Without DevOps, organizations often face significant disconnects between development and operations teams. In traditional setups, developers build the software and then “hand it off” to operations teams for deployment and maintenance. This siloed approach creates delays, quality issues, and feedback gaps.

DevOps bridges this divide by integrating development and operations into a continuous delivery pipeline that promotes automation, collaboration, and shared responsibility for outcomes. SAFe emphasizes DevOps as a key enabler of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline, ensuring faster delivery of value, higher quality, and improved customer satisfaction.

From SAFe guidance:

“Without DevOps, organizations experience challenges between teams that build solutions and those who operate them. DevOps practices close this gap, fostering collaboration and accelerating the flow of value.”

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Challenges between teams that build Solutions and those who operate the Solutions.

One of the high-performing team characteristics that Team A is demonstrating is using regular feedback loops built into the learning cycle. A high-performing Agile Team is a cross-functional group of people that have everything, and everyone, necessary to produce a working, tested increment of product1 They are empowered, collaborative, aligned, and committed to delivering value to the customers and the organization1 One of the factors that enable a high-performing Agile Team is using regular feedback loops to learn and improve. Feedback loops are mechanisms that provide the team with information about the outcomes and impacts of their actions, as well as the needs and expectations of their customers and stakeholders23 Feedback loops help the team to validate their assumptions, measure their progress, and adjust their plans accordingly23 Feedback loops also help the team to foster a culture of experimentation, innovation, and continuous improvement, as well as to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty23 Team A is using regular feedback loops by releasing the functionality with a method for collecting direct customer feedback. This allows them to learn from the actual users of their product, and to incorporate their feedback into the next iteration of development. This way, they can deliver value faster and more effectively, as well as to enhance the quality and usability of their product4 

In the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®), a key element of building a high-performing Agile Team is fostering T-shaped skills among team members. T-shaped skills refer to individuals who have deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar of the "T") but also possess the ability and willingness to collaborate across disciplines (the horizontal bar of the "T").

Encouraging team members to acquire T-shaped skills increases flexibility, improves collaboration, and reduces bottlenecks since work is not blocked by specialization. It also strengthens the team’s ability to self-organize and deliver value collectively, rather than relying on handoffs.

From SAFe guidance:

“High-performing Agile Teams are built on cross-functional, self-managing individuals who have or develop T-shaped skills, enabling them to collaborate effectively and support each other’s work.”

Therefore, the correct answer is A. Encourage team members to acquire T-shaped skills, as it directly contributes to stronger, more adaptive, and collaborative teams.

One way a Scrum Master/Team Coach can support productive team Backlog Refinement sessions is to ensure subject matter experts are invited. Subject matter experts (SMEs) are people who have specialized knowledge or skills related to the domain or technical aspects of the product or solution. They can provide valuable input and feedback to the team during Backlog Refinement, such as clarifying requirements, validating assumptions, identifying dependencies, and suggesting solutions. SMEs can also help the team to split, estimate, and prioritize the backlog items more effectively and accurately. By inviting SMEs to the Backlog Refinement sessions, the Scrum Master/Team Coach can facilitate better collaboration, communication, and alignment among the team and the stakeholders.

SAFe® defines seven core competencies that enable business agility. One of these is Agile Product Delivery, which focuses on building a customer-centric approach to defining, developing, and releasing valuable solutions.

This competency emphasizes Design Thinking, DevOps, continuous delivery, and release on demand to ensure fast, high-quality value delivery aligned with customer needs. While Built-in Quality is a foundational SAFe principle, it is not categorized as a core competency.

From SAFe guidance:

“Agile Product Delivery is a customer-centric approach to defining, building, and releasing a continuous flow of valuable products and services to customers and users.”

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Agile Product Delivery, as it is one of SAFe’s official seven core competencies.

In SAFe®, during PI Planning, each team defines PI Objectives — clear, measurable statements of intended business outcomes. Some objectives carry higher uncertainty or risk due to technical complexity, dependency, or unknown factors.

To manage such uncertainty, teams can classify these as uncommitted objectives. This approach maintains visibility and alignment while signaling to stakeholders that these objectives are goals the team will pursue but cannot guarantee delivery. This helps set realistic expectations without discouraging ambition or exploration.

From SAFe guidance:

“Teams identify some objectives as uncommitted when there is significant uncertainty. These are not included in the committed plan but are made visible to stakeholders.”

Therefore, the correct answer is B. Move it to uncommitted objectives, as this is the recommended SAFe practice for handling objectives with high uncertainty.