book

SAFe 5.0 Distilled: Achieving Business Agility with the Scaled Agile Framework

by Richard Knaster, Dean Leffingwell

July 2020

Intermediate to advanced

320 pages

7h 31m

English

Addison-Wesley Professional

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Why SAFe?About This Book

Competing in the Age of SoftwareSummary
What Is SAFe?Why Implement SAFe?The Big PictureThe SAFe Implementation RoadmapMeasure and GrowSummary
Mindset Awareness and Openness to ChangeThinking Lean and Embracing AgilityThinking LeanEmbracing AgilityApplying the Agile Manifesto at ScaleSummary
Why Focus on Principles?Principle #1: Take an Economic ViewPrinciple #2: Apply Systems ThinkingPrinciple #3: Assume Variability; Preserve OptionsPrinciple #4: Build Incrementally with Fast, Integrated Learning CyclesPrinciple #5: Base Milestones on Objective Evaluation of Working SystemsPrinciple #6: Visualize and Limit WIP, Reduce Batch Sizes, and Manage Queue LengthsPrinciple #7: Apply Cadence; Synchronize with Cross-Domain PlanningPrinciple #8: Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge WorkersPrinciple #9: Decentralize Decision-MakingPrinciple #10: Organize Around ValueSummary
Why Lean-Agile Leaders?Summary
Why Team and Technical Agility?Agile TeamsTeams of Agile TeamsBuilt-in QualitySummary
Why Agile Product Delivery?Customer Centricity and Design ThinkingDevelop on Cadence, Release on DemandDevOps and the Continuous Delivery PipelineSummary
Why Enterprise Solution Delivery?Lean Systems and Solution EngineeringCoordinating Trains and SuppliersContinually Evolve Live SystemsApplying Large Solution SAFe Elements to Other ConfigurationsSummary
Why Lean Portfolio Management?Portfolios Exist Within the Context of the EnterprisePortfolio Roles and ResponsibilitiesStrategy and Investment FundingAgile Portfolio OperationsLean GovernanceSummary
Why Organizational Agility?Lean-Thinking People and Agile TeamsLean Business OperationsStrategy AgilitySummary
Why a Continuous Learning Culture?Learning OrganizationInnovation CultureRelentless ImprovementSummary
IntroductionStep 1: Reach the Tipping PointStep 2: Train Lean-Agile Change AgentsStep 3: Train Executives, Managers, and LeadersStep 4: Create a Lean-Agile Center of ExcellenceSummary
Step 5: Identify Value Streams and Agile Release TrainsStep 6. Create the Implementation PlanSummary
IntroductionStep 7: Prepare for ART LaunchStep 8: Train Teams and Launch the ARTStep 9: Coach ART ExecutionSummary
IntroductionStep 10: Launch More ARTs and Value StreamsStep 11: Extend to the PortfolioSummary
Measure and GrowReinforce the Basics with Essential SAFeAnchor New Behaviors in the CultureApply Learnings Across the EnterpriseSummary

Content preview from SAFe 5.0 Distilled: Achieving Business Agility with the Scaled Agile Framework

2

Introduction to SAFe

“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

—W. Edwards Deming

In Chapter 1, we introduced the concept of business agility and its importance to competing in today’s fast-paced digital world. It explored the need for a dual operating system, one for stability and execution and another for innovation and growth. It introduced SAFe as the entrepreneurial and flexible second operating system that helps enterprises achieve the goals of stability, execution, and innovation. This chapter provides a brief overview of SAFe and discusses how it helps organizations achieve business agility.