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Unlocking Business Agility: A Comprehensive Guide to Leading SAFe

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the principles, practices, and benefits of Leading SAFe , empowering organizations to unlock their full potential for business agility. Understanding the Need for Business Agility In today’s dynamic business environment, traditional hierarchical structures and waterfall methodologies often struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving markets and customer demands. Business agility, on the other hand, allows organizations to sense, respond, and adapt to change quickly. It enables companies to seize new opportunities, innovate, and stay ahead of the competition.

Introducing the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a proven methodology designed to help organizations scale lean-agile principles across the entire enterprise. It provides a structured approach that aligns teams, improves collaboration, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Core Principles of Leading SAFe Leading SAFe is founded on nine core principles, which form the basis for the framework’s success. These principles include: 1. Taking an economic view 2. Applying systems thinking 3. Assuming variability and preserving options 4. Building incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles 5. Basing milestones on objective evaluation of working systems 6. Making value flow without interruptions 7. Applying cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning 8. Unlocking the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers 9. Decentralizing decision making and 10. Organize around value. Each principle is explained in detail, highlighting its importance in driving business agility.

Key Components of Leading SAFe Leading SAFe consists of several interconnected components that facilitate the scaling of agile practices across the organization. These components include Agile Release Trains (ARTs), Planning Interval (PI) planning (formerly PI was called as Program Increment), Lean Portfolio Management, DevOps and Release on Demand, Continuous Learning Culture, and more. Understanding each component’s role is crucial to implementing SAFe successfully.

Agile Release Trains (ARTs) ARTs are the heartbeat of SAFe, representing a self-organizing team of Agile teams that deliver value to the end-users. This section outlines the structure and functioning of ARTs, emphasizing their synchronization, planning, and execution processes.

Lean Portfolio Management Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) helps organizations align strategy and execution, ensuring that the right initiatives are prioritized and funded. This section dives into LPM’s key functions, including strategy and investment funding, agile portfolio operations, and governance.

Continuous Learning Culture A culture of continuous improvement is at the heart of Leading SAFe. This section explores the importance of fostering a learning mindset, empowering teams to experiment, fail fast, and learn from their experiences.

Implementing Leading SAFe: Challenges and Solutions While Leading SAFe offers numerous benefits, its implementation is not without challenges. This section discusses common hurdles organizations might face and offers practical solutions to overcome them successfully.

Conclusion Unlocking business agility is no longer a choice but a necessity in today’s rapidly evolving world. The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) provides a comprehensive and proven approach to achieving this goal. By understanding the principles, practices, and benefits of Leading SAFe, organizations can embark on a transformative journey toward sustained success in the age of agility.

Jayaprakash prabhakar

A seasoned and passionate Agile, Scrum and SAFe® trainer and coach, Jayaprakash Prabhakar (or JP as he is known to all) comes with abundant experience of over 23 years in software development, testing, Engineering Leadership, Agile and SAFe coaching. He has helped a few of the Fortune 100 companies in their Agile / SAFe transformation. He has presented white papers in multiple Agile Conferences

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How to Know if It’s Time to Make a Change

Here are four strategies for making life transitions with greater ease..

Posted June 19, 2024 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

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• For many of us, the unfamiliar aspect of change can be scary for our nervous system and keep us stuck.
• We can mindfully inquire what we have "outgrown" or what is no longer serving us in different aspects of life.
• Importantly, we can ask what is in our influence to change (an attitude, mindset, behavior, situation).

I have been watching with fascination as the woodchuck (a familiar furry friend in my wooded backyard for several seasons now) recently had babies under the ramp of our outside shed. A few weeks ago, I discovered six adorable heads poking out, which explains why it wasn’t just the grass that was causing her to get larger and larger in recent months. As the babies started getting bigger and the space under the ramp could no longer house them, the mother relocated her family quite a distance away to the much larger space under our deck, which to me seemed like a big move for a family of seven. Following some instinct of nature and a biological blueprint, this animal knew when she had outgrown her original home and when it was time to make a change.

It isn’t always so easy for us humans. Change is an inevitable and natural part of life, and yet, for most of us, change can be difficult. And, for many of us, we may cling to the way things are and remain in situations that no longer serve us, that no longer “fit” us, even when our well-being would be best served by new circumstances, behaviors, choices, or points of view. One reason for this resistance is that our nervous systems tend to like what is familiar and predictable. Change can be perceived as “threatening,” and in the face of perceived threat, our nervous systems go into a state of protection: fight (resisting what feels unpleasant), flight (avoiding what is uncomfortable), or freezing (feeling immobilized to take steps forward).

