SAFe-APM SAFe Agile Product Manager (APM 6.0) Questions and Answers

Investment horizon 3 is the longest-term horizon that focuses on exploring and developing breakthrough innovations that can create new markets and revenue streams for the business. It is important for every business to allocate funding to investment horizon 3, because it enables the business to anticipate and respond to the changing customer needs, technological trends, and competitive threats, and to secure its future growth and survival. Investment horizon 3 requires a high level of creativity, experimentation, and risk tolerance, but it can also generate a high level of return and differentiation.

References:

Horizon Planning: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the concept and purpose of horizon planning, and describes the four horizons and their characteristics, challenges, and best practices.

SAFe®’s investment horizon model — A synopsis: This article from Medium provides a summary of the SAFe investment horizon model, and illustrates how it can help organizations allocate their resources and manage their portfolio.

Enduring Ideas: The three horizons of growth | McKinsey: This article from McKinsey presents the original framework of the three horizons of growth, and discusses how it can help businesses balance their current and future opportunities and challenges.

According to the Scaled Agile Framework, the Portfolio Backlog contains the highest-level portfolio epics, which are large, cross-cutting initiatives that require analysis, approval, and funding by the Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) team1. The ART Backlog contains the features, which are services provided by the system that fulfill stakeholder needs2. Features are derived from epics and are typically implemented by one Agile Release Train (ART) within one Program Increment (PI)3. Therefore, Request 1, which is an incremental innovation that can be done by one ART in one PI, should be added to the ART Backlog as a Feature. Request 2, which is a major opportunity impacting multiple stages of the Value Stream and requiring the participation of two ARTs over multiple PIs, should be added to the Portfolio Backlog as an Epic.

References:

Portfolio Backlog: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, structure, and content of the Portfolio Backlog, and how it is managed by the LPM team using the Portfolio Kanban system.

Features: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework defines the concept of features, their attributes, and their relationship with epics and stories.

ART Backlog: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework describes the role, composition, and management of the ART Backlog, and how it supports the PI Planning process.

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) is a prioritization model used to sequence work for maximum economic benefit. It is calculated by dividing the cost of delay by the job duration or size. To estimate the cost of delay, three factors are considered: user and business value, time criticality, and risk reduction or opportunity enablement. To estimate the job duration or size, a relative scale such as Fibonacci is used. The highest value in the Fibonacci scale is set as the “ceiling” and the lowest value is set as the “floor”. The items are then scored by comparing them to the ceiling and the floor, and assigning them the closest Fibonacci number. The WSJF score is then obtained by dividing the cost of delay score by the job duration or size score. The items with the highest WSJF score are prioritized first.

References:

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) | Definition and Overview - ProductPlan

Weighted Shortest Job First - Open Practice Library

A product vision is a statement that describes the desired outcome and value proposition of a solution. It helps guide the development of the solution by providing a clear and compelling direction. A product vision also helps drive a solution roadmap, which shows the planned features and milestones for the solution over a timeline. A product vision is part of the solution intent, which is the repository of the current and intended solution behavior and design.

References:

Solution Intent

Solution Vision

Roadmap

Solution Management

A story map is a visual tool that helps product teams organize and prioritize user stories based on the user journey and the value they deliver. A story map shows the main activities or steps of the user journey as the backbone of the feature, and the stories that support each activity as the slices of the feature. A team would create a story map when stories work together to support a workflow, because it helps them to understand and communicate the big picture of the user goals and needs, and to identify the minimum viable product (MVP) scope.

References:

Story Mapping: This article from the Scaled Agile Framework explains the purpose, process, and benefits of story mapping, and provides an example of how it can be used in a SAFe context.

User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product: This book by Jeff Patton, the creator of story mapping, provides a comprehensive guide on how to use story mapping to create better products and services that delight customers.

How to Create a User Story Map: Step by Step Guide with Examples: This article from Miro provides a detailed guide on how to create a user story map, with examples and templates for different types of products and services.

Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of the lean business case. The lean business case is a lightweight and collaborative artifact that captures the rationale, assumptions, and financial projections for an Epic. The lean business case includes the Epic value statement, which consists of the value proposition, the benefit hypothesis, and the Epic estimate. The Epic estimate is the total effort required to implement the Epic, expressed in story points. The Epic estimate is derived from the sum of the Feature estimates, which are the effort required to implement each Feature that contributes to the Epic, also expressed in story points. The Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of the lean business case to provide a realistic and data-driven projection of the cost and duration of the Epic.

References:

Lean Business Case - Scaled Agile Framework

Epic - Scaled Agile Framework

Feature estimates are aggregated back into the Epic estimate as part of …

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, market segment value is the total value of a specific market segment for agiven solution. It is calculated by multiplying the number of potential customers in the segment by the average revenue per customer and the expected market share. The expected market share depends on several factors, such as the value proposition, the competitive advantage, and the number of existing competitors. Therefore, the number of existing competitors is a factor that must be included when building a model of market segment value.

