How does SAFe handle large, complex projects?
It starts with defining epics, which are large initiatives that the organization have identified as important. A high-level overview of the initiative, the intention behind the initiative, and what the large, complex project or product development initiative needs to do.
It could span several months, even years, and require teams of agile teams to work together to achieve the strategic goals and customer objectives.
This is where SAFe or Scaled Agile Framework excels.
The framework, combined with the relevant tools, is proven to align teams of agile teams – also known as agile release trains – with a specific customer purpose and organizational objective.
We know how to coordinate several agile release trains, and synchronize their delivery, in order to achieve a specific outcome or goal.
Managing uncertainty and risk.
Large, complex projects or epics are prone to greater risk and uncertainty.
There are just so many moving parts, and so many unknown variables, that we can’t know every detail of the initiative upfront. We can start with the intention, goals, and objectives related to that epic but we can’t know for certain what is going to happen until we start working on the initiative.
SAFe advocates that we start with a smaller, more achievable element of the initiative that is going to allow us to move forward and start learning through doing. As we begin, we start to learn more about the environment, the risk, and what customers value most.
We start to get insight into what elements are going to bring us closer to achieving our goals and objectives, and which elements are going to lead us in unproductive directions. We start to identify which elements of the epic are building momentum and helping us to succeed.
So, the first element of risk management and navigating uncertainty is to get started with smaller chunks of work, frequently inspect what we are doing, and use the data and feedback that we gather to inform what the next most valuable step for the organization might be.
We figure out early on if the initial plan is going to fail, and we quickly learn which elements of the plan are leading to success.
We learn that we are on the right path and the initiative warrants greater investment, and we learn early on which elements are not going to work and warrant a pivot in a new direction or path to product development.
So, it is different to project management where the organization make the decision to invest millions of dollars over the next 5 years, and then stop to assess whether what has been built is fit for purpose and achieves the outcomes that matter to the organization at the end of the project.
Agile is about small, consistent bets rather than betting the farm that the idea will work.
Successful companies always have options, so if we discover that the path we are on is not worthy of greater investment, there are always several other options that we can explore. Several other initiatives that will prove worthy of greater investment and help the organization achieve their goals.
So, that is how SAFe handles large, complex projects.
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.
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