SAFe Agile 5.0

Milestones

Used to track progress toward a specific goal or event. There are three types of SAFe milestones: 1. Program Increment (PI), 2. Fixed-date, 3. Learning milestones.

Transparency

visualize relevant work, admits mistakes, support others.

CapEx

Capital Expenditures, how much the firm spends on fixed assets.

CoPs

Communities of Practice are organized groups of people who have a common interest in a specific technical or business domain. They collaborate regularly to share information, improve their skills, and actively work on advancing the general knowledge of the domain.

Alignment

Constant communication, constantly check for understanding.

Foundation

Contains the supporting principles, values, mindset, implementation guidance, and leadership roles needed to deliver value successfully at scale.

CD

Continuous Deployment/Delivery. Part of CDP. The process that takes validated Features in a staging environment and deploys them into the production environment, where they are readied for release.

Continuous Delivery Pipeline (CDP)

Continuous Exploration -> Continuous Integration -> Continuous Deployment -> Release on Demand. CE -> CI -> CD -> RoD.

CE

Continuous Exploration. Process that drives innovation and fosters alignment on what should be built by continually exploring market and customer needs, and defining a Vision, Roadmap, and set of Features for a Solution that addresses those needs.

CI

Continuous Integration. Part of CDP. The process of taking features from the Program Backlog and developing, testing, integrating, and validating them in a staging environment where they are ready for deployment and release.

Respect for people and culture

House of Lean. Generative Culture; People do all the work; Customer is whomever consumes your work; Build long-term partnerships based on trust; To change the Culture, Change the Organization.

Architectural Runway

Existing code, components, and technical infrastructure needed to implement near-term features without excessive redesign and delay.

Little's Law

Faster processing time decreases wait; shorter q lengths decrease wait. Average Wait time = Average q length / average processing wait. Wq = Lq/Lambda. e.g. 30 items/10 items/Q = 3Quarters

When is the Essential SAFe configuration used?

For Basic SAFe implementations

Core Values

Four Core Values of Alignment, Built-in Quality, Transparency, and Program Execution represent the fundamental beliefs that are key to SAFe's effectiveness. These guiding principles help dictate behavior and action for everyone who participates in a SAFe portfolio.

Capabilities

Higher-level solution behavior that typically spans multiple ARTs. Capabilities are sized and split into multiple features to facilitate their implementation in a single PI.

Portfolio Backlog

Highest-level backlog in SAFe. It provides a holding area for upcoming business and enabler Epics intended to create and evolve a comprehensive set of Solutions.

Value

House of Lean. Achieve the shortest sustainable lead time with The best Quality & Value to People & Society; high Morale, Safety and Customer Delight.

Relentless improvement

House of Lean. Constant sense of danger; Optimize the whole; problem-solving culture; Base improvements on facts; Reflect at Key Milestones.

Innovation

House of Lean. Innovative people, provide time & space for Innovation, Go see; Experimentation & Feedback; Innovation riptides; Pivot without mercy or guilt.

PO

Product Owner. Member of the Agile Team. Accepts/defines Stories and prioritizes Team Backlog [to streamline the execution of program priorities while maintaining the conceptual and technical integrity of the Features or components for the team.]

Lean Budgets

Provide effective financial governance over investments, with far less overhead and friction, and supports a much higher throughput of development work.

Flow

House of Lean. Optimize sustainable Value delivery; Build in Quality; Understand, exploit & manage variability; Move from Projects to Products.

BV

Business Value

CDP

Continuous Delivery Pipeline

Seven Core Competencies of Biz Agility

* Enterprise Solution Delivery * Agile Product Delivery * Team & Technical Agility * Lean Portfolio Mgmt * Organizational Agility * Continuous Learning Culture * Lean-Agile Leadership

Agile Manifesto

* Individuals & Interactions OVER Processes & Tools; * Working Software OVER comprehensive documentation; * Customer Collaboration OVER contract negotiation; Responding to Change OVER following a plan.

Iteration Review

A cadence-based event, where each team inspects the increment at the end of every Iteration to assess progress, and then adjusts its backlog for the next iteration.

Lean-Agile Leadership

A competency which describes how Lean-Agile Leaders drive and sustain organizational change and operational excellence by empowering individuals and teams to reach their highest potential.

