SAFe

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework for Lean software and systems engineering) is a framework, i.e. a toolbox of components serving as a basis for software development.

SAFe and the Agile method

SAFe is part of the Agile project management model, which brings together several methods focused on responsiveness and adaptation to market realities. The 2001 Agile manifesto highlights the fundamental values of communication, openness to change, collaboration with the customer and operational capability. In short, the Agile method transforms IT project management, with the aim of better satisfying demand and improving development work.

SAFe objective

SAFe has been designed to help companies already committed to the Agile method to successfully complete large-scale software development projects. It is based on a simple observation: a gap often persists between the teams in charge of development and those responsible for product delivery.

SAFe also identifies the limits of the SCRUM method for effectively synchronizing teams, and claims to be able to overcome them.

SAFe's three layers and the ART concept

SAFe creator Dean Leffingwell illustrates the tool with the Big Picture, a diagram that defines three main layers:

• Project teams
• Programs
• Portfolios

SAFe's major innovation lies in the program layer. Leffingwell uses the metaphor of the ART (Agile Release Train) to symbolize the link between teams working on the same software components.

SAFe benefits

SAFe aims to make companies more agile in their decision-making processes and project portfolio management. This framework is also distinguished by :

• Ease of implementation, thanks to dedicated training courses, plans and roadmaps.
• Its ability to reduce business risks.

This makes SAFe a powerful tool for synchronizing team efforts and improving the fluidity of major development initiatives.