SAFe 4.0 Distilled

Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow and Principal Consultant at Scaled Agile, Inc., has more than 25 years’ experience in software development in roles ranging from developer to executive and has been involved in Agile for more than a decade. Prior to joining Scaled Agile, Inc., Richard worked at IBM, where his career spanned from product line management (PPM domain) and professional services to chief methodologist, Agile and Lean. Richard is a certified IBM Thought Leader and an Open Group Distinguished IT Specialist. He is also a certified SPC, PSM, Agile Certified Practitioner, PMP, and a contributor to the Disciplined Agile Delivery framework and PMI Portfolio/Program Management standards. He was a contributor to SAFe(R) 4.0 Reference Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2017).   Dean Leffingwell, creator of SAFe®, is widely recognized as the one of the world’s foremost authorities on Lean-Agile best practices. He is an author, serial entrepreneur, and software systems development methodologist. He is author of SAFe(R) 4.0 Reference Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2017). His two best-selling books, Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams, Programs, and the Enterprise (Addison-Wesley, 2011), and Scaling Software Agility: Best Practices for Large Enterprises (Addison-Wesley, 2007), form much of the basis of modern thinking on Lean-Agile practices and principles.

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

About the Authors xix



 



Part I: Overview 1

 

Chapter 1: Business Need for SAFe 3



Why Do Businesses Need SAFe? 3

The Challenge of System Development 4

Applying New Bodies of Knowledge 5

Improving System Development Outcomes 9

The Business Benefits of SAFe 10

Summary 13

 

Chapter 2: SAFe Overview 15

The Big Picture 15

The Levels 17

The Foundation 22

The Spanning Palette 24

Summary 25

 



Part II: The Foundation of SAFe 27

 

Chapter 3: Lean-Agile Mindset 29



Overview 29

Thinking Lean 30

Embracing Agility 33

Applying the Agile Manifesto at Scale 37

Summary 40

 

Chapter 4: Lean-Agile Leaders 41

Exhibit the Lean-Agile Mindset 42

Lead the Change 42

Know the Way and Emphasize Lifelong Learning 47

Develop People 48

Inspire and Align with Mission. Minimize Constraints 52

Decentralize Decision-Making 53

Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge Workers 54

Evolve the Development Manager Role 55

Summary 58

 

Chapter 5: SAFe Principles 61

Why Focus on Principles? 61

Principle #1: Take an Economic View 62

Principle #2: Apply Systems Thinking 70

Principle #3: Assume Variability; Preserve Options 74

Principle #4: Build Incrementally with Fast, Integrated Learning Cycles 76

Principle #5: Base Milestones on Objective Evaluation of Working Systems 79

Principle #6: Visualize and Limit WIP, Reduce Batch Sizes, and Manage Queue Lengths 80

Principle #7: Apply Cadence; Synchronize with Cross-Domain Planning 83

Principle #8: Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge Workers 87

Principle #9: Decentralize Decision-Making 89

Summary 91

 



Part III: Program and Team Level 93

 

Chapter 6: The Agile Release Train 95



Overview 95

ART Organization 97

Develop on Cadence. Release Any Time 100

Vision 102

Features 103

Program Backlog 104

Roadmap 104

Agile Teams Power the Train 105

User Stories and the Team Backlog 107

Summary 111

 

Chapter 7: Planning a Program Increment 113

Overview 113

Preparation for the PI Planning Event 115

Day 1—Create and Review Draft Plans 118

Day 2—Finalize Plans and Commit 125

Summary 133

 

Chapter 8: Executing a Program Increment 135

Overview 135

The Iteration Cycle 136

Building Quality In 140

Improving Team Flow with Kanban 143

Managing ART Flow 146

System Demo 154

Innovation and Planning 154

Inspect and Adapt 156

Summary 156

 

Chapter 9: Inspect and Adapt 159

Overview 159

PI System Demo 160

Quantitative Measurement 160

Retrospective and Problem-Solving Workshop 162

Inspect and Adapt at the Value Stream Level 166

Summary 167

 



Part IV: Value Stream Level 169

 

Chapter 10: Value Stream Overview 171



Overview 171

Economic Framework 173

Capabilities and the Value Stream Backlog 176

Value Stream Epics 177

Defining and Building the Solution 178

Value Stream Flow 179

Summary 180

 

Chapter 11: Defining Large and Complex Solutions 183

Overview 183

The Solution 184

Solution Intent 186

Fixed and Variable Solution Intent 187

Developing Solution Intent 188

Documenting Solution Intent 191

Solution Context 192

Summary 196

 

Chapter 12: Coordinating ARTs and Suppliers 197

Overview 197

Value Stream PI Planning 198

ART PI Planning 200

Value Stream Post-PI Planning 201

Frequent Solution Integration 204

Value Stream Sync 206

Solution Demo 206

Value Stream Inspect and Adapt 207

Summary 207

 



Part V: Portfolio 209

 

Chapter 13: Portfolio Level Overview 211



Overview 211

Connecting the Portfolio to the Business 213

Defining Strategic Themes for a Portfolio 213

Influence of Strategic Themes 214

Measuring Progress against Strategic Themes 215

Portfolio Roles 215

Lean-Agile Program Portfolio Management 218

Advancing Solution Behavior with Portfolio Epics 221

Establishing Enterprise Value Flow 223

Coordinating Value Streams 225

Summary 228

 

Chapter 14: Lean-Agile Budgeting, Forecasting, and Contracting 231

Introduction 231

Lean-Agile Budgeting 231

Lean-Agile Planning and Forecasting 235

Lean-Agile Contracting 237

Agile Capitalization Strategies 243

Summary 247

 



Part VI: Implementing SAFe 249

 

Chapter 15: The Guiding Coalition 251



Introduction 251

The Implementation Roadmap 252

Reaching the Tipping Point 253

The Need for a Powerful Coalition 255

Train Lean-Agile Change Agents 255

Train Executives, Managers, and Leaders 256

Charter a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence 257

Summary 258

 

Chapter 16: Design the Implementation 259

Introduction 259

Create the Implementation Plan 265

Summary 268

 

Chapter 17: Implementing Agile Release Trains 269

Introduction 269

Prepare for the ART Launch 270

Train Teams and Launch the ART 277

The Quick-Start Approach to ART Launch 280

Coach ART Execution 281

Launch More ARTs in the Value Stream 282

Launch More Value Streams in the Portfolio 284

Summary 285

 

Chapter 18: Sustain and Improve 287

Introduction 287

Advance Organizational Maturity 288

Implement Agile HR Practices292

Measure and Take Action 293

Improve Agile Architecture and Technical Practices 295

Focus on DevOps and Continuous Delivery 297

Reduce Time to Market with Value Stream Mapping 298

Summary 299

 

Chapter 19: Essential SAFe 301

Overview 301

Lean-Agile Principles 303

Agile Teams and Release Trains 306

Cadence and Synchronization 308

Essential Team and Program Roles 310

PI Planning 312

System Demo 313

Inspect and Adapt 314

IP Iteration 315

DevOps Pipeline 316

Lean-Agile Leadership 317

Summary 319

 



Abbreviations 321

Glossary 323

Index 335