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Scaled Agile SAFe DevOps Practitioner Quick Facts
The SAFe DevOps Practitioner Certification empowers professionals to accelerate delivery, strengthen collaboration, and create continuous value flow across teams. This guided overview helps you understand the exam structure and confidently prepare for success in implementing DevOps at scale.
How does the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Certification accelerate enterprise agility?
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) DevOps Practitioner Certification validates your ability to connect people, processes, and technology to optimize the continuous delivery pipeline. It ensures teams can identify value streams, automate workflows, and release on demand through the CALMR (Culture, Automation, Lean Flow, Measurement, and Recovery) approach. This certification is designed for release train engineers, scrum masters, developers, operations professionals, and business leaders who want to expand enterprise agility by integrating DevOps principles into SAFe implementations.
Who Should Pursue the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Certification?
The SAFe DevOps Practitioner (SDP) certification is designed for professionals who want to bridge the gap between development and operations to deliver value faster and with higher quality. It’s particularly valuable for individuals involved in building, testing, deploying, or supporting software-driven products within a Scaled Agile environment.
Ideal candidates include:
- Software and Systems Engineers
- QA and Release Managers
- Infrastructure and Operations Teams
- Scrum Masters and Product Owners
- Agile Coaches, Lean Portfolio Managers, and DevOps Leads
Whether you’re from a technical or business background, this certification validates your ability to streamline value delivery and foster continuous collaboration across the enterprise.
What Roles Can Benefit from a SAFe DevOps (SDP) Certification?
Earning the SAFe DevOps Practitioner credential opens doors to roles focused on enterprise agility, product flow, and delivery optimization. After certification, professionals often advance into positions such as:
- DevOps Engineer or Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
- Release Train Engineer
- Agile Delivery Manager
- Continuous Delivery Lead
- Solutions Architect or Infrastructure Manager
This certification is also highly respected by organizations scaling Agile practices across systems and departments. It can be the stepping stone to leadership positions in technical transformation and organizational agility.
What Is the SAFe DevOps Practitioner (SDP) Exam Code and Version?
The official exam code is SDP. This version aligns with the latest SAFe 6 implementation framework, emphasizing the CALMR (Culture, Automation, Lean Flow, Measurement, and Recovery) approach and expanding the value stream mapping and release-on-demand sections.
It’s always best to train and prepare with the latest materials to align with current Scaled Agile guidance.
How Much Does the SDP Certification Exam Cost?
The first attempt at the SAFe DevOps Practitioner exam is included in the course registration fee if taken within 30 days of completing the course. If a retake is needed, the fee is $50 USD per retake.
This makes the certification process highly cost-effective, as it combines structured training, guided preparation, and exam access into one streamlined learning path.
How Many Questions Are on the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Exam?
The exam includes 45 multiple-choice questions, all designed to test your understanding of core DevOps principles, SAFe-specific practices, and collaborative delivery across value streams. Each question aligns to one of the six key domains of SAFe DevOps learning, giving you balanced exposure to both conceptual and scenario-based questions.
Every question counts toward your score, so pacing yourself is important for maximizing performance across all topics.
How Long Do I Have to Complete the Exam?
You’ll have 90 minutes to complete the entire exam. The exam’s web-based format ensures you can focus on analytical thinking, process awareness, and value-stream collaboration concepts without external reference materials.
It’s a closed-book exam, so be sure your preparation includes the use of practice tests and review sessions to build confidence and timing familiarity.
What Is the Passing Score for the SAFe SDP Exam?
To pass the exam, you’ll need a score of at least 73%, which equates to correctly answering around 33 of the 45 questions.
Because the exam covers both strategic and technical DevOps concepts, your ability to connect theory with hands-on application is essential. The good news is that all course participants have access to unlimited practice tests designed to closely mirror the real assessment experience.
What Languages Is the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Exam Available In?
The exam is currently offered in English, with additional languages available for course materials such as Portuguese (Brazil), French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.
Where available, participants can also select localized interfaces to make the learning and testing experience even smoother.
What Topics Are Covered on the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Exam?
The exam blueprint maps directly to the six major domains taught in the SDP course. Each domain contributes a percentage toward the final exam weighting:
- Introducing DevOps (13–15%) – Understanding DevOps principles, continuous security, and SAFe CALMR
- Value Stream Mapping (15–17%) – Identifying flow constraints and optimizing value delivery
- Continuous Exploration (25–27%) – Synthesizing ideas into features and prioritizing value-driven work
- Continuous Integration (15–17%) – Building continuously, staging for deployment, and testing end-to-end
- Continuous Deployment (15–17%) – Automating release processes and ensuring resilience
- Release on Demand (11–13%) – Delivering customer value and learning through feedback loops
Each domain reinforces applied knowledge of Lean-Agile principles, enabling you to contribute effectively to improving your organization’s DevOps pipeline.
What Is the Format of the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Exam?
The SAFe SDP exam is a multiple-choice, single-select assessment that is web-based, closed-book, and completed individually without external assistance.