When we can bring mindful awareness to what we are currently experiencing and listen deeply, there is an opportunity to work with our protective reflexes and take wise and skillful actions that serve our long-term well-being.

How do you know if it’s time to make a change?

Think about your current circumstances in different areas of your life (e.g., health, relationships, career , personal time).

First, ask yourself:

• What is working well for you?
• What brings joy, satisfaction, meaning, or purpose?
• What is moving you in the direction of well-being?
• What is aligned with your deepest values?
• What is nourishing, helpful, or beneficial?

Make note of these answers. Listen to the signals from your body and be mindful of physical sensations as you reflect on different areas of your life. Is there openness , ease, expansiveness, contraction, tightness, tension, constriction, something else?

Next, ask yourself:

• Are there things that you have outgrown, that no longer fit, or that aren’t working for you (e.g., an old habit, an unhealthy or draining relationship, a job where you feel you are languishing versus flourishing, a behavior not serving you, such as going to bed too late or drinking too much)?
• What brings unease, feels stifling, or causes constriction in your body? Listen again to your bodily signals as you reflect on the various areas of your life.
• What moves you away from well-being in your life?
• What behaviors or situations are no longer aligned with your current values?

Now, if you have identified something that is not working so well, ask: Is this in my sphere of influence to change? If so, what is in my sphere of influence? For example, there are some situations we may not be able to change (such as someone else’s behaviors or an injury), and some situations we may be able to influence certain aspects of but not others (e.g., I may financially need to work to support myself, but what I do for work is under my influence; I may not be able to change an injury, but I can choose how much rest and care I give myself to allow it to heal). Be clear about what falls in your sphere of influence.

How to make changes with greater ease

Once you recognize something that would be helpful to change:

• Accept that fear might be your initial human response and that change might be scary. You don’t have to get rid of fear or wait for it to go away in order to move forward. Instead of trying to get rid of it, you can focus on what you can add to the equation (see step two).
• Think about what inner quality might support you as you take steps forward. What inner quality, if it was more present alongside fear, might be helpful? For example, courage, acceptance, perspective, patience, tenacity, or self-compassion might sit alongside fear and feel supportive. Now, think about a time in your life when you experienced this inner quality (even if it was long ago or a small moment). Or, if that is difficult, think about someone who embodies this quality and imagine yourself in their shoes. Can you call up a felt sense of this quality in your body right now and imagine it putting an arm around fear, resistance, or other difficult emotions as if saying, “I’m here; we’ve got this.”
• Consider the many ways that change could look. For example, if a relationship isn’t working, change might take the form of choosing to express your needs more clearly to your partner, seeking outside help (such as trying couples therapy to find ways of repairing and moving forward), or ending the relationship. If you are unhappy in a job, a change could involve speaking up and advocating for yourself, shifting your role or position within a company, changing your outlook and focusing on the ways you can find greater meaning in your day-to-day routine, or looking for an entirely new job. Brainstorm and see how many different options you can come up with. Take time to reflect on what makes the most sense for you.
• To take steps forward, choose an initial step that feels small enough and safe enough for your nervous system . For example, if you want to make a lifestyle change, such as getting more movement in your day and shifting away from being sedentary, perhaps you commit to a five-minute walk around the block. If you want to make a career change, perhaps you can gather more information on the internet or make a list of what is most important to you. Feeling daunted and overwhelmed can throw us into freeze mode. Taking very small steps forward can help us gather the necessary momentum. Additionally, connect with others and ask for help wherever possible so that you don’t feel alone! Reaching out to others for help, advice, a listening ear, a sounding board, or an accountability partner can offer a big cue of safety for the nervous system and help propel you forward.

As I’m sitting here now, one of the six little guys (a baby woodchuck no longer so small) is off on his own, grazing at the far edges of my yard, venturing out from the nest to forage for food in the summer sun. He is a reminder of the natural growth that is inherent within all of us and the inner wisdom that can guide us forward to new places when we listen deeply and allow change to unfold.

Beth Kurland, Ph.D. , is a clinical psychologist, TedX and public speaker, mind-body coach, and author of four books. Her newest book is You Don’t Have to Change to Change Everything.

