What are the 4 levels of Scaled Agile Framework ?

What are the 4 levels of Scaled Agile Framework ?

Learning Mudra, Category - SAFe Agilist

The Scaled Agile Framework is a system for scaling Agile, Lean, and DevOps approaches. It is the most preferred framework for leading organizations because it works: it is reliable, adaptable, and long-lasting. Better working methods result in happier, more engaged staff. Scaling Agile with SAFe has the added benefit of assisting knowledge workers in achieving autonomy, mastery, and purpose, which are essential variables in unlocking intrinsic motivation. Organizations that use SAFe have the tools they need to reduce burnout and boost employee happiness. SAFe enables high-performing teams and teams of teams to avoid needless work, detect and eliminate delays, continually improve, and ensure they are developing the correct things, resulting in measurable productivity gains.

Improved time-to-market is one of the advantages of scaling Agile with SAFe. Leading organizations can address customer needs faster by uniting cross-functional Agile teams around value. Using SAFe allows them to make faster decisions, communicate more effectively, streamline operations, and stay focused on the customer. One of the key SAFe ideals is built-in quality, which emphasizes the significance of incorporating quality into every stage of the development cycle. Scaling Agile with SAFe, in this view, helps businesses by shifting quality from a last-minute priority to everyone's responsibility.

Team Level of Scaled Agile Framework

SAFe becomes identical to Scrum or Kanban at this SAFe Agile level. SAFe teams, like the latter, adopt an iterative process in which the entire job is divided into Sprints that are typically two weeks in length. There are events and artifacts, which are similar to Scrum. The SAFe team plans a Sprint for each Release Planning done at the Program level at the Sprint Planning event.

At the Team Level, we want to keep executing Plan-Do-Check-Adjust cycles inside our iterations, while also performing a regular cadence of backlog refinements to ensure that stories are ready for forthcoming iterations. This necessitates allocating enough time to analyze upcoming features in order to decide which stories and enablers will be required to complete them in the next PI. Whereas the Scrum Master remains an important moderator for events at around this level, the Product Owner is responsible for leading benchmarking sessions with the team.

The PO also takes part in train-level feature development, which is overseen by Product Management. It is also strongly suggested that the program management trio, Release Train Engineer, PM, and System Architecture/Engineering, socialize features directly with the team for the next PI to improve collective understanding and fine-tuning of the required functionality.

Program Level of Scaled Agile Framework

The following level is the program level, which is regarded as the most significant of all Scaled Agile framework levels. The Agile Release Train, or ART, is the level's focal point. The ART is made up of eight to 10 team members who are accountable for delivering value in a certain project. It is worth noting that each ART has a specific aim in mind.

While carrying out the present PI at the program level, we must also pay close attention to PI planning. This ensures that all preparation efforts do not take place in the hours leading up to the event. Instead, continuing collaboration and improvement of artifacts supporting the next PI Planning event is required. Although the RTE is still the major facilitator of events at the program level, Product Management is in charge of conducting feature backlog refinement meetings with the Agile teams. Product and Solution Management additionally takes part in Epic and Capability refinement sessions lead by the Epic Owner. Keep in mind that epics can exist on multiple levels.

Large Solution Level of Scaled Agile Framework

As with the Program Level, we must ensure that any Large Solution-Level PI preparatory efforts do not take place at the last minute. We must also coordinate and fine-tune the artifacts that will support the next PI Planning event. Although the Solution Train Engineer is the major facilitator for SAFe events at the Large Solution level, it is Solution Management's primary