Scaled Agile Framework at a glance

These days, many organizations are adopting the agile methodology over traditional and started using agile practices like Scrum, Kanban, XP etc.  Basically agile is a bottom up approach; so starts with single development team and focuses on individual teams planning and delivery activities. Each agile methodology comprises specific roles, terminologies, principles and values.

Generally, organizations starts experimenting agile with pilot team and after successful implementation of this; they start building interest to replicate the same practice on large scale or big picture of organization and that is when they start facing challenges. Practices like SCRUM, XP are probably good enough for smaller project. However for large and complex, multi year project which involves hundreds of team members; agile practices like SCRUM, XP etc. provides insufficient guidelines for addressing the problems.  In short, agile teams are not equal to business agility. Scaling agile is emerged as a remedy to address such problems. There are many frameworks in market which focuses on scaling agile; example are DAD (disciplined agile delivery), LESS (Large scale SCRUM) and SAFe (scaled agile framework).

Dean Leffingwell’s SAFe – the Scaled Agile Framework – a framework designed by Scaled Agile, Inc. is now day’s fully featured, discussed and implemented agile scaling framework among above all. It allows large organizations to move towards a more agile way of working.

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a combination of several agile approaches. SAFe is a well documented approach for agile practice at enterprise scale which handles the tough issues like architecture, integration, funding, governance and roles.  It provides a process model which is applicable to high, medium as well as low levels in the enterprise. SAFe is organized around three layers; teams, programs and portfolio management and based on standardize agile and lean principles. Each of these levels is associated with particular SAFe architecture. Agile release train and architecture Epics are the key terminologies in SAFe architecture. Scaled agile framework architecture makes a distinction between “what the system does” (content) and “how the system does it “(design) with separate authority associated with each part.

SAFe is most suitable framework to implement when:-

• Organizations have implemented Agile at team level but regularly experiencing obstacles, delays and failures with team dependency on each other
• Organizations want to scale the agile across all departments but not sure about how to modify and align roles and responsibilities
• Organizations attempted to scale Agile across all departments but struggled to achieve consistent strategy and alignment from portfolio, program and team level

In short, SAFe is a proven , single and well documented approach ; which provides a comprehensive and unified view of business and technical principles and practices required in top to bottom form in a cohesive package.