SAFe Principle 3: Assume variability, preserve options.

When we start a journey, we know the least about that journey, the variables that exist, and what kind of outcomes we can anticipate.

So, at this point, we have the highest degree of risk that the decisions we have made, or are making, will not translate into the outcomes we are anticipating.

In SAFe, we don’t try and figure everything out upfront, when we have the least insight and information.

Instead, we need to get started but we also want to defer major decision-making to as late as possible with the intention of giving us time to acquire more skills, knowledge, and information.

We can’t wait years to assemble the information we need, and so we need to make an initial set of decisions to get us going and on the journey of discovery and development.

• What do we know?
• What is the first step we can take based on what we know?
• What are the options and which ones should we preserve until we have more information.

Empirical Process Control

So, we take the first step and yes, we spend some money in the process, but we are immediately gathering data and evidence as we test our first hypothesis.

As we gather more data and evidence, we are now able to use that data to inform what our next hypothesis could and should be.

We make our thinking and intention transparent, and we inspect what has happened and what we have built, and we adapt what we are doing based on feedback and data.

Taking that first step and acquiring knowledge in the form of data and evidence empowers us to revisit the initial options and discard those that no longer align with the data.

It also allows us to preserve the options that show great promise and can be integrated into an experiment to prove or disprove that as a viable option.

This is how we navigate complexity and uncertainty.

We cannot know the answers in advance and we cannot know all the variables, and so we must move through a process of experimentation and adaptation to discover the best way forward.

This, in essence, is why the principle ‘Assume variability and preserve options’ is so important in the SAFe framework.

About Value Glide

Value Glide are a SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) consultancy, coaching practice, and training specialist who work with organizations to align business objectives with customer needs and wants.

As deeply experienced agile coaches and practitioners, our team are invested in continuous learning through each client engagement and use the data and evidence we gather from each implementation to inform our training, coaching, and consulting services.

In a nutshell, empirical process control or empiricism.

If you are thinking of adopting agile within your organization and have identified SAFe as a great agile framework to adopt, implement and improve your business agility, visit our SAFe Quickstart ART Launch program page or view our SAFe Consulting Services page.

If you have identified a need for an agile coach and SAFe coach to help your organization adopt and implement SAFe, visit our SAFe Coaching Services page.

If you want to know more about SAFe and how to lead SAFe, visit our SAFE Training page for a host of options, from Leading SAFe to a SAFe Release Train Engineer course.

#SAFe #scaledagileframework #scalingagile #agile #agileframework #agilecoach

Connect with Value Glide!