers Base your decisions on economics to achieve better business
outcomes
,- deliver early and often
- operate within Lean Budgets and Guardrails
- understand economic tradeoffs for solutions
- leverage suppliers
- sequence jobs (Epics) for maximum benefit
- empower local decision-making
Visualize and limit WIP (6) - Answers achieve a continuous flow of value by:
- visualizing and limiting the amount of work in progress (WIP) to match the demand of actual capacity
- reduce batch sizes of work. smaller batches go through the system faster and with lower variability
- manage queue lengths to decrease delays, reduce waste and improve predictability of outcomes
Decentralize decision making (9) - Answers Centralize strategic decision - those that are infrequent, long
lasting and have economies of scale. Decentralize all others.
Project Cost Accounting problems - Answers creates overhead, friction and lowers velocity
- requires collaboration of multiple cost centers, assignment of people, budget, and schedule to build a
project budget resulting in slow complex budgeting process, moves people to the work, low program
output and utilization based planning and execution.
Value Streams - Answers realized by ARTs; represents a series of steps that an organization uses to
implement solutions that provide continuous flow of value to a customer.
LPM events - Answers Portfolio Sync, Strategic Portfolio Review, Participatory Budgeting and Sequencing
Epics w/ WSJF
Types of value streams - Answers Operational and Development
Operational Value Stream - Answers contains the steps and the people who deliver end user value using
the solution created by the development value stream
Development value stream - Answers contains the steps and the people who delivers solutions that are
used by the Operational VS
Identifying a Value Streams - Answers understand how the organization VS and ARTs impact value
delivery, periodically run the SAFe VS and ART ID workshop to optimize flow of value
, SAFe Portfolio - Answers a collection of development VS; each VS builds, supports and maintains
solutions; Solutions are delivered to the customer whether internal or external. single or multiple -
based on size of organization
Traditional Project Portfolio Mgmt challenges - Answers - approaches inhibit flow of value
- project cost accounting
- annual planning and rigid budget cycles
- phase gate approval process that fail to mitigate risks
- perpetual overload of demand versus capacity
- overly detailed business cases w/ speculative ROI
Traditional Approach to LPM - Answers - People organized in functional silos and temp projects
- fund projects and project-cost accounting
- big up front, top down, annual planning and rigid budget cycles
- centralized, unlimited work intake; project overload
- overly detailed bus. cases based on speculative ROI
- Projects governed by phase gates; waterfall milestones, progress measured by task completion
Lean-Agile Approach to LPM - Answers - people organized around value streams/ARTs; continuous flow
of value
- fund value streams, lean budgets and guardrails
- value stream budgets adjusted dynamically; participatory budgeting
- strategic demand managed by portfolio kanban; decentralized intake by value streams and ARTs
- Lean business cases with MVP; business outcome hypothesis, agile forecasting and estimating
- products and services governed by self-managing ARTs; objective measures and milestones based on
working solutions
Strategy and Investment funding - Answers ensures that the entire portfolio is aligned and funded to
create and maintain the solutions needed to meet business targets:
- connects the portfolio to Enterprise strategy
- maintains a portfolio vision
2025
SAFe LPM - Answers one of the 7 core competencies of lean enterprise
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) - Answers applies strategy and execution by applying Lean and
systems thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations and
governance
Purpose of LPM - Answers governs each SAFe Portfolio
2 primary aspects of Lean Agile Mindset - Answers thinking lean w/ the safe house of lean; embracing
agility w/ the agile manifesto
Agile Manifesto - Answers Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Answers #1 Take an economic view
#2 Apply Systems Thinking
#3 Assume variability; preserve options
#4 Build incrementally fast; integrated learning cycles
#5 Based milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
#6 Visualize and Limit WIP; reduce batch sizes; manage queue lengths
#7 Apply cadence; synchronize with cross domain planning
#8 Unlock intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
#9 Decentralize decision making
#10 Organize around value
Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems (5) - Answers Build the system in
increments, each of which is an integration point that demonstrates evidence of the solution feasibility;
milestones based on objective evaluation of working systems
Take an economic view (1) - Answers Base your decisions on economics to achieve better business
outcomes
,- deliver early and often
- operate within Lean Budgets and Guardrails
- understand economic tradeoffs for solutions
- leverage suppliers
- sequence jobs (Epics) for maximum benefit
- empower local decision-making
Visualize and limit WIP (6) - Answers achieve a continuous flow of value by:
- visualizing and limiting the amount of work in progress (WIP) to match the demand of actual capacity
- reduce batch sizes of work. smaller batches go through the system faster and with lower variability
- manage queue lengths to decrease delays, reduce waste and improve predictability of outcomes
Decentralize decision making (9) - Answers Centralize strategic decision - those that are infrequent, long
lasting and have economies of scale. Decentralize all others.
Project Cost Accounting problems - Answers creates overhead, friction and lowers velocity
- requires collaboration of multiple cost centers, assignment of people, budget, and schedule to build a
project budget resulting in slow complex budgeting process, moves people to the work, low program
output and utilization based planning and execution.
Value Streams - Answers realized by ARTs; represents a series of steps that an organization uses to
implement solutions that provide continuous flow of value to a customer.
LPM events - Answers Portfolio Sync, Strategic Portfolio Review, Participatory Budgeting and Sequencing
Epics w/ WSJF
Types of value streams - Answers Operational and Development
Operational Value Stream - Answers contains the steps and the people who deliver end user value using
the solution created by the development value stream
Development value stream - Answers contains the steps and the people who delivers solutions that are
used by the Operational VS
Identifying a Value Streams - Answers understand how the organization VS and ARTs impact value
delivery, periodically run the SAFe VS and ART ID workshop to optimize flow of value
, SAFe Portfolio - Answers a collection of development VS; each VS builds, supports and maintains
solutions; Solutions are delivered to the customer whether internal or external. single or multiple -
based on size of organization
Traditional Project Portfolio Mgmt challenges - Answers - approaches inhibit flow of value
- project cost accounting
- annual planning and rigid budget cycles
- phase gate approval process that fail to mitigate risks
- perpetual overload of demand versus capacity
- overly detailed business cases w/ speculative ROI
Traditional Approach to LPM - Answers - People organized in functional silos and temp projects
- fund projects and project-cost accounting
- big up front, top down, annual planning and rigid budget cycles
- centralized, unlimited work intake; project overload
- overly detailed bus. cases based on speculative ROI
- Projects governed by phase gates; waterfall milestones, progress measured by task completion
Lean-Agile Approach to LPM - Answers - people organized around value streams/ARTs; continuous flow
of value
- fund value streams, lean budgets and guardrails
- value stream budgets adjusted dynamically; participatory budgeting
- strategic demand managed by portfolio kanban; decentralized intake by value streams and ARTs
- Lean business cases with MVP; business outcome hypothesis, agile forecasting and estimating
- products and services governed by self-managing ARTs; objective measures and milestones based on
working solutions
Strategy and Investment funding - Answers ensures that the entire portfolio is aligned and funded to
create and maintain the solutions needed to meet business targets:
- connects the portfolio to Enterprise strategy
- maintains a portfolio vision