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Election latest: The Sun switches sides and backs Labour

The Sun has endorsed the Labour Party for the first time since 2005 in what our chief political correspondent Jon Craig describes as a "big boost" for Keir Starmer.

Wednesday 3 July 2024 16:24, UK

• General Election 2024

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Last day of election campaigning

• Coming up: The final Sky News/YouGov MRP poll
• The Sun backs Labour for first time since 2005
• Under-threat shadow minister hits out at postal vote delays
• Beth Rigby: Labour insiders can't help feel the party's time has come
• PM reveals favourite food - and meets UK's most tattooed mum
• Lib Dem leader makes most of final day - with a tractor race
• Electoral Dysfunction: What to watch out for on election night
• Live reporting by Ben Bloch   and Brad Young

Election essentials

• Manifesto pledges: Conservatives | Greens | Labour | Lib Dems | Plaid | Reform | SNP
• Trackers: Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
• Follow Sky's politics podcasts: Electoral Dysfunction | Politics At Jack And Sam's
• Read more: Who is standing down? | Key seats to watch | What counts as voter ID? | Check if your constituency is changing | Guide to election lingo
• How to watch election on Sky News

Sky News will reveal the results of YouGov's final MRP poll of the election campaign at 5pm.

The polls have been consistently disastrous for the Tories throughout the campaign and the previous two in this series have been no exception.

Our last one, from 19 June , projected Labour to win a majority of 200 and many big name Conservatives to lose their seats.

Could things have got even worse since then?

Find out at 5pm, live on Sky News and here in Politics Hub.

Our political correspondent Matthew Thompson is on the Liberal Democrats' election campaign battle bus ahead of Sir Ed Davey's final campaign stunt.

He says there is "one more thing left in Ed Davey's box of tricks".

"We think it will be something eye catching," he says.

He goes on to say "it will happen within the next hour".

"There are a few scratchy throats on this bus and enough throat pastilles here to open up our own branch of Boots," he adds.

"There are few people quite relieved that we are near the end."

The closer we get to polling day, the more inevitable a huge Labour landslide victory seems.

Multiple polls are projecting even bigger victories than the one the party enjoyed under Tony Blair in 1997.

But a survey by YouGov today suggests those intending to back Labour this time round aren't doing so with much enthusiasm.

Just 5% of Labour voters are doing so because they agree with their policies and only 1% because of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.

Almost half - 48% - say their primary reason for backing Labour is to remove the Tories from office.

You can see the full breakdown below:

Rishi Sunak has spoken to broadcasters as he continues to make his final pitch to the nation before polls open tomorrow.

It was put to him that his former home secretary, Suella Braverman, has said the Tories needs to prepare for opposition, while his work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, has said Labour is likely to win a landslide.

Asked if he is the only person left who still thinks he has a chance, the prime minister replied: "No. Every vote matters tomorrow."

Mr Sunak claimed some seats were so close that "just 130,000 people could chance the outcome of the election".

He denied the Tories were trying to scare people into voting for them with their attacks on Labour, and said all Mr Stride was trying to do this morning was point out the "dangers" of giving Sir Keir Starmer's party a "blank cheque to do what they want".

"I appreciate people have frustrations with our party," he said, but urged voters to "think about what a Labour government would mean for your family" when voting tomorrow.

"I am proud this campaign has shone a spotlight on Labour's plans to raise people's taxes," he added.

Mr Sunak vowed to "keep going to the last second" - the polls open at 7am tomorrow morning and close at 10pm.

The day before polls open, The Sun newspaper has finally announced its endorsement - and said it is backing the Labour Party at this election.

It is not exactly a wholehearted endorsement, but the newspaper makes the case that the Tories can no longer govern, while Sir Keir Starmer has got his party back to a place where they can lead the country forward.

"It is time for change," the paper says, echoing Labour's slogan, as it calls for the "exhausted" Tories to face "a period in opposition".

The Sun dismisses Reform as a "one-man band" and the Lib Dems as a "joke" best known for Sir Ed Davey's "ridiculous stunts".

Of the Labour leader, the paper said: "By dragging his party back to the centre ground of British politics for the first time since Tony Blair was in No10, Sir Keir has won the right to take charge."

Our chief political correspondent Jon Craig acknowledges plenty of people say newspaper endorsements "don't matter as much as they used to", but says this is a "big boost" for Labour.

"I remember being with some senior figures in 2010 when The Sun came out for David Cameron, and there was gloom among the Labour high command back then," Jon recalls.

