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This is a question I’m occasionally asked, but having been asked twice this week it prompted me to write this post. Why not pre-write stories for PI planning? Sure, it takes the stress and pressure out of the 2 days of PI planning, however, it is a SAFe anti-pattern. You Read more...

It may not feel like it but SAFe Certification exams are not designed to trick you! That said, they certainly can be tricky, so I thought I would share some advice to help you maximise the likelihood of you passing the first time. Before the class Do the pre-work Your Read more...

The most common enquiry we get - both prior to and during courses - is how to choose a SAFe training course? Those who are yet to take any Scaled Agile certifications want to know which one is right for them and those who have taken one want advice on Read more...

With the recent emergence of remote SAFe training, the number of SAFe certification providers appears to have exploded. In many cities across the world you will find multiple Scaled Agile training classes being offered by different providers every week. The choice is simply overwhelming. With so many providers; how do Read more...

In a recent Implementing SAFe class we were asked - “What is a SAFe Advanced Scrum Master and how does this differ from a SAFe Scrum Master? I can’t see the SAFe Advanced Scrum Master role on the big picture.” It took me a moment to join the dots. But Read more...

Recently I was pondering if the future of SAFe would be remote? My hypothesis was that the global “work from home” regime introduced by various Governments as a response to COVID-19 may well continue once the pandemic has passed. Which raises the question what does that mean for Agile Release Read more...

If you do nothing else before you launch your Agile Release Train (ART) baseline your metrics! At some point, in the not too distant future, you are going to be asked, how do you know your Agile Release Train is making a difference? For you the answer might be obvious Read more...

In a textbook SAFe implementation, Lean Portfolio Management allocates a budget to each Value Stream and consequently each Agile Release Train (ART). The ART’s Product Manager works with the ART’s stakeholders to prioritise the work that consumes that budget. The ART plans and executes against these priorities and no one Read more...

Over the past few years much has been written and tweeted about the evils of agile estimation (#noestimates). There has also been much consternation amongst agilists with respect to SAFe’s normalized estimation approach. However, for most of my large enterprise clients the need to estimate for the purposes of planning is Read more...