The Four Stages of the Scaled Agile Framework

Agile methodology has brought many advantages to the business, especially with the incremental approach that fosters greater flexibility in product development. Implementing Agile at the enterprise level needs a great deal of improvement, a juncture where scaling Agile becomes vital in the organization. Since then, the scaled agile framework, which is alternatively called SAFe, started grabbing the attention of organizations to develop projects seamlessly. The current article helps the reader get a deeper understanding of the SAFe framework, unlocking the four levels of the SAFe framework.

Understanding Scaled Agile Framework

The concept of SAFe was introduced in the year 2011 covering the complexity and challenges included in implementing agile in large teams. It is a structured approach to plan and execute the project development while measuring the progress of the large-scale initiatives. The framework offers different levels, roles, and practices customized for each level of SAFe, establishing alignment between business goals and objectives.

SAFe endorses different agile practices like scrum, extreme programming, and kanban to help organizations develop customer-centric products, achieving maximum delivery and faster time to market. SAFe consists of different components like program increments, agile release trains, and value streams. All these components in SAFe blend together to achieve wider enterprise agility. The foundational level commands a great level of expertise and experience in SAFe adoption to be able to proceed ahead with the next levels of SAFe, and courses like SAFe DevOps Training will help enhance your knowledge about SAFe implementation at a foundational level.

Different Stages or Levels of SAFe

The four levels of SAFe include team level, program level, portfolio level, and large solution level.

Team Level

This is the first level of the scaled agile framework and is used when one or a few teams are working on something. It is also called the foundational level, where the teams operate using scrum, kanban, and XP (Extreme Programming) to deliver value in sprints. Each team working at the foundational level is independent and consists of a group that includes a tester, developer, and other job roles to develop a quality product or software.

The teams at the foundational level work together, establishing collaboration to deliver quality products. They work together with shared backlogs, conducting regular meetings and progress towards iterative improvements. The key personnel at the team level constitute developers, scrum masters, testers, and product owners. The key aspects handled at the foundational level include extreme programming to develop the software and facilitate continuous integration for scalability. They use product backlog to build stories and events handled at the juncture, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and more.

Program level

The second level of the SAFe framework program level constitutes many teams. It focuses on establishing coordination in agile release teams. The teams typically hold 50–130 people divided into sub-teams to deliver value in the common timelines. They collectively work towards program increments that deliver cohesive value.

Key personnel at the program level include RTE, architect, and product manager working with the dependencies and establishing coordination between teams. All teams together focus on developing the software that meets customer requirements. The teams here continue to review product backlogs to list them on priority. They break down features to deliver maximum business value.

Large solution level

This is the third level of SAFe, where two or more ART teams work together to develop a solution train. It is implemented to deliver a large, complex solution that needs coordination between multiple ART teams. Key personnel at the large solution level include Release Train Engineers, Solution Architects, and Solution Management that are responsible for offering technical direction and collaboration across multiple agile teams to meet border organizational needs.

Portfolio Level

The fourth level of SAFe handles business investments and large-scale projects that need considerable resources. The portfolio stage is governed by Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) to align business investments with organizational goals. The portfolio manager completing SAFe LPM Training can effectively manage lean practices and SAFe. It is the highest level of SAFe and is aimed at defining business goals and strategies. The PO stands responsible for handling critical aspects of the business, like funding and change management.

At this level, the complete enterprise implements agile methodology, and it calls for organizing IT teams and management practices through agile e-methodologies. At the portfolio level, product development is aligned with business strategy and learning budgeting to support business initiatives.

Conclusion

The four levels of SAFe add great value to the organization implementing agile methodology, aiding a good integration with the system. There are different SAFe certifications from foundation to expert level to move ahead of the career ladder in the agile environment. The SAFe framework helps organizations to adopt agile to business value stream quickly. It brings a common language for communication between the teams and facilitates rapid deployment of agile in the organization.

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