"Labour will be delighted - the Tories will probably not be that surprised."

A second major poll in 24 hours has forecast a bigger Labour landslide than 1997.

The Tories would face their worst ever defeat with upsets for several cabinet ministers, according to More in Common.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and veterans minister Johnny Mercer were forecast to lose their seats in the poll of 13,556 adults for The News Agents podcast.

More In Common has listed Portsmouth North, which former Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt is contesting, as "too close to call".

More in Common forecast:

• Labour: 430 seats on 39.3% of the vote (Tony Blair won 418);
• Conservatives: 126 on 22.7%;
• Liberal Democrats: 52 on 13.5% (up from 11);
• SNP: 16 (slashed from 48);
• Reform UK: Two on 13.1%;
• Plaid Cymru: Two seats;
• Green: At least one seat.

Labour is set for one upset - Islington North, where Jeremy Corbyn has a 91% chance of winning.

A poll by Survation yesterday evening said Labour were 99% certain to beat the landslide win secured by Tony Blair in 1997.

Our live poll tracker collates the results of opinion surveys carried out by all the main polling organisations - and allows you to see how the political parties are performing in the run-up to the general election.

With just 24 hours to go, the Tories and Labour have taken a drop, while support for Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats is on the rise.

Read more about the tracker  here .

"I was supposed to parachute in," jokes Sir Ed Davey as he addresses supporters in Hampshire, his second stop of the day.

Campaigning alongside vet and Winchester candidate Danny Chambers, Sir Ed says: "We've got the pet vote, and the farm animal vote, all sewn up." 

He continues: "This is a once in a century election. A chance where we can change the political geography of our nation, and in doing that, I want us to become a caring nation."

As the event winds down, he apologises for keeping his supporters waiting: "An hour?! I'm so sorry - I blame the Tories."

The full list of candidates running in Winchester include:

•  Chris Barfoot, independent;
• Danny Chambers, Lib Dems;
• Kevin D'Cruze, independent;
• Andrew Davis, Social Democratic Party;
• Hannah Dawson, Labour;
• Flick Drummond, Conservatives.

The leader of Plaid Cymru has said the Conservatives are "desperate" for attacking Sir Keir Starmer for wanting to spend Friday evenings with his children.

Sir Keir said earlier this week that Friday night dinner is important to his family and that he tries to "not do a work-related thing after 6pm" on Fridays.

This led to senior Conservatives criticising the Labour leader, accusing him of being a "part-time prime minister".

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid, said: "I think that the Conservatives are pretty desperate if they're coming down to that kind of level of personal attack.

"People attack me personally all the time and I tend to try to ignore it."

Plaid vows to 'hold Labour to account'

"What we need to focus on is what's really at stake in this election," he added.

"Conservatives are going - high time - Labour will form the next government, but we can hold them to account."

SNP leader John Swinney also criticised the Tory attacks on Sir Keir earlier today, labelling them "disgusting".

 No criminal offences were committed by Reform UK activists campaigning for Nigel Farage who were filmed by an undercover journalist for Channel 4, Essex Police says.

"Having assessed the comments made during a Channel 4 news programme, and all other information available to us, we have concluded that no criminal offences have taken place," said the force in a statement.

The footage showed canvasser Andrew Parker using a racial slur about Rishi Sunak and suggesting migrants arriving in the UK on small boats should be used as "target practice".

Another activist described the Pride flag as "degenerate" and suggested members of the LGBT+ community are paedophiles.

Mr Farage claimed he was the victim of a stitch-up because Mr Parker is an actor, but Mr Parker insisted he was there as a Reform activist and Channel 4 said he was not known to the broadcaster before being "filmed covertly via the undercover operation".

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SAFe Principles

The fundamentals of the scaled agile framework ®.

We recognize that every organization has its own context. You have different products with diverse organizational structures and unique operational constraints. A prescriptive approach won’t accommodate every situation. That’s why the Scaled Agile Framework ® provides 10 SAFe ® principles to guide your implementation in any context.

SAFe principles are grounded in the immutable, underlying tenets of Agile, Lean, systems thinking, and product development flow. These fundamental tenets inspire and inform SAFe’s mindset, roles, and practices.

Why are SAFe principles and practices important?

Safe principles provide context for safe practices..