Epics

A container for a significant Solution development initiative that captures the more substantial investments that occur within a portfolio. Due to their considerable scope and impact, epics require the definition of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and approval by Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) before implementation.

Agile Product Delivery

A customer-centric approach to defining, building, and releasing a continuous flow of valuable products and services to customers and users. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

Portfolio Vision

A description of the future state of a Portfolio's Value Streams & Solutions and describes how they will cooperate to achieve the portfolio's objectives and the broader aim of the Enterprise. Use SWOT and TOWS methods to envision future state.

Iteration Goals

A high-level summary of the business and technical goals that the Agile Team agrees to accomplish in an Iteration. They are vital to coordinating an ART as a self-organizing, self-managing team of teams.

Iteration Retrospective

A regular meeting where Agile Team members discuss the results of the Iteration, review their practices, and identify ways to improve.

Continuous Learning Culture

A set of values and practices that encourage individuals, & the Enterprise as a whole, to continually increase knowledge, competence, performance and innovation. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

Compliance

A strategy and a set of activities and artifacts that allow teams to apply Lean-Agile development methods to build systems that have the highest possible quality, while simultaneously assuring they meet any regulatory, industry, or other relevant

Lean Entrprise

A thriving digital age organization that exhibits business agility — responding quickly to market changes and emerging opportunities by delivering innovative systems and solutions to its customers in the shortest sustainable lead-time.

ART

Agile Release Train. Long-lived team of Agile Teams. Virtual org of 5-12 Teams (50-125+ indivds). Syncd on common cadence, PI. Aligned to common mission vis single PROGRAM backlog. CE, CI, CD, ROD. Create x-fcnl ARTs.

Metrics

Agreed-upon measures used to evaluate how well the organization is progressing toward the portfolio, large solution, program, and team's business and technical objectives.

SAFe Core Values

Alignment, Built-in Quality, Transparency, Program Execution. The four Core Values represent the fundamental beliefs that are key to SAFe's effectiveness. These guiding principles help dictate behavior and action for everyone who participates in a SAFe portfolio.

Lean Portfolio Mgmt

Aligns strategy & execution by applying Lean- and systems-thinking approaches to strategy and investment funding Agile portfolio operations, and governance. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

Iteration Planning

An event where all team members determine how much of the Team Backlog they can commit to delivering during an upcoming Iteration. The team summarizes the work as a set of committed Iteration Goals.

Business Owner

BO. Small group of stakeholders who have the primary business and technical responsibility for governance, compliance, and return on investment (ROI) for a Solution developed by an ART. They are key stakeholders on the ART who must evaluate fitness for use and actively participate in certain ART events.

BVIR

Big Visible Info Radiator (Kanban board). Features, Stories, Dependencies, Milestones.

Built-in Quality

Built-In Quality practices ensure that each Solution element, at every increment, meets appropriate quality standards throughout development.

BO

Business Owner. Key stakeholders on the ART.

Continuous Exploration

CE. Understand Customer needs. Part of CDP. The process that drives innovation and fosters alignment on what should be built by continually exploring market and customer needs, and defining a Vision, Roadmap, and set of Features for a Solution that addresses those needs.

Large Solution SAFe

Describes additional roles, practices, and guidance to build and evolve the world's largest applications, networks, and cyber-physical systems.

Built-In Quality

Ensures that each Solution element, at every increment, meets appropriate quality standards throughout development.

What are the 4 SAFe configurations?

Essential, Portfolio, Large Solution, Full

Leadership

House of Lean.Lead by example; Adopt growth mindset (why do it this way?); Exemplify values & principles of Lean-Agile & SAFe; Develop people; Lead the change; Foster psychological safety.

Iteration Execution

How Agile Teams manage their work throughout the Iteration timebox, resulting in a high-quality, working, tested system increment.

Lean-Agile Leadership

How Lean-Agile Leaders drive and sustain organizational change and operational excellence by empowering individuals & teams to reach their highest potential. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

Organizational Agility

How Lean-thinking people and Agile Teams optimize their business, evolve strategy with clear & decisive new commitments, and quickly adapt ad needed to capitalize on new opportunities. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

Enterprise Solution Delivery

How to apply Lean-Agile principles & practices to specification, development, deployment, operation and evolution of the world's largest & most sophisticated SW apps, networks, and cyber-physical systems. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility.

