How Do SAFe and Lean Work Together?

Agile Scrum Methodolgy

Large-scale project management is complex for many businesses. In this case, SAFe can be helpful. SAFe demonstrates how to make changes at the level of a single team, an entire department, or the entire business. Teams for large organizations have become more adaptable and responsive due to SAFe’s rise in business agility. Lean-Agile concepts and SAFe’s own set of values are both used. With the help of this framework, you may encourage a widespread Lean-Agile mentality. On-going development is its main priority. Enterprises consequently boost productivity and work performance. Look for the Agile certification online for free, where you will get complete knowledge about the Agile method. 

Apply system thinking 

The users and workers must address the problems in the workplace and the marketplace. Such systems are intricate and have numerous interconnected parts. However, improving one part of a system only enhances the function of the system. Everyone must comprehend the system’s overall goal if things are to get better. Systems thinking is used in SAFe to construct both the system that is being developed and the organization that will be building it.

Assume variation 

Early in development, traditional design and life cycle practices advise selecting a single design-and-requirements alternative. Unfortunately, if that first assumption turns out to be incorrect, further revisions will take too long and may result in a subpar design. Maintaining numerous requirements and design possibilities for a more extended period during the development cycle is a preferable strategy. Then, with the help of Lean-Agile, the focus is sharpened to produce a design that yields the best possible economic results.

Create flow 

Lean cannot be implemented without flow, which enables teams to set a sustainable pace and generate value predictably. By integrating the Innovation and Planning iteration, SAFe promotes flow. This unique method serves as a scope buffering mechanism and enables teams to maximize their throughput throughout several Program Increments. The idea of an architectural runway and architecture enablers is another way that SAFe promotes flow. Teams can prepare the technical building blocks that enable dependable delivery of capabilities by setting aside time for infrastructure.

Build a strongly integrated learning cycle

Rapid client input and risk reduction are made possible by incrementally developing solutions through short iterations. The succeeding steps build on the prior ones. Some increments may serve as prototypes for market testing and validation, while others may develop into minimal viable products. Others add fresh and beneficial features to the system. The timing of when to pivot to a different course of action is also helped by these early, quick feedback points.

Objective evaluation of the working system 

Ensuring investments in new solutions yield financial rewards is a shared responsibility of business owners, developers, and clients. To solve this difficulty, the sequential, phase-gate development paradigm was created and experience has shown that this model does not effectively limit risk. Integration points in Lean-Agile development offer impartial checkpoints for assessing the solution’s performance. This routine review provides the financial, technical, and fit-for-purpose governance required to guarantee that continued investment will yield a proportional return.

Unlocking innate motivation 

Lean-Agile leaders know that individual incentive remuneration does not typically drive imagination, creativity, and employee engagement. Individual incentives of this nature foster internal rivalry and undermine the teamwork required to accomplish the system’s primary objective. Higher levels of employee engagement can be attained by giving them autonomy and a sense of purpose, removing obstacles in their path, fostering a culture of cooperation, and better understanding compensation’s role in this process. This strategy produces better results for individuals, clients, and the business.

Parting words

Enroll in a scrum training online free course, which can significantly benefit your knowledge and thus advance your career. Stick to Lean-Agile or Agile if you are willing to put in the effort to make that possible. But you should think about SAFe if your project is of a complexity and size that silos could quickly become a concern.