Leading SAFe Certification - Tips for mastering the test

Are you considering taking the SAFe certification exam? Before diving into tips on prioritization and user stories, let me share some insights gained from my recent experience with the SAFe certification process.

But before going into the exam details, let's address the question: What exactly is SAFe?

What is SAFe?

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) is a framework for implementing agile practices at the enterprise scale. It provides guidance and best practices for organizations looking to scale Agile beyond individual teams to larger programs and portfolios. SAFe is designed to address the challenges of coordinating Agile across multiple teams, aligning with business goals, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

What is the Leading SAFe certification?

According to the SAFe website Leading SAFe certification:

Offers an introduction to the foundations of SAFe and provides the principles and practices to confidently drive your Lean-Agile transformation. The course and resulting certification equip you with the guidance and tools to build a culture of resiliency and a shared language that engages employees and focuses on customers so that organizations can work with agility at scale.

What are the steps to be certified?

To become certified in Leading SAFe, you typically need to follow these steps:

1. Attend Leading SAFe Course: You must attend a Leading SAFe course provided by a certified SAFe trainer. This course is typically two days long and covers the principles and practices of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Lean-Agile leadership, and the role of a SAFe Agilist in leading Agile transformations. You can find the course provider by visiting this website.: https://scaledagile.com/calendar/events/?course_id=Leading%20SAFe&courseType=Leading%20SAFe and I chose Agilityzer because they provided excellent support throughout the training process
2. Participate Actively: During the course, actively participate in discussions, workshops, and exercises to deepen your understanding of the concepts taught. The professor Venkat G, ACC (ICF) give us the training and was awesome!
3. Prepare for the Exam: While the course provides valuable knowledge, it's essential to further study the materials provided, review the SAFe principles, roles, and practices, and take practice exams to prepare for the certification exam.
4. Take the Exam: After completing the course and feeling adequately prepared, you can take the Leading SAFe certification exam.
5. Pass the Exam: Successfully pass the Leading SAFe certification exam. The passing score varies but is usually around 74% or higher.

On the SAFe website, they share the test information and the content that the test can approach, check out below:

Topics that are required in the assessment:

Tips for you to pass the exam with success

• Give a special attention to the Lean Portfolio Management domain, SAFe core values, Business Agility, Customer Centricity and Buillt in quality. In the test simulation and in the certification test they asked a lot of questions about it;
• Don't read only the read SAFe Workbook after you finish the Lessons read all the material that was used in the lesson;
• Before starting your course, take time to reflect on how your organization implements SAFe. During the course, you may identify areas for improvement or aspects that need further development. This tip is particularly relevant for Scrum Masters, Team Coaches, RTEs, and POs.

Benefits of Leading SAFe Certification

When I moved to Sweden and joined WirelessCar , I encountered the SAFe framework for the first time. Learning through practice was beneficial, but I felt that something was missing. I needed a deeper understanding of when user stories come into play, how epics are built, and the organizational responsibilities within SAFe.

After obtaining the certification, I gained a better understanding of SAFe's core beliefs, including its foundation on Lean Principles and the importance of customer centricity. SAFe Studio provided me with numerous articles to stay updated on new concepts and deepen my knowledge every day, enabling me to share this knowledge with my teams at work.

And you are you interesting in taking this certification? Do you have any tips? Please leave in the comments : ) !

References

Exam Study guide: https://support.scaledagile.com/s/article/Exam-Details-Leading-SAFe-SAFe-Agilist-6-0?language=en_US

SAFe 6.0: https://scaledagileframework.com/