Budgeting and Financial Management in SAFe refers to the approach and practices used in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for managing financial resources and budgets within an organisation. In SAFe, the emphasis is on lean budgeting strategies that eliminate traditional project-based functions and other overheads. Therefore through the use of Lean Budgets, financial resources can be allocated appropriately and effectively in order to enable business solutions within the organisation as a whole.
This decentralised approach allows for increased flexibility and faster decision-making in the allocation of financial resources, and which ultimately serves to support the principles and application of Agile ways of working.
The key steps in achieving these outcomes are:
- Familiarise yourself with SAFe’s lean budgeting principles.
- Set business objectives and funding strategy.
- Establish lean budgets at the portfolio levels and allocate resources to Value Streams accordingly.
- Define and apply lean budget guardrails to effectively manage the allocation and utilisation of financial resources.
- Continuously monitor and track the financial performance of value streams and portfolios.
- Adapt and adjust budgets as needed.
So let’s say for example that the organisation wants to invest a certain amount of money in order to fulfil a particular strategy. The money that the organisation wants to invest, is going to be based on different Value Streams and understanding of the market demand. This is also where we look at capacity allocation for each value stream. It is also important to note that this is not time fixed and that the amount of times we conduct budgeting and financial management in a given year can vary depending on the market needs and demands.
In summary, what is most important when handling budget and financial management in SAFe:
🚀 Effectively allocating financial resources within the organisation.
🚀 Supporting the delivery of value through successful execution of business initiatives.
🚀 Utilising Lean Budgeting strategies.
🚀 Reducing overheads.
🚀 Allocating Value Streams budgets.
🚀 Facilitating faster decision-making and flexibility.
These steps may vary depending on the specific context and needs of the organisation implementing SAFe. Nonetheless, it is always recommended to consult the official SAFe guidelines and seek guidance from certified SAFe professionals for support.
Are you interested in learning more about how you can effectively apply budget and financial management in your organisation?
At Value Glide, through the application of SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), we are able to offer agile consulting, agile coaching, and agile training specialists who work with organisations to align business objectives with customer needs and wants.
As deeply experienced agile coaches and practitioners, our team is invested in continuous learning through each client engagement and uses 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 organisation 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 organisation adopt and implement SAFe, visit our SAFe Coaching Services page. We are committed to equipping organisations with the tools and knowledge to thrive in this ever-changing digital age, and achieve business agility through the Scaled Agile Framework.
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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.
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