SAFe Archives - Agile Authority

Book Review and Quotes: “Empowered Agile Transformation – Beyond the Framework”

Empowered Agile Transformation – Beyond the Framework, by Alexandra Stokes, 2023 What a great book! Alexandra Stokes has written the book many of us Agilists wanted to write. Her approach to Agile transformation is logical, empathetic, goal-oriented, and dare I say it "frameless". She includes over 30 personal stories of her Agile transformation successes and failures. One theme that really resonated with me was to [...]

Agile Authority2023-11-20T20:04:58+00:00Categories: SAFe, Transformation|

Making the Case for Value Stream Identification

We’ve all been there before, right? On one hand, we live in a classic siloed organization that is slow to respond to the market. Cross-org dependencies are the norm. The flow of value to the customer is slow. Painfully slow. Value stream identification is non-existent. On the other hand, we understand the power of “alignment to value” and its potential impact on the flow of [...]

Agile Authority2023-07-10T15:52:47+00:00Categories: SAFe, Transformation|

Fake Agile Release Trains (FARTs)

True story - I once did some consulting at a Fortune 50 company where the SAFe transformation success was measured by "number of ARTs launched". You can guess what happened... Fake Agile Release Trains (FARTs). Entire VP and Director organizations were now calling themselves an "Agile Release Train" and going through the motions of a cadenced PI Planning event. When I asked one of the [...]

Agile Authority2023-06-03T04:20:20+00:00Categories: SAFe|

SAFe vs. Simple Scaling

Leaders and Executives considering a “scaled Agile transformation” – you have a choice. You can fall in line with the masses and install a scaling framework such as SAFe. Alternatively, you can take a much more targeted approach, one that addresses your needs specifically, and that actually simplifies (de-scales) product development. SAFe vs. Simple Scaling. Let’s compare these two approaches in an attempt to outfit [...]

Agile Authority2023-09-22T21:55:55+00:00Categories: SAFe, Transformation|

The Case for Installing SAFe As-Is (well, not really)

Here I make the case for installing SAFe as-is. Note: Be sure and read to the end! The Case for Installing SAFe As-Is Installing SAFe as-is is appropriate when you have all of these situations: We need to “scale Agile up” to levels higher than Team-level Each team needs consistency of using ScrumXP or Kanban XP practices are needed to improve the quality of the [...]

Agile Authority2024-06-08T15:56:45+00:00Categories: SAFe, Transformation|

Choosing a SAFe Training Partner

Choosing a SAFe training partner for your scaled Agile transformation can be a “roll of the dice” – with so many companies offering this service. Don't gamble away this opportunity! 5 Questions to Ask Here are 5 essential questions to ask when choosing a SAFe training partner: Who will be our instructor and what is their background? Training companies should be able to name the [...]

Agile Authority2021-12-19T22:53:51+00:00Categories: SAFe|

6 Devastating SAFe Anti-Patterns

Let’s briefly explore my list of 6 devastating SAFe anti-patterns. Each of these can be considered "devastating" due to the tremendous amounts of waste involved. #1 – Installing SAFe As-Is SAFe is huge. It is designed to cover most transformation needs from a perspective of scaling Agile at all levels – team, program, portfolio, and enterprise. Thinking of going SAFe? Here is a “SAFe [...]

Agile Authority2021-12-03T14:44:45+00:00Categories: SAFe|

SAFe Large Solution Anti-Pattern

One of the biggest anti-patterns I have consistently seen with SAFe enterprises is the misuse of the Large Solution level. Organizations (and yes Coaches) tend to misinterpret this extra level as required for inter-ART collaboration. They launch ARTs, realize that inter-ART dependencies exist, and immediately slap on the Large Solution as another level of overhead. Stop the madness! What Does SAFe Say? Here are [...]

Agile Authority2023-05-30T21:43:10+00:00Categories: SAFe|

SAFe Portfolio Constructs – a Leadership View

As a portfolio or organizational leader, you may have wondered “How will SAFe change what we do?” One way of looking at this is to consider the constructs recommended by the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for the Portfolio level. For reference, here is a view of the SAFe 5.0 Portfolio configuration: Let’s briefly step through some of the important constructs that may cause [...]

Agile Authority2020-09-16T02:15:02+00:00Categories: SAFe|