We may think that knowledge is power. Well, agreed but in this competitive world, it is mandatory to get certified that we are knowledgeable.
Exam planning and preparation is needed if you want to pass any exam. It is true for the SAFe Agilist exam. SAFe Agilist exam consists of 45 questions to be answered in 90 minutes and to pass the exam you need a minimum of 34 questions to be answered correctly. You need thorough preparation and you need to follow expert guidance from the person who has already cleared the exam.
Further, to appear for the exam you need a minimum of 5 years of experience as a software developer or software tester or as a Business Analyst. It is tough to crack the leading SAFe exam if you do not have experience and guidance. However, it is not a nightmare though and we will give you tips and guidelines on cracking the leading SAFe certification exam.
Expert tips to crack the exam
SAFe Agilist exam is a tough one and not easy to crack, but it is also not impossible to crack the exam. Please read on the top 10 tips and crack the exam in no time.
1. Work Experience – The pre-requisite for the SAFe exam is 5 years of experience in IT projects predominantly in the agile domain. You need to have the practical experience to understand and apply them in the examination. The questions are indeed MCQs but scenario-based and hence you need work exposure in the domain to clear the examination.
The practical experience in agile frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean are important ones. You need to apply your theoretical knowledge in solving real-world problems. First of all, you need to be well versed in agile frameworks and need to know to apply them in day to day tasks in your organization.
Thus your experience carries high weightage in cracking the SAFe Agilist exam. From day one of your practical experiences you need to think about agile and its application to appear for a SAFe exam.
2. Study Material – Experience is practical and we agree, but there is a need to have materials in hand to understand what needs to be covered from the examination point of view. You need to plan and buy the requisite book material either online or from the book store.
In this, you can join the 150,000+ strong SAFe communities who have passed the exam, and get to know the material required for the SAFe Agilist exam. This community will help you with the proper material needed to plan and prepare for the exam. Apart from your practical experience you also need theoretical knowledge and real-world examples. Referring to one book may not be enough; you need to refer multiple books to prepare for the exam. Some of the important books are-
- Scaling Software Agility: Best Practices for Large Enterprises (Agile Software Development Series)
- SAFe 4.0 DISTILLED- Applying the Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Software and Systems, by Richard Knaster and Dean Leffingwell
- Get SAFe Now
- Tribal Unity: Getting from Teams by Creating a One Team Culture
- SAFe 4.0 Reference Guide- Scaled Agile Framework® for Lean Software and Systems Engineering, by Dean Leffingwell with Alex Yakyma, Richard Knaster, Drew Jemilo, and Inbar Oren.
- Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams, Programs, and the Enterprise
3. Mentor – Collecting material online and the hardcopy will not add credit to your preparation but you need to choose the right mentor for guiding you. Having a mentor who has passed the exam can guide you on applying your knowledge to real-world tasks.
4. Reputed Institutes – Finding a mentor and taking their help is becoming remote these days due to lack of time. Hence you need to stay determined and choose the right institute which will provide you with training and tune your mind towards cracking safe agile certification exams. The institute must be certified from the accreditation body scaled agile. You need 2-day training for the course before you can write the exam.
5. The topics – So far we have been suggesting general tips to give up a certification exam. But, in the coming section, we want to highlight the specific topics which you need to understand and cover before you appear for the SAFe certification examination. Let us analyze each topic section-wise to enlighten you with the same.
a)The general topics which you need to be aware of
- Empowerment of Agile Portfolio
- Core SAFe Principles
- Large Solution creations
- How to develop high-performing teams and programs
- Introduction to Scaled Agile Framework
- Lean and Agile Values
- Lean-Agile Enterprise growth
- PI Planning experiences
b)SAFe 5.0 has added the following topics to its examination
- Agile Product Delivery
- Customer Centricity and Design Thinking
- Develop on Cadence; Release on Demand
- DevOps and the Continuous Delivery Pipeline
- Continuous Learning Culture
- Learning Organization
- Innovation Culture
- Relentless Improvement
- Enterprise Solution Delivery
- Lean Systems and Solution Engineering
- Coordinating Trains and Suppliers
- Continually Evolve Live Systems
- Lean-Agile Leadership
- Leading by Example – Setting an example is difficult but that is the key to successful leadership.
- Mindset and Principles
- Leading Change
- Lean Portfolio Management
- Strategy and Investment Funding
- Lean Governance
- Agile Portfolio Operations
- Organizational Agilist
- Lean-Thinking People and Agile Teams
- Lean Business Operations
- Strategy Agility
- Team and Technical Agilist
- Agile Teams
- Built-in Quality
6. Mock Tests – You have now reached a stage of preparing for the exam covering all topics. But, how will you know you are ready for the examination. Yes, that is where mock tests will help. Attempt as many scheduled practice tests and they are the most important steps to get you ready to attend the actual exam. They not only provide you with sample questions, but will give confidence, and get you mentally prepared for the time duration as well. You will know the pattern of the examination and how to apply various techniques to crack the exam. It also prepares you with time sense on answering every question so that you know how much time is needed for which type of questions. Enroll in the institute or get the material from the online community which gives you the maximum mock tests and also helps you solve the questions.
Final tips,
All these above-written suggestions will take you to the exam center. But, remember your determination alone will help you succeed. Channelize your wants and thoughts and deep dive into each topic mentioned in this blog to master SAFe concepts. Not only these tips will fetch you with certification but provide you with the required knowledge to grow professionally.
Start today and read through the materials in the scaled agile website and other study materials provided by the training institute. Take sufficient mock tests to mentally prepare for the exam and also to know the exam patterns. Choose a mentor and keep discussing it. Also, during your work, apply the above concepts in your day to day activities and learn things practically.