Foundations of SAFe: Part 3 (benefits, drawbacks, and practical application)

The Foundations of SAFe: Part III (Benefits, Drawbacks, + Practical Application)

Todd Horn Agile, Articles, Project Management Leave a Comment

Youโ€™ve officially made it! Weโ€™re almost ready to wrap up our conversation about the Scaled Agile Framework. In case your memory is hazy, Iโ€™m a senior consultant and team lead on the Keyhole Software team. Iโ€™ve been working with a client who is adopting SAFe, guiding their team and helping to set the right culture for the methodology. Iโ€™ve learned a lot about SAFe over the past year, and in this blog series, Iโ€™m sharing what Iโ€™ve learned with you.

In this final series installment, weโ€™re getting a bit more practical. Weโ€™ll start with a quick foray into the benefits and the drawbacks of implementing SAFe (weโ€™re all about balance here). Then, Iโ€™ll talk a little more about what it looks like for small teams, and after, Iโ€™ll share some tips for devs who find themselves in an organization that uses SAFe. To wrap up, weโ€™ll get down to it; should you implement SAFe on your team? Iโ€™ll talk you through a few factors that should help you decide.

Before we get started – if youโ€™re new here, head to Part I (Overview + Core Values) and/or Part II (Core Principles) before proceeding. If youโ€™re caught up, great! I think weโ€™re ready to dive in.

Foundations of SAFe: Part II (Core Principles)

The Foundations of SAFe: Part II (Core Principles)

Todd Horn Agile, Articles, Project Management Leave a Comment

Welcome back to Part II of our series covering Scaled Agile Framework. As a quick refresher, Iโ€™m a lead consultant at Keyhole Software, and for the past year, Iโ€™ve been helping my client adopt SAFe methodologies and practices. Iโ€™ve certainly learned a lot, and I want to share that knowledge with you.

Last time in Part I, I gave an overview of SAFe and discussed the four core values: Alignment, Transparency, Respect for People, and Relentless Improvement. Today, weโ€™ll dive a little deeper, talking through SAFeโ€™s ten core principles. Next time in the third and final installment, weโ€™ll take a practical look at the pros and cons of SAFe and some tips for implementing it.

The Fundamentals of SAFe - Part 1: Overview and Core Values

The Foundations of SAFe: Part I (Overview + Values)

Todd Horn Agile, Articles, Project Management Leave a Comment

For several years, I have been a lead software engineer for one of Keyholeโ€™s clients. More recently in the last year, they started a journey to implement SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) methodologies and practices. If you are new to or have not heard of SAFe, this short, three-part blog series will give you the perfect launch pad.

In Part I (this post), Iโ€™ll give a high-level overview and then weโ€™ll walk through SAFeโ€™s four core values. In Part II, weโ€™ll dive into its ten core principles. In the final installment (Part III), weโ€™ll discuss the benefits and drawbacks and then weโ€™ll get a bit more practical. Iโ€™ll teach you how it can be used for small teams, some key points a developer should know, and some considerations for if SAFe is right for your organization and teams.