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One of the most common questions we are asked - both prior to and during courses is: How do I know which SAFe training to take? Those who are new to SAFe want to know which one to start with. Those who already have one SAFe Certification want to know Read more...

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) describes Shared Services as the “specialty roles, people, and services required for the success of an ART or Solution Train, but that are not dedicated full-time.” The Shared Services guidance article provides an extensive list of examples of specialist skills often included in Shared Services. While Read more...

Sometimes, a framework does not provide all of the answers needed to apply concepts in the real world. This is to be expected as a framework is a framework! At the SAFe Summit in Berlin last month, Scaled Agile Chief Methologist Andrew Sales defined a framework as “a basic structure Read more...

In Leading SAFe 6.0, the Release Train Engineer (RTE) is described as “a coach for the Agile Release Train.” While this is definitely part of the role, it is not the whole story. In a recent RTE certification class, one participant shared that leaders in her organisation were completely undervaluing Read more...

If you look at the Agile Team guidance in SAFe, you won't find a Technical Lead listed as one of the speciality roles (i.e. Scrum Master and Product Owner). That said, a Tech Lead or Lead Engineer is a construct we have found to be a valuable addition to a Read more...

Having recently posted on The ART of Selecting SAFe Product Owners, I am now finding myself getting questions about the role of the SAFe Product Manager.  What is the role of the Product Manager in SAFe? While all Product Managers focus on a similar set of functions, such as understanding Read more...

Ideas from Team Topologies have been referenced by the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) since version 5.1. Many SAFe classes, including the very popular Leading SAFe, have two slides summarising Team Topologies in the context of SAFe. Personally, I’ve always found a two-slide summary of a 240-page book to be somewhat Read more...

A few weeks ago, I was teaching an executive Leading SAFe class, and our Business Owners were clearly very new to Agile, SAFe and Scrum. As I started the lesson on Team and Technical Agility, I noticed them leaning in to try and better understand the role of the SAFe Read more...

What is an Agile Release Tram? Well, that is a great question. It sounds a bit like Agile Release Train; however, there are no references to it in the Scaled Agile Framework. While I’m sure we are not the only people who have Agile Release Trams, this is a pattern Read more...