SAFe House of Lean

Illustrates the goal of delivering VALUE through the pillars of Respect for people and culture, Flow, Innovation, and Relentless improvement. LEADERSHIP provides the foundation on which everything else stands.

Agile Team

In SAFe, an Agile team is a cross-functional group of 5-11 individuals who define, build, test, and deliver an increment of value in a short time box.

Lean UX

Lean User Experience design is a mindset, culture, and a process that embraces Lean-Agile methods. It implements functionality in minimum viable increments and determines success by measuring results against a benefit hypothesis.

Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles

Lean-Agile Prin. * Apply fast learning cycles - shorter the cycle, faster the learning. PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Adjust). Facilitated by small batch cycles. * Apply fast learning cycles. Integration points control product development. Dev proceeds no faster than the slowest learning loop. *Integration points reduce risk.

Take an Economic view

Lean-Agile Prin. * Deliver Value early & often. & incrementally; Solution economic trade-offs.: * Sequence jobs for maximum benefit; * Do not consider Sunk Costs; * Make economic choices continuously (pivot relentlessly); *Empower local decision making; * Quantify the Cost of Delay.

Apply cadence, sync with x-domain planning

Lean-Agile Prin. *Cadence: predictable occurrences, predictable waiting time, regular planning & x-fcnl cordn, limits batch size, controls injection of new work, scheduled integration pts. Need scope/capacity margin. Cadence-based planning limits variability to single interval. * Synchronization (demos): multiple concurrent events, x-functional tradeoffs, routine dependency mgt, full system & integration assessment, multiple feedback perspectives. Design cycles must be synchronized. Sync w x-domain planning.

Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, manage Q lengths

Lean-Agile Prin. *Reduce batch sizes for higher predictability, accelerated feedback, - less rework, lower cost. Most important is Handoff Batch. *Find optimal batch size. Higher Transaction costs make optimal batch size bigger; Higher holding costs make it smaller (crossed lines in a chart).

Assume Variability; preserve options

Lean-Agile Prin. *Requirements must be flexible to make economic designs choices. *Design must be flexible to support changing requirements. *Preservation of options improves economic options.. Apply a set-based approach.

Organize around value

Lean-Agile Prin. *Value doesn't follow silos. * Organize around flow of value (Value Stream). *Value at scale is distributed - often flows across org boundaries. *Find the kidney - value stream within which to build 1+ ARTs.

Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems

Lean-Agile Prin. 1. Apply Objective Milestones: PI system demos are orchestrated to deliver objective progress, product, and process Metrics. 2. Iterate to optimum solution (Objective Milestones). *Problems with Phase-gate milestones: early design decisions, assume solution can be built correctly first time, create huge batches and long queues. *Requirements & decisions too early, adjustments too late & costly as new facts emerge.

Apply Systems Thinking

Lean-Agile Prin. ATTRIBUTES: * Optimizing a component does not optimize the system; * a higher-level of understanding & Arch is required; *System value passed through its interconnections; * System can evolve no faster than its slowest integration point.

Decentralize decision-making

Lean-Agile Prin. Define the economic logic behind a decision; empower others to make the changes. Centralize: Infrequent, Long-lasting, Significant economies of scale. Decentralize Frequent, Time critical, Require local information.

Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers

Lean-Agile Prin. Knowledge workers most qualified to make decisions about their work. Need autonomy. Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose.

Optimize Full Value Stream

Lean-Agile Prin., Systems Thinking. * Reducing Delays in Value Stream is fastest way to reduce time to market.

DevOps

Mindset, culture, and set of technical practices. It provides communication, integration, automation, and close cooperation among all the people needed to plan, develop, test, deploy, release, and maintain a Solution. Used to Build a Continuous Delivery Pipeline. In the Value Stream.

NFRs

Nonfunctional Requirements define system attributes such as security, reliability, performance, maintainability, scalability, and usability. They serve as constraints or restrictions on the design of the system across the different backlogs.

PI Objectives

PROGRAM Increment Objectives are a summary of the business and technical goals that an Agile Team or train intends to achieve in the upcoming Program Increment (PI).

PI

PROGRAM Increment. A timebox during which an ART delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems. PIs are typically 8 - 12 weeks long. The most common pattern for a PI is four development Iterations, followed by one Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration.

Portfolio Kanban

Portfolio Kanban system is a method to govern Epic flow, from ideation through analysis, implementation, and completion. WIP limits, transparent.

