SAFe 4.5 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 is a contributor to SAFe® 4.5 Reference Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2018).   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. 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 xix

About the Authors xxi

Abbreviations Used in This Book xxiii



 

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 8

The Business Benefits of SAFe 9

Summary 12

 

Chapter 2: SAFe Overview 13

The Big Picture 13

The Configurations 14

The Spanning Palette 23

The Foundation 24

Summary 26

 

Part II: Mindset, Principles, and Leadership 27

 

Chapter 3: Lean-Agile Mindset 29

Overview 29

Thinking Lean 30

Applying the Agile Manifesto at Scale 37

Summary 40

 

Chapter 4: SAFe Principles 41

Why Focus on Principles? 41

Principle #1: Take an Economic View 42

Principle #2: Apply Systems Thinking 47

Principle #3: Assume Variability; Preserve Options 50

Principle #4: Build Incrementally with Fast, Integrated Learning Cycles 51

Principle #5: Base Milestones on Objective Evaluation of Working Systems 53

Principle #6: Visualize and Limit WIP, Reduce Batch Sizes, and Manage Queue Lengths 55

Principle #7: Apply Cadence; Synchronize with Cross-Domain Planning 58

Principle #8: Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge Workers 61

Principle #9: Decentralize Decision-Making 63

Summary 64

 

Chapter 5: Lean-Agile Leaders 65

Exhibit the Lean-Agile Mindset 65

Lead the Change 66

Know the Way and Emphasize Lifelong Learning 66

Develop People 67

Inspire and Align with Mission. Minimize Constraints 70

Decentralize Decision-Making 71

Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge Workers 71

Evolve the Development Manager Role 71

Adopt a Servant-Leadership Approach 72

Evolve the Partnership with Human Resources Management 73

On the Future of Leadership 74

Summary 75

 

Part III: Essential SAFe 77

 

Chapter 6: The Agile Release Train 79

Overview 79

ART Organization 80

Develop on Cadence. Release on Demand 83

Vision 85

Features 85

Program Backlog 87

Roadmap 87

Agile Teams Power the Train 88

User Stories and the Team Backlog 90

Summary 94

 

Chapter 7: Planning a Program Increment 95

Overview 95

Preparation for the PI Planning Event 96

Day 1: Create and Review Draft Plans 99

Day 2: Finalize Plans and Commit 104

Summary 112

 

Chapter 8: Iterating 113

Overview 113

The Iteration Cycle 114

Building Quality In 120

Improving Team Flow with Kanban 123

Summary 127

 

Chapter 9: Executing the Program Increment 129

Overview 129

Introducing the Continuous Delivery Pipeline 129

Enabling Continuous Delivery with DevOps 137

Enabling Continuous Delivery with Architectural Runway 139

Managing Continuous Delivery with the Program Kanban 140

Supporting Continuous Delivery with Program Events 141

Summary 144

 

Chapter 10: Inspect and Adapt 145

Overview 145

PI System Demo 146

Quantitative Measurement 146

Retrospective and Problem-Solving Workshop 148

Inspect and Adapt at the Large Solution Level 151

Summary 152

 



Part IV: Large Solution SAFe 153

 

Chapter 11: Large Solution SAFe Overview 155



Overview 155

The Solution Train 156

Solution Intent 157

Capabilities and the Solution Backlog 158

Solution Epics 160

Economic Framework 160

Applying Large Solution Elements to Other Configurations 162

Summary 163

 

Chapter 12: Defining Large and Complex Solutions 165

Overview 165

The Solution 166

Solution Intent 167

Solution Context 171

Summary 174

 

Chapter 13: Solution Train Execution 177

Overview 177

Pre-PI Planning 178

ART PI Planning 179

Post-PI Planning 180

Frequent Solution Integration 182

Solution Train Sync 182

Solution Demo 183

Solution Train Inspect and Adapt 183

Summary 184

 



Part V: Portfolio SAFe 185

 

Chapter 14: Lean Portfolio Management 187



Introduction 187

Strategy and Investment Funding 188

Agile Portfolio Operations 190

Lean Governance 192

Summary 193

 

Chapter 15: Strategy and Investment Funding 195

Introduction 195

Connect the Portfolio Strategy to the Enterprise Strategy 196

Establish Portfolio Flow 204

Summary 209

 

Chapter 16: Agile Portfolio Operations 211

Introduction 211

Support an Agile PMO, LACE, and RTE and Scrum Master Communities of Practice 212

Coordinate Value Streams 216

Sustain and Improve 219

Summary 219

 

Chapter 17: Lean Governance 221

Introduction 221

Forecast and Budget Dynamically 222

Measure Portfolio Performance 224

Capitalization of Agile Software Development 226

Governance via Agile Contracts 228

Coordinate Continuous Compliance 231

Summary 231

 



Part VI: Implementing SAFe 233

 

Chapter 18: The Guiding Coalition 237



Introduction 237

Step 1. Reach the Tipping Point 238

Step 2. Train Lean-Agile Change Agents 240

Step 3. Train Executives, Managers, and Leaders 240

Step 4. Create a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence 241

Summary 242

 

Chapter 19: Designing the Implementation 243

Introduction 243

Step 5. Identify Value Streams and Agile Release Trains 243

Step 6. Create the Implementation Plan 251

Summary 254

 

Chapter 20: Implementing Agile Release Trains 255

Introduction 255

Step 7. Prepare for the ART Launch 255

Step 8. Train Teams and Launch the ART 262

Step 9. Coaching ART Execution 264

Summary 266

 

Chapter 21: Launching More ARTs and Value Streams; Extending to the Portfolio 267

Introduction 267

Step 10. Launch More ARTs and Value Streams 267

Step 11. Extend to the Portfolio 270

Leading the Transformation 271

Summary 274

 

Chapter 22: Sustaining and Improving 275

Introduction 275

Foster Relentless Improvement and the Lean-Agile Mindset 276

Implement Agile Human Resources Practices 277

Advance Program Execution and Servant Leadership Skills 278

Measure and Take Action 279

Improve Agile Software Engineering Practices 280

Focus on Agile Architecture 281

Improve DevOps and Continuous Delivery 282

Reduce Time-to-Market with Value Stream Mapping 282

Summary 283

 

Conclusion and Moving Forward 285

 



Glossary 287

Index 297