Scaled Agile Framework

Hello! I am Abhinav Sabharwal

You can find me at: skyabhinav@gmail.com

“

Size clearly matters. You probably couldn't run an XP (Extreme

Programming) Project with a hundred programmers. Nor 50. Nor

20, probably. Ten is definitely doable ..." – Kent Beck

1. What is Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

So What is SAFe

◎Scaled Agile Framework – a framework designed by Scaled Agile, Inc. out of Boulder, Colo.

◎It allow large organizations to move toward a more agile way of working.

◎ By large we mean more than a thousand people in IT, and more than 250 in software development, though it can be just as effective for teams of 50–100 people

So What is SAFe

◎It answers tough questions like "How do we budget?", "How do we plan?" and "How do we become cross-functional in architecture and DevOps?“

◎SAFe helps large organizations point teams toward meeting the organization’s strategic goals,

◎The SAFe model has three levels that centralize the strategic themes of an organization. Portfolio, Program & Team

SAFe Hirarchy

SAFe Porfolio Level

◎The portfolio management level of SAFe provides aim for the entire system.

◎ This is where the organization’s strategic themes are given life, value and priority as part of the development process.

◎The majority of organizations that can benefit from implementing SAFe either currently have a Portfolio Management Office (PMO), or have a need to generate a group that performs this work.

◎SAFe builds upon the typical PMO infrastructure by ensuring Lean and Agile practices are used

SAFe Porfolio Level ◎Portfolio management requires strategy, investment funding, program management and governance.

◎Investment themes drive budget allocations.

◎Themes are done as part of the budgeting process with a lifespan of 6-12 months.

◎Portfolio philosophy is centralized strategy with local execution.

◎Epics define large development initiatives that encapsulate the new development necessary to realize the benefits of investment themes.

SAFe Program Level ◎At the Program level, SAFe focuses on the principle of alignment as the efforts of a number of agile teams are integrated to create customer value.

◎Teams are what power the agile release trains. ◎Centralized system for coordinating multiple teams, while giving each individual team

◎Dedicated, streamlined environment to collaborate and deliver working software with ease

SAFe Program Level ◎SAFe defines an Agile Release Train (ART). As iteration is to team, train is to program.

◎The ART (or train) is the primary vehicle for value delivery at the program level. It delivers a value stream for the organization

◎Between 5 and 10 teams work together on a train. They synchronize their release and iteration boundaries.

◎Every 10 weeks (5 iterations) a train delivers a Potentially Shippable Increment (PSI). A demo and inspect and adapt sessions are held. Planning begins for the next PSI.

SAFe Team Level ◎At the Team level, SAFe uses the Scrum framework inheriting its Roles, Ceremonies and Artifacts.

◎Once Release Planning has happened at the Program level, a team then plans every Sprint during Sprint Planning at a micro level; as typically prescribed by Scrum.

◎Team requirements are stored in a Team Backlog, which is a subset of the Program Backlog and is managed by the team’s Product Owner.

◎ Team’s Sprint lengths are fixed based on the ART's (Agile Release Train) cadence.

SAFe Team Level ◎Teams are cross-functional and typically comprised of a Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers, Testers and any specialized role required (User Experience, Business Analysts, etc...). T

◎Teams have the ability to independently self-organize and complete a requirement from beginning to end

◎A team in SAFe might be 8 to ten people, with everything they need to deliver software, end-to-end

Criticism Of SAFe

◎Ken Schwaber argues that SAFe® is practically “suffocating” teams with a rigid methodology that was meant to help scaling the Agile way of developing software.

◎He thinks that SAFe® goes directly against one of the basic principles of Agile: Individual and Interactions over Processes and Tools,

◎ Scaling should involve the very same principles, letting the people that do the work figure out a way to apply the framework in large organizations – in other words, SAFe® just isn’t necessary.

Thanks! Any questions?

You can find me at:

skyabhinav@gmail.com