Understanding the underpinnings of these principles helps you apply SAFe practices in your own business context and unlock the value of SAFe. When encountering a situation that seems unique or not fully covered in SAFe guidance, turning to these principles will help you ensure the “ shortest sustainable lead time, with best quality and value to people and society .”

Tools to help your organization focus on benefits of SAFe

Watch Audrey Boydston, SPCT and SAFe Fellow, discuss the benefits of revisiting the SAFe principles.

“Going to work is more fun when there’s less confusion and less waste. And motivated people do better work, so it’s a positive cycle! Another impact we’ve seen is that other parts of LEGO visit the meeting, get super inspired, and start exploring how to implement some of these principles and practices in their own department.”

—henrik kniberg and eik thyrsted, agile coaches at lego, identify solutions to complex problems.

Though SAFe’s system of integrated and proven practices synthesizes a large body of knowledge and hundreds of deployments, not every practice will apply to you. That’s why it’s important to look to SAFe principles as a guide. They can help you identify solutions to complex problems, apply them in your own unique circumstances, and stay on the path of continuous improvement.

Scaled Agile courses provide in-depth coverage of the SAFe principles, and SAFe Enterprise gives you the tools you need to apply the principles to your context. To learn more about each of the 10 principles, visit the  SAFe Principles page   at the Scaled Agile Framework website.

Back to: SAFe and Agile

In today’s world, Agile development teams aren’t enough. SAFe provides a system for implementing Agile at scale.

Next to: Why SAFe

Discover why global enterprises and public-sector organizations are choosing SAFe to thrive in a world of change.

“ The products we’re developing are bigger than one Agile team. For the teams to interact and plan together, we really needed SAFe as the foundation. It brings the practices and methodologies to coordinate multiple teams working on the same product at the same time.” —Mike Eason, CIO , Commercial Banking

Six years ago, Mercedes Benz launched one or two products yearly in just a couple of markets. In 2022, they introduced roughly 40 products in 34 markets. By moving away from waterfall methods and adopting SAFe, they could launch better technology, operating systems, AI, and face recognition, integrate different data sources, and utilize better risk models.

SAFe allowed Mercedes-Benz to achieve the shift from hardware to software, master vehicle electrification, meet zero-emission requirements, and adapt to environmental, geopolitical, and consumer demands.

Handelsbanken, a Swedish bank known for its innovative practices, wanted to cut its time to market and improve its customer offerings. They needed a collaborative partner to contribute to those goals. The bank explored SAFe and gained trust, knowing that several large companies and banks in its region had found success with it.

With SAFe, Handelsbanken achieved its goal of enabling automated decisions for mortgages sooner than expected. The framework’s structure helped them think big, focusing on flow and results.

SAFe Comes to Germany!

08 – 11 April, 2024

Get ready for another amazing SAFe Summit. We can’t wait to see you in Berlin!

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Evolving the Scaled Agile Framework:

Update to SAFe 5

Guidance for organizing around value, DevSecOps, and agility for business teams

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A guiding coalition that operates as an effective team can process more information, more quickly. It can also speed the implementation of new approaches because powerful people are truly informed and committed to key decisions. —John Kotter

Create a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence

This is article four in the SAFe ® Implementation Roadmap series. Click here to view the entire roadmap.

The Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) is a small team of people dedicated to implementing the SAFe Lean-Agile way of working. Creating a LACE is often one of the key differentiators between companies practicing Agile in name only and those fully committed to adopting Lean-Agile practices and getting the best business outcomes. The LACE is the third element of the ‘sufficiently powerful guiding coalition’ for change, which is made up of three primary ingredients:

• Train a number of Lean-Agile change agents as SAFe Program Consultants (SPCs)
• Train executives, managers, and other leaders
• Charter a LACE

This article provides guidance for size, structure, and operation of the LACE based on the SAFe knowledge base as well as the experience of others working directly in the field.

The articles Train Lean-Agile Change Agents and Train Executives, Managers, and Leaders describe how organizations can help change agents and leadership gain the knowledge and skills necessary to lead the transformation .

The challenge is that most of the people qualified to drive the change have full-time responsibilities in their current roles. While a significant portion of their time can perhaps be devoted to supporting the change, a smaller, more dedicated group of people is required to drive the transformation throughout the organization. Though these groups go by different names—the Agile Center of Excellence, Agile Working Group, Lean-Agile Transformation Team, Learning and Improvement Center—they are all staffed with people whose primary task is to implement the change.

