SAFe: A Lean-Agile Framework
James Halprin, helping organisations through Lean-Agile Transformation
In the first article of this five part series we discussed how the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) attempts to tackle the challenges of applying Lean and Agile at scale and in particular, we identified the four key things you should know about the framework.
In this article we’re going to explore the first of the four key elements in more detail — the Lean and Agile values and principles that underpin SAFe. However before we do that it’s important to understand that SAFe is a framework — it is not a methodology.
What exactly is a framework and how is it intended to be applied?
A framework is intended to support a particular approach to a domain by offering an overview and some guidance that can be adapted or augmented as required based on the context to which it is applied. In other words, unlike a methodology, a framework should not be treated as a checklist that can be applied the same way in every context.
This is where the values and principles that underpin the framework come into play. If elements of the framework need to be adapted or augmented based on context, the underlying values and principles will act as a compass to ensure you are moving in the right direction.
Let’s now explore Lean, Agile, the SAFe values and the SAFe Principles in more detail, so you have a greater understanding of why SAFe is a successful framework for scaling Agile and Lean throughout the enterprise.
1. Lean
The overall goal of Lean is to deliver the maximum customer value in the shortest sustainable lead time whilst providing the highest possible quality to customers and society as a whole; the foundation of Lean is leadership. The successful adoption of Lean and Agile ultimately lies with the enterprise’s managers, leaders and executives as only they can make the structural changes required in the organization to maximise the benefits that Lean and Agile can bring.
The House of Lean is a metaphor for Lean bringing together the key components that will guide your enterprise towards the adoption of lean thinking.
With the support of Leadership and a focus on the four pillars — Respect for People and Culture, Flow, Innovation and Relentless Improvement — we are able to drive towards the continuous and sustainable delivery of value.
2. The Agile Manifesto
Agile, as we know it today, came into being in 2001 with the creation of the Agile Manifesto.
Towards the end of last century, there were a number of light-weight methodologies and practices emerging such as Extreme Programming and Scrum, but there was nothing to anchor these together. The gathering of 17 thought leaders on a ski mountain in Utah was to try and identify some commonalities amongst these new approaches. What emerged was the Agile Manifesto, which contains 4 values and 12 principles. The Agile manifesto provides guidance as to where we should place our focus to deliver value to our customers.
3. SAFe Values
SAFe has four core values that support the framework, including:
- Alignment — Alignment is essential in helping an organisation keep pace with fast change, disruptive competitive forces and geographically distributed teams. Alignment, however, is not about top down command and control but rather the opposite. It enables autonomy and decentralized decision-making, allowing those who implement value to make better local decisions.
- Built-in Quality — quality is not something that happens at the end of the process, but rather something we need to build into everything we do. Built-in quality is non-negotiable when it comes to scaling Agile across the enterprise. There are many techniques that can be used to achieve this aim across the domains of software, hardware and system integration.
- Transparency — in the ‘Five Dysfunctions of a Team’, Patrick Lencioni identifies the number one dysfunction as the Absence of a Trust. Building trust takes time and transparency is an enabler of trust. If you can’t see the problem it’s going to be that much harder to identify and fix.
- Program Execution — Given that SAFe offers a lot of guidance around an Agile Release Train (ART), which is a team of Agile teams, it should come as no surprise that one of the core values of SAFe is Program Execution. Program Execution is key to achieving the desired business outcomes.
4. SAFe Principles
Supporting the Lean and Agile values, and the four core values of SAFe, are the nine SAFe principles.
#1 Take an Economic View
If the goal of Lean is to deliver the maximum customer value in the shortest sustainable lead time while providing the highest possible quality to customers and society, then it’s critical we utilize an economic framework to ensure that everyday decisions are made in a proper economic context.
#2 Apply Systems Thinking
Systems are complex and made up of multiple interrelated components including people and processes. Without a shared purpose, we run the risk of suboptimizing the components, which may make one or more of the components more efficient but that is often at the expense of the overall system. We therefore need to take a holistic view in order to maximise the economic outcomes to the enterprise.
#3 Assume variability; preserve options
Traditional approaches to development encourage us to identify and lock down a single point solution at the start of a project, however we know the least about the project at that point in its life cycle. Rather, we should preserve our options by maintaining multiple design sets as we continue to experiment and learn from these options in order to determine the best solution.
#4 Build incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles
While we may know the direction we’d like to head, we must avoid falling into the trap of assuming we know exactly what our customer wants and the perfect way to get there. Only through utilizing fast integrated learning cycles can we continually test our underlying assumptions and iterate our way to the final solution.
#5 Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
While traditional approaches such as phase gate development and traffic light reporting were an attempt to ensure our solution was on track and meeting the needs of our customer, these more often than not proved to be misleading indicators of the true status of our solution. The only real measure of progress is though the early and continuous integration of the full solution that can be demonstrated in a production like environment and evaluated by all relevant stakeholders.
#6 Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queue lengths
Just as we seek to optimise the flow of traffic on our freeways to ensure the maximum throughput of cars, so to do we need to optimise the flow of value to our customers. The three keys to achieving flow include limiting WIP, reducing batch size and managing queue lengths.
#7 Apply cadence, synchronize with cross-domain planning
Cadence creates a rhythm or heartbeat that builds more predictability into our process while synchronisation ensures multiple events occur together. This combination of cadence and synchronization allows all teams to work more effectively and come together at regular intervals for cross domain planning.
#8 Unlock the intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers
Traditional management practices are great if you want compliance but in today’s hyper competitive world we want employee engagement. To achieve this we need to understand that knowledge workers are far more motivated when they have a sense of purpose, autonomy and mastery and that paradoxically, traditional monetary rewards can often have the opposite effect.
#9 Decentralize decision-making
While some decisions are best centralised such as those that have a long lasting impact or can benefit from economies of scale, typically many more decisions are better off being decentralised. For example, decisions that are frequent, time critical and / or require local information are best decentralised. Since both types of decisions occur, creating a reliable decision-making framework is a critical step in ensuring a fast flow of value
Now that we’ve explored the many values and principles that underpin SAFe, we have our Lean-Agile compass firmly in hand that will prove to be invaluable on our transformational journey!
In the next article we’re going to turn our attention to Essential SAFe, which is the primary configuration of the framework that contains the most critical elements needed to realize the majority of the framework’s benefits.
Call To Action
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