What are appropriate aspects of the System Architect's role in SAFe?

Question

Options

• ACollaborate with Scrum Masters to establish the emergent design.
• BCollaborate with PMs, POs, and Agile Teams to establish the Architectural Runway.
• CApprove teams' increments into the mainline branch.
• DApprove all the design work of teams before they can implement their user stories.
• EProvide the designs behind each user story.

• B
  92% (34)
• D
  5% (2)
• E
  3% (1)

Explanation

In SAFe, the System Architect works at the Program level to define the technical vision and establish the Architectural Runway - the foundational infrastructure and framework that enables near-term business features to be developed with minimal friction - making B correct.

• A is wrong because System Architects collaborate with Product Managers and Architects, not Scrum Masters, on emergent design; Scrum Masters focus on team process, not architecture.
• C is wrong because approving merges into mainline is a DevOps/engineering practice, not an architectural governance role - SAFe discourages gatekeeping that slows flow.
• D is wrong because requiring pre-approval of all design work creates a bottleneck that contradicts SAFe's decentralized decision-making principle; teams own their own designs.
• E is wrong because System Architects set direction and constraints, not the detailed designs behind individual stories - that's the team's job.

Memory tip: Think of the System Architect as a road builder, not a traffic cop - they build the runway so teams can move fast independently, rather than controlling or approving each team's movement.

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