Pre- and Post-PI Planning

Pre- and Post-PROGRAM Increment (PI) Planning events are used to prepare for, and follow up after, PI Planning for ARTs and Suppliers in a Solution Train.

Enterprise

Represents the business entity to which each SAFe portfolio belongs.

Continuous Delivery Pipeline

Represents the workflows, activities, and automation needed to shepherd a new piece of functionality from ideation to an on- demand release of value to the end user.

Feature

Represents work for the ART. A service that fulfills a stakeholder need. Each feature includes a benefit hypothesis and acceptance criteria, and is sized or split as necessary to be delivered by a single ART in a single Program Increment (PI). Implemented by Stories.

Epic Owners

Responsible for coordinating portfolio Epics through the Portfolio Kanban system. They collaboratively define the epic, its Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and Lean business case, and when approved, facilitate implementation.

Product Management

Responsible for defining and supporting the building of desirable, feasible, viable, and sustainable products that meet customer needs over the product-market lifecycle.

Lean-Agile Principles

SAFe is based on ten immutable, underlying Lean-Agile principles which inspire and inform the roles and practices of SAFe: *Take an economic view; *Apply systems thinking; *Assume variability; *Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles; *Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems; *Visualize & limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, manage Q lengths; *Apply cadence, sync with x-domain planning; *Unlock intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers; * Decentralize decision-making; *Organize around value.

SAFe Agile

Scaled Agile Framework. Framework for scaling Agile

Value Stream

Sequence of steps used to deliver a continuous value to Customer. Includes whole sequence to value delivery, Contains people, systems, flow of info & materials.

Team & Technical Agility

The critical skills and Lean-Agile principles that high-performing Agile teams (or team of teams) use to create hi-quality solns for customers. One of the 7 Core Competencies of Biz Agility. Roles: Agile Team, SM, PO. Teams execute w Scrum & Kanban.

Enabler

Supports the activities needed to extend the Architectural Runway to provide future business functionality. These include exploration, architecture, infrastructure, and compliance. Enablers are captured in the various backlogs and occur throughout the Framework

When is the Full SAFe configuration used?

TBD. All 3 other Configurations PLUS???

When is the Large Solution SAFe configuration used?

TBD. Essential + Large Solution. MULTIPLE trains.

When is the Portfolio SAFe configuration used?

TBD. Essential + Portfolio additions

Business Agility requires what?

Technical Agility and Biz-level commitment to Product and Value Stream thinking. Everyone uninvolved in delivering Biz solutions use Lean & Agile practices.

Enterprise Solution Delivery

The Enterprise Solution Delivery competency describes how to apply Lean-Agile principles and practices to the specification, development, deployment, operation, and evolution of the world's largest and most sophisticated software applications, networks, and cyber-physical systems.

IP

The Innovation and Planning (IP) Iteration occurs every Program Increment (PI) and serves multiple purposes. It acts as an estimating buffer for meeting PI Objectives and provides dedicated time for innovation, continuing education, PI Planning, and Inspect and Adapt (I&A) events.

I&A

The Inspect and Adapt is a significant event, held at the end of each Program Increment (PI), where the current state of the Solution is demonstrated and evaluated by the train. Teams then reflect and identify improvement backlog items via a structured, problem-solving workshop.

Iteration

The basic building block of Agile development. Each iteration is a standard, fixed-length timebox, where Agile Teams deliver incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems. The recommended duration of the timebox is two weeks. However, 1-4 weeks is acceptable, depending on the business context.

Lean-Agile Mindset

The combination of beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, and actions of SAFe leaders and practitioners who embrace the concepts of the Agile Manifesto and Lean thinking. The personal, intellectual, and leadership foundation for adopting and applying SAFe principles and practices.

Program Backlog

The holding area for upcoming Features, which are intended to address user needs and deliver business benefits for a single ART. It also contains the enabler features necessary to build the Architectural Runway.

Full SAFe

The most comprehensive configuration, including all seven core competencies needed for business agility

Lean Budget Guardrails

The policies and practices for budgeting, spending, and governance for a specific portfolio.

MBSE

The practice of developing a set of related system models that help define, design, and document a system under development. These models provide an efficient way to explore, update, and communicate system aspects to stakeholders, while significantly reducing or eliminating dependence on traditional documents.

Measure & Grow

The way portfolios evaluate their progress towards Biz Agility and determine their next steps.