References:

Agile Product Management - Scaled Agile Framework

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

5.4 Essential Factors in Effective Market Segmentation

Outcome metrics are the metrics that measure the impact and value of a product on the customers and the business. Outcome metrics help product managers to guide the evolution of the products by focusing on the desired outcomes and benefits, rather than the outputs and features. Outcome metrics also help product managers to validate the assumptions and hypotheses behind the product strategy, and to iterate and improve the product based on customer feedback and data.

References:

Outcome Metrics - Scaled Agile Framework

5 Essential Metrics for Product Managers

Output vs. Outcome Metrics: What’s the Difference? | ProductPlan

One of the strengths of qualitative research is that it can be applied to a large number of people, as it does not require a fixed sample size or a predefined set of questions. Qualitative research can use various methods, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, or document analysis, to collect data from different sources and contexts. This allows researchers to explore a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and meanings, and to generate rich and diverse insights.

References:

23 Advantages and Disadvantages of Qualitative Research

5 Strengths and 5 Limitations of Qualitative Research

Design Thinking and the Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP) are both approaches that aim to deliver value to customers by understanding their needs, validating assumptions, and iterating on solutions. Design Thinking is a creative process that involves empathizing with customers, defining the problem, ideating possible solutions, prototyping, and testing. The CDP is a workflow that consists of four aspects: Continuous Exploration, Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, and Release on Demand. The CDP enables the delivery of small batches of new functionality, which are then released to fulfill market demand. Both Design Thinking and the CDP use feedback from customers to improve products, as feedback loops are essential for learning and adapting to changing needs and preferences.

References:

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

Continuous Delivery Pipeline - Scaled Agile Framework

Introduction to Continuous Delivery in SAFe | CDP in … - PremierAgile

Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into distinct groups of customers who have similar needs, preferences, or behaviors. Market segmentation helps enterprises identify and target the most valuable and profitable customer segments, design and deliver solutions that meet their needs, and optimize their marketing strategies and campaigns. However, market segmentation is not only based on quantitative factors, such as size, growth, and profitability, but also on qualitative factors, such as values, mission, and vision. A market segment should align with the enterprise’s values and mission, which reflect its purpose, identity, and culture. A market segment that aligns with the enterprise’s values and mission will help the enterprise achieve its strategic goals, create a positive brand image, and build trust and loyalty with customers.

One of the characteristics of effective market segmentation is that the segment should be valuable enough to be economically feasible. This means that the segment should have enough potential customers who are willing and able to pay for the products or services offered by the enterprise. The segment should also generate enough revenue and profit to cover the costs of marketing, production, and distribution. The segment should also have a positive impact on the enterprise’s return on investment (ROI) and net present value (NPV). A segment that is not valuable enough to be economically feasible will not be sustainable or profitable for the enterprise.

References:

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

Advanced Topic - SAFe for Marketing - Scaled Agile Framework

What is one consideration when evaluating the fit for a market segment?

5.4 Essential Factors in Effective Market Segmentation

Qualitative research fuels innovation when it is designed to explore the context in which Customers use the product. Qualitative research is a type of research that collects and analyzes non-numerical data, such as words, images, or emotions. Qualitative research can help understand the needs, problems, and opportunities of the Customers, as well as their behaviors, attitudes, and preferences. By exploring the context in which Customers use the product, qualitative research can help identify the pain points, gaps, and unmet needs of the Customers, and generate ideas for improving the user experience and value proposition of the product. Qualitative research can also help validate the assumptions and hypotheses behind the product design, and test the prototypes and solutions with the Customers.

References:

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

Qualitative Data – Strengths and Limitations

New Research: Data And Culture Fuel Innovation - Forbes

The strategic sweet spot of a company is where it meets customer’s needs in a way that rivals can’t, given the context in which it competes12. It is where the company’s capabilities match customer needs in a way that the competition can’t. Finding the strategic sweet spot is a key challenge of strategic thinking and a source of competitive advantage.

References:

How to find your strategic sweet spot and why it matters

The Strategic Sweet Spot - Harvard Business Review

According to the SAFe® Agile Product Management APM (6.0) documents and learning resources, Business Owners are key ART stakeholders who have the primary business and technical responsibility for return on investment (ROI), governance, and compliance. They are critical for evaluating fitness for use and actively participating in solution development. They can provide current business feedback to guide feature enhancements by assessing the value proposition, the competitive advantage, and the expected market share of the features. They can also help align the features with the product vision and roadmap, and prioritize them based on the WSJF method.

References:

Business Owners - Scaled Agile Framework

Customer Centricity - Scaled Agile Framework

WSJF - Scaled Agile Framework

Using personas and empathy maps together is a result of applying design thinking, which is a customer-centric development process that creates desirable products that are profitable and sustainable over their lifecycle. Personas are fictional characters that represent archetypal users of a product or service, while empathy maps are visual tools that capture the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and needs of the users. Using personas and empathy maps together can help to improve product design by:

Understanding the problem and the context from the user’s perspective

Generating ideas and solutions that address the user’s pain points and goals

Testing and validating the assumptions and hypotheses behind the product

Aligning the stakeholders on the scope, value, and quality of the product

References:

Design Thinking - Scaled Agile Framework

Personas - Scaled Agile Framework

Empathy Map vs Persona: What’s the Difference and Why You … - Userpilot