Everything You Need To Know About Attempting Safe Agilist Exam

For small teams, Traditional Agile has always been critical. Several approaches have been developed in recent years (Large-scale Scrum (LeSS), Scrum@Scale and the Scaled Agile Framework SAFe. The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) is a framework of workflow and organizational patterns which aims to guide companies to scaling lean and agile practices. Everything You Need To Know About Attempting Safe Agilist Exam

 

SAFe Agilist Exam

 

SAFe® promotes coordination, delivery and collaboration across larger teams of agile. It is created mainly for practitioners and is based on three main knowledge areas: agile software development, systems thinking and lean product development.

According to Agile's 14th Annual Status Report 2020, “SAFe® is once again the framework for scaling choice, heading high with 35% respondents. That's 5% more than the previous year."

Therefore, it seems advisable for any agilist or project manager to obtain the SAFe® certification. Scaled Agile, Inc. offers numerous certifications right from Leading SAFe® to SAFe® Advanced Scrum Master to SAFe®.

This article goes into the details of earning the SAFe® 6 Certified Agilist Certification.

 

SAFe Lean-Agile Principles:

 

SAFe® is based on ten unchangeable Lean-Agile principles. These business principles and concepts motivate and showcase the practices and roles of SAFe®.

• Take an economic point of view
• Apply thinking of systems
• Preserve options and assume variability
• Build progressively with a fast-built-in learning cycle
• Creating stages of objective evaluation of the operating system
• Visualize and limit work in progress (WIP), reduce batch size and manage queue length
• Apply rhythm, sync with scheduling across domains
• Unleashing the inner motivation of knowledge workers
• Decentralization of decision making
• Set around value
• Key domains of competency

 

At the time of writing, the current version of SAFe® is 6.0. It consists of seven competency areas, all with the title Business Agility:

 

• Business solution delivery
• Agile delivery of product
• Teamwork and technical agility
• Lean-Agile Leadership
• Lifelong learning culture
• Organizational flexibility
• Lean portfolio management
• Exam and credential details

 

Core Competencies:

 

• Deploy SAFe® to scale lean and agile development across the enterprise
• Apply the Lean-Agile mindset and principles
• Successfully plan and implement program improvement
• Run and release scores with Agile Release Trains
• Develop an agile portfolio with agile lean budgeting

 

Exam Requirements:

 

Take a two-day Leading SAFe® course. To get access to all study material and exams it is mandatory to have classes.

Experience of 5+ years in software development, business analysis, project management and product.

Scrum experience. Agile's most popular type.

The exam format is a web-based closed exam with many options from time to time. The exam has 45 questions and once the exam starts, it needs to be finished in 90 minutes. The passing percentage is 77% or 35 right answers out of 45 questions. The exam is conducted in English.

Applicants may not disclose content related to exam or exam material in any format (digital, print, oral) before, during or after the exam.

Exam Fee - If the exam is taken within 30 days after the completion of the course, the first test attempt is included in the course registration fee. Each fetching effort costs 50.

 

Exam Practice Materials

 

• Course Materials - You will find the leading SAFe® workbook that covers the principles and practice of SAFe®.
• Study Guide - Exam Study Guide is similar to Project Management Institute's PMP® Handbook. No tips but an overview of exam preparation and the area of ​​study from which the questions are taken.
• Practice Test - As per the Scaled Agile, Inc. website, “Practice tests are used to measure the success of the certificate exam and have some questions in numbers, difficulty level and duration. It can be taken for free with no time limit. 
• Sample Questions - Web-based, sample paper version which is of flashcard style can be found digitally in the study guide.

 

What did you get!

 

• PDF Certificate of SAFe® Agilist
• Certified SAFe® Agilistdigital badge for promoting your work online. Digital badges allow people to view your LinkedIn profile, for example, to verify your functionality.
• Membership of SAFe® Community Platform that consists of SA Community of Practice.
• Join Meetup groups and events which helps you in connecting with other SAFe® certified professionals
• Various resources of learning, including case studies and videos.

 

Accelerated Exam Learning Journey – Checklist

 

• At this stage of your learning journey, decide on the path of learning whether Scrum Master, Release Train Engineer, DevOps etc. are suitable options for you. There is no "excellent" certificate. It is a subject of deciding what to do and then what role you want to play.
• Research and plan curriculum based on exam.
• Go through the course material.
• Take a practice test.
• Take the actual test.

 

Learn and Study:

 

A common mistake many examinees make is to leave the book after an hour, arguing that they are prepared for the exam or need some time to relax. That's not a great idea, and in fact, the best methodology or approach is to learn and view the class as the start of your learning. The data you receive is fresh in your mind, and the longer you wait to start learning it, the more you will begin to forget what you have learned.

 

Take time to review the workbook and study for the exam. It's best to distribute what you've learned evenly and not to worry at the last minute.

 

Find the study buddy from work if possible or from your network.

 

Attempt the Safe Agilist Exam

 

These exams are available and will be offered online on the SAFe® community platform upon completion of the course. It is a "closed book" exam, which means that external materials (including SAFe® websites or training materials) or help cannot be used during the exam. 

As mentioned above, once the exam starts, it must be finished within 90 minutes. There are 45 questions that take an average of 2 minutes per question. That doesn't mean you have to spend 2 minutes on every question. But since you're on a schedule, it's very beneficial to track your time for each. Never spend more than 2 minutes. In any question if you are unsure then you can later come back or make a best guess. The exam doesn't consist of negative scores, which means you won't be penalized for answering a question incorrectly.

 

Policy to retake exam:

 

After the first attempt, you have the eligibility to take the second attempt. Third attempt needs 10 days of waiting. Moreover, if you want to take a fourth attempt you have to wait for 30 days.

Generally speaking, the norm of standardized testing is that the testing institute waits for you longer. This is because of the fact that they feel if you are not prepared well and require more time.

 

Continue to the Journey of Learning:

 

It is significant to keep up with the professional once done with the certification and with the SAFe® community. You can do this through being an active member of both digital communities for practice, by upscaling your knowledge round the clock and being a part of SAFe® implementations.  Well, if you are aiming to fly-high your career and want to earn the SAFe® Agilist Exam in 2022 then Vinsys is your digital partner who offers training for Safe Agilist Exam.

 

Sign-up today to register for training.