What is a scaled agile framework?
The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a set of practices and principles for running agile software development.
Businesses design it to be scalable and adaptable to be used by companies of all sizes.
Scaled agile frameworks has been developed by the Scaled Agile Company, with input from many others.
It includes a set of practices that are common across multiple agile frameworks and guidelines for tailoring the framework to particular contexts.
The purpose of designing a framework is for teams that are delivering products or services in response to changing customer needs over time.
Pro tip: To craft unique products, visit the product management software tool like Chisel.
SAFe or scaled agile frameworks is for scaling agile software development. The Scaled Agile Framework Consortium developed the SAFe framework.
SAFe is a framework for scaling agile software development, in which the work of the team is broken down into manageable pieces. After that teams complete it in iterations.
SAFe consists of four components:
- SAFe Scrum
- SAFe DevOps
- SAFe Program Management
- SAFe Lean-Agile Enterprise Transformation
The goal of SAFe is to allow organizations to adopt agile practices at scale and continuously improve their agility over time.
It does this by guiding on:
- How to transform an organization’s culture, processes, and systems?
- How to create an environment where teams can self-organize?
- How to manage risk across projects?
- How to deliver value?
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a framework that enterprises use to plan, organize and manage the software development process.
The Scaled Agile Framework Consortium developed SAFe. The consortium was founded in 2008 by 17 companies, including IBM, HP, Microsoft, and Motorola.
The consortium has grown to include over 200 organizations from around the world.
The goal of SAFe is to provide an enterprise-wide approach for agile software development that scales across multiple teams and organizations.
Advantages of using a scaled agile framework
Organizations are finding it difficult to scale their agile practices.
The traditional agile framework is not scalable and does not work in organizations with many stakeholders.
Agile frameworks are guidelines or principles that help teams deliver products in increments.
Organizations design these frameworks to help the team continuously deliver the product. And it is not just limited to software development.
The SAFe framework is one of the most popular frameworks for scaling agile.
The reason for designing scaled agile frameworks is for enterprises, not startups.
It is a process framework that helps organizations build software-intensive systems and delivers value from them.
Such a process is much faster than what more traditional methods and practices allow.
The SAFe framework covers all aspects of development such as:
- Product management
- Requirements gathering
- Design
- Coding
- Testing
- Deployment
The scaled agile framework is a set of guidelines that help teams work together more effectively.
It is a framework that allows the team to break down their work into manageable chunks and then plan for them to complete it efficiently.
The Scaled Agile Framework offers many advantages, such as:
- Allows the team to break down their work into manageable chunks.
- It allows different parts of the organization to have input on how the project will run. This process means it is more inclusive than other methods.
- The framework encourages collaboration between people who are not usually involved, which leads to a better understanding of processes and more creativity.
Which is the proper scaled agile framework for your business?
Scaled agile frameworks is a framework designed to help enterprises scale their development efforts.
SAFe has four pillars:
- Lean
- Agile
- Enterprise
- Scrum
SAFe is a framework that supports the scaling of agile practices in enterprise software development and project management. It provides a set of rules, principles, and patterns for organizing and leading teams in this environment.
SAFe is the most popular and most widely-adopted agile framework that most enterprises have embraced.
However, scaled agile framework is not perfect. Some people don’t like its rigid structure and strict rules. Others find it too complicated to implement.
SAFe’s complexity can be a problem for large organizations with many people unfamiliar with agile methodology.
On the other hand, smaller organizations that want a more straightforward, more flexible approach can manage well with scaled agile frameworks.
Others find it too complicated to implement and prefer other frameworks such as LeanKit Kanban or ScrumXP, which are considered more straightforward, more flexible approaches to scaling agile work practices.
SAFe is a framework designed to help organizations with their software development. It helps in scaling the agile approach to address the needs of enterprises of all sizes, from startups to multinationals.
Dean Leffingwell and his team created The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) at Scaled Agile Inc. in 2008. It started to answer the question, “How do we scale agile for larger enterprises?”
It is worth noting that SAFe is not a methodology but a framework that you can use with any methodology or process approach.
If you are looking for a more agile framework than Scrum and Kanban, you should go with SAFe. It provides a more structured approach to the project management process.
The first step in choosing the best framework for your business is understanding what you need from a framework.
- Do you want to work alone?
- How much time do you have to devote?
- What are your needs from the framework?
There are three main types of frameworks: light, medium, and heavy.
- The use of the light frameworks is for small projects that require minimal resources.
- You can use medium frameworks for projects that require more resources and larger teams.
- Heavy frameworks usually need a lot of time and effort, but they offer the most flexibility and control over how you execute the project.
How to start with a scaled agile framework?
The primary purpose of designing SAFe as a framework is to help companies and organizations improve their agility.
SAFe is a five-phase framework based on iterative and incremental development.
The first phase of SAFe is the “Vision.” It’s where you define the vision for the project and its goals.
The second phase of SAFe is called “Analysis.” This phase focuses on understanding what teams need to do to achieve your project’s goals.
The third phase of SAFe, “Design,” is where you work out how you will deliver your project’s value.
The fourth phase of SAFe, “Build,” focuses on getting your project built.
And finally, the fifth and final phase of SAFe, “Deployment,” helps you get your product into production so
SAFe is a framework for scaling agile software development, which has its basis on the principles of lean manufacturing and empirical process control.
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Consortium developed it.
You can help organizations with agility and flexibility to deliver high-quality products in a competitive market with scaled agile frameworks.
It offers an approach that integrates the best of agile principles with broader organizational goals, such as:
- Improved quality and customer satisfaction
- Reduced time-to-market
- Increased stakeholder engagement
- Higher return on investment.
Conclusion
SAFe is a scaled agile framework that the Agile Alliance developed and has its basis on the principles of Lean and Agile development.
It provides a framework for organizations to implement agile practices across multiple teams.
SAFe provides a scalable, organization-wide approach to implementing agile.
The design is such that it guides large-scale enterprise applications, systems engineering projects, and other complex program efforts.
The creation of SAFe was to help organizations of all sizes in their quest for agility using scaling frameworks and practices.
The primary purpose of SAFe is to provide a scalable and adaptable process for developing software products.
You can do this with the help of an organization’s existing practices, tools, and technologies.
Various organizations across healthcare, telecommunications, finance, banking, automotive, etc., use scaled agile frameworks.