Agile Software Development

What is Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)? A Complete Guide

March 20, 2023
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A Close Look On Scaled Agile Framework

Scaled agile framework (SAFe) is methodology organizations use to align their business and technology strategies in a coordinated manner. SAFe provides a framework that helps organizations to scale Agile practices across the enterprise. Also, it is a comprehensive framework with guidance on roles, responsibilities, processes, and artifacts.

How Do We Define SAFe?

Scaled agile framework guides scaling agile practices to enterprise-level software development. It is designed to help large organizations coordinate their software development efforts across multiple teams and locations. Also, SAFe provides a set of best practices for managing software development projects, including principles, practices, and guidelines for implementing agile at scale.

SAFe is Based On Three Primary Elements:

 

1. Agile Development

Agile development is an iterative approach to software development that emphasizes collaboration, customer feedback, and continuous improvement.

2. Lean Product Development

Lean product development is an approach that emphasizes the elimination of waste in the software development process and delivering value to customers as quickly as possible.

3. Systems Thinking

This approach views software development as a complex system with multiple interconnected parts that must be managed in a coordinated way.

Scaled agile framework provides a set of principles and practices that help organizations to align their business and technology strategies and to coordinate their software development efforts across multiple teams and locations.

The Requirement For Scaled Agile Framework

Let’s examine why more significant goods or solutions require a framework like SAFe. And if the organizational structure supports adaptability goods can be developed with minimal supervision.

Organizations use simple models like Scrum or Kanban when working on more compact goods or solutions. Also, when an agile software development company develops a solution with more than a few agile teams, a structure akin to agile software development is necessary. Finally, solutions frequently demand numerous products or functions to work together.

Furthermore, numerous difficulties emerge when various departments and teams collaborate to achieve a unique goal.

The Difficulties May Revolve Around The Following:

  1. Handling relationships between teams
  2. Timely release and integration of increases
  3. Managing a variety of prerequisite sources
  4. Sharing the organization’s goal with the merchandise
  5. Scaled agile framework coordinates  team and company levels
  6. Coordinating the interests of the product proprietor and decision-makers
  7. Perspective for the organization’s highest level
  8. Improving quality and value of service

Scaled Agile Framework – A More Adaptive Approach

For apparent reasons, it is necessary to implement more adaptive processes and policies when scaling agile practices across the entire company. Also, it entails holding numerous planning sessions, preparation meetings, protocols, etc.

Additionally, SAFe joins the celebration at that point. scaled agile framework types aid big organizations in overcoming the difficulties involved in extending and applying agile methodologies and practices across numerous teams and organizational divisions.

 

It offers a dual operating system and scaling agile policies for the entire company. Additionally, agile release trains built around value streams should be the first step. Each agile release train has between 50 and 125 members who work in various agile teams, but despite their size, they still want to implement the finest agile practices. On the other hand, this Program Increment (PI)-centered, quicker feedback loop boosts engagement, productivity, job happiness, and work quality.

What Does The Framework Look Like?

Further, the SAFe framework is organized into four levels: team, program, large solution, and portfolio. All the more, each class builds on the previous one and guides how to scale agile practices across the enterprise.

1. Team Level

This is the foundation of SAFe and focuses on the agile practices needed to deliver software at the team level. Also, at this level, teams use Scrum, Kanban, or XP to manage their work and focus on providing customer value in small increments.

2. Program Level

It is the next up from the team level and focuses on coordinating the work of multiple teams to deliver a more comprehensive solution. Further, at this level, teams use a combination of agile practices and lean product development to manage their work and focus on providing value to customers in larger increments.

3. Significant Solution Level

This focuses on coordinating the work of multiple programs to deliver a large and complex solution. At this level, organizations use SAFe’s lean-agile principles and practices to manage their work and focus on providing customer value through fully integrated solutions.

4. Portfolio Level Scaled Agile Framework

This happens to be the highest in the SAFe framework and focuses on aligning the organization’s business and technology strategies. Furthermore, at this level, organizations use lean-agile principles to manage their work and focus on delivering value to customers through strategic solutions.

Benefits of SAFe

There are several benefits of using scaled agile framework in an organization:

1. Scalability of Scaled Agile Framework

Additionally, it is designed to scale agile practices for enterprise-level software development. Also, it provides a framework for coordinating the work of multiple teams and programs across the enterprise.

2. Alignment

They help to align the organization’s business and technology strategies and guide how to deliver value to customers in a coordinated and strategic way.

3. Standardization

It provides a set of best practices for managing software development projects, including roles, responsibilities, processes, and artifacts. On the other hand, this helps to standardize the software development process across the organization.

4. Flexibility

All the more scaled agile framework is designed to be flexible and can be adapted to each organization’s unique needs. Also, it provides a set of principles and practices which can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of each project.

Global Upkeep and Improvement of Business Efficiency

Lastly, utilizing chances and making improvements is essential for ongoing achievement. Corporate leaders ought to adopt a lean-agile philosophy. Also, CraftedQ now assists you in fully grasping SAFe agile. On the other hand, the most crucial factor is that scaled agile framework is a significant expenditure, so please exercise caution when deciding. Also, please get in touch with us, we’d be delighted to assist you.

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