For perspective, it’s commonly observed that in SAFe-practicing companies, small teams of four to six dedicated people can support a few hundred practitioners, while teams of about twice that size support proportionally larger groups. Beyond that, team size gets unwieldy, and a decentralized or hub-and-spoke model is typically more effective as described later in this article.

Responsibilities

No matter the size, the responsibilities of a LACE typically include:

• Communicating the business need, urgency, and vision for change
• Developing the implementation plan and managing the transformation backlog
• Establishing the metrics
• Conducting or sourcing training for executives, managers and leaders, Agile teams, and specialty roles such as Product Owner , Product Manager , Scrum Master , and Release Train Engineer
• Facilitating Value Stream  Identification Workshops (using supporting toolkit ) and helping define and launch Agile Release Trains (ARTs)
• Providing coaching and training to ART stakeholders and teams
• Participating in critical, initial events like Program Increment (PI) Planning and Inspect and Adapt (I&A)
• Fostering SAFe Communities of Practice (CoPs)
• Communicating progress
• Implementing Lean-Agile focus days with guest speakers, and presenting internal case studies
• Benchmarking and connecting with the external community
• Promoting continuing Lean-Agile education
• Extending Lean-Agile practices to other areas of the company, including Lean Budgets , Lean Portfolio Management, contracts , and human resources
• Helping to establish relentless improvement (see Accelerate in the Implementation Roadmap)

As the LACE embraces these responsibilities, it also becomes the logical focal point for assessing and improving each of the seven core competencies of the Lean Enterprise. For more information on these competencies, read the SAFe for Lean Enterprises article.

For a small team, this is a pretty significant list of responsibilities. But it’s important to note that many of them are shared with numerous SPCs  who may or may not be regular members of the LACE.

Organization and Operation

The LACE may be a part of an organization’s emerging Agile Program Management Office (APMO), or it may exist as a stand-alone unit. In either case, it serves as a focal point of activity, a continuous source of energy that can help power the enterprise through the necessary changes. Additionally, since the evolution to becoming a Lean-Agile enterprise is an ongoing journey, not a destination, the LACE often evolves into a longer-term center for relentless improvement toward business agility.

Operationally, the LACE typically functions as an Agile team and applies the same iteration and PI cadences. This allows the LACE to plan and inspect and adapt in harmony with the ARTs, serving as an exemplar for Agile team behavior. As a result, similar roles are needed:

• A Product Owner works with stakeholders to prioritize the team’s transformation backlog.
• A Scrum Master facilitates the process and helps remove roadblocks.
• The team is cross-functional. Credible people from various functional organizations are integral members of the team. That allows them to address backlog items wherever they arise, whether they’re related to organization, culture, development process, or technology.
• A C- level leader typically acts as the team’s Product Manager.

A team like this needs to align with a common mission. An example mission statement is included in Figure 1.

Team Distribution

As mentioned, the size of the team must be in proportion to the size and distribution of the development enterprise. For smaller enterprises, a single centralized LACE can balance speed with economies of scale. However, in larger enterprises—typically those with more than 500 – 1,000 practitioners—it’s useful to consider employing either a decentralized model or a hub-and-spoke model, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 3 describes situations where each of these models is most effective.

Improving Incrementally

The LACE has a tall order to fill: change the behavior and culture of a large development organization. Once a LACE has formed, there will be a natural desire to accelerate progress and work through its full backlog as quickly as possible. However, trying to remove all the major organizational impediments right at the start will slow the transformation to a halt. Instead, the LACE—with the support of the entire guiding coalition—empowers the organization to generate short-term wins by defining and launching ARTs. It then consolidates those gains as additional ARTs are launched. This provides the positive momentum needed to tackle the larger organizational issues.

The business agility assessment (see the Measure and Grow article ) can help the LACE understand where a portfolio is on the road to Business Agility . The LACE should baseline the assessment at the start of the transformation and then continuously measure progress and use the recommendations provided to drive the improvement backlog.

With each PI, ART, and value stream, the gains continue to build, and the organization transforms incrementally. These activities are the subject of the remaining articles in this Implementation Roadmap series.

Moving Forward

Identifying value streams and ARTs is the next critical move.

Additional Resources

• Implementing SAFe with SPC certification
• Leading SAFe with SA certification
• SAFe Scrum Master with SSM certification
• SAFe Advanced Scrum Master with SASM certification
• SAFe Product Manager/Product Owner with POPM certification

Last update: 10 February 2021

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Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.