The exam timer begins once questions appear on the screen, and all unanswered questions are automatically marked incorrect when time expires. This format encourages efficient decision-making and practical reasoning based on SAFe methodology.
Are There Any Prerequisites for Taking the SAFe SDP Exam?
There are no strict prerequisites, but Scaled Agile strongly recommends attending the official SAFe DevOps course before attempting the exam. The two-day, instructor-led training (offered online or in-person) is crucial to understanding SAFe’s enterprise-scale DevOps principles.
Basic familiarity with Agile development, systems architecture, or DevOps automation concepts will also help immensely.
How Difficult Is the SAFe SDP Certification Exam?
Most learners find the exam rewarding rather than difficult because the preparation is directly embedded within the two-day guided training. You’ll participate in value stream mapping, simulation exercises, and practical discussions that help anchor the learning.
Success comes from understanding end-to-end flow, collaboration, and improvement principles rather than rote memorization—making this an enjoyable certification journey for motivated professionals.
What Study Resources Are Available for the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Exam?
Participants in the course gain continued access to a learning platform, interactive exercises, and an unlimited practice test. The practice tests replicate the real exam’s structure and timing, providing detailed feedback for each question.
To supplement your learning, you can use realistic SAFe DevOps Practitioner practice exams that mirror the real test environment and include comprehensive explanations. These resources reinforce understanding and build exam-day confidence.
What Steps Are Involved in Getting Certified as a SAFe DevOps Practitioner?
The certification process is straightforward:
- Attend and complete the instructor-led SAFe DevOps (SDP) training course.
- Access your Learning Plan, where you can take unlimited practice tests.
- Accept the Candidate Agreement and launch the official online exam.
- Pass with a 73% or higher score to earn your globally recognized SAFe DevOps certification and digital badge.
Upon passing, you’ll immediately gain access to professional resources, community events, and continuing education opportunities within the SAFe ecosystem.
Is the SAFe DevOps Certification Valid for Life?
The SAFe DevOps Practitioner certification is renewable annually. Renewal ensures continued access to SAFe’s evolving frameworks, updated toolkits, and ongoing learning paths.
Maintaining your credential also opens the door to more advanced Scaled Agile certifications and professional growth within the SAFe community.
What Ongoing Benefits Do Certified SAFe DevOps Practitioners Receive?
Active certification holders enjoy a rich ecosystem of continuous learning and professional advantages, including:
- Access to exclusive community forums and career boards
- Invitations to certified-only webinars, summits, and events
- Continuous learning resources via SAFe Studio and SAFe Skills Library
- Use of the digital badge to showcase your credential
These benefits connect you to a global network of Agile professionals and position you for ongoing career success.
How Can I Prepare Most Effectively for the SDP Exam?
The best preparation combines structured learning, practice testing, and community collaboration. Follow these steps to maximize readiness:
- Attend the official SAFe DevOps course to ground your understanding.
- Review your workbook and lesson materials post-training.
- Use unlimited practice tests to familiarize yourself with questions and timing.
- Discuss concepts with peers or mentors in Agile forums to deepen your insight.
Focused preparation ensures you not only pass the exam but also retain practical skills for real-world delivery improvement.
What Framework Does the SDP Certification Use?
The SAFe DevOps Practitioner credential is firmly rooted in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). Specifically, it emphasizes alignment around CALMR DevOps—Culture, Automation, Lean Flow, Measurement, and Recovery—ensuring that every participant understands both the technical and cultural dimensions of DevOps adoption.
This foundation makes the certification highly respected and widely applicable across enterprise teams.
What Makes the SAFe DevOps (SDP) Course Unique?
Unlike traditional DevOps certifications that focus solely on tools and automation, SAFe DevOps (SDP) incorporates an enterprise-wide mindset. The program emphasizes collaboration across multiple roles and value streams, making it particularly effective for organizations undergoing Agile transformation at scale.
Through hands-on exercises, you’ll not only learn but also apply DevOps principles to create actionable transformation plans.
Where Can I Take the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Certification Exam?
The exam is taken online through the Scaled Agile learning platform, which becomes available after course completion. Since it’s web-based and proctored automatically, you can take the test from anywhere you feel comfortable with a dependable internet connection.
All instructions and system requirements are clearly displayed before the exam begins.
How Do I Register for the SAFe DevOps Practitioner (SDP) Certification?
Registration begins when you sign up for an accredited SAFe DevOps training course through a Scaled Agile partner. After completing the class, you’ll automatically receive access to the exam within your personal learning portal.
From there, you’ll be guided through candidate agreements, system checks, and practice exam links to help you prepare for success.
Where Can I Learn More About the SAFe DevOps Practitioner Certification?
For complete details about the course, exam process, and certification benefits, visit the official Scaled Agile SAFe DevOps Practitioner certification page. It contains comprehensive guidance on instructor-led sessions, renewal requirements, and global availability.
The SAFe DevOps Practitioner (SDP) certification is more than a credential—it’s a pathway to mastering continuous value delivery at scale. By embracing the SAFe CALMR mindset, you’ll help your organization accelerate its flow from concept to customer with confidence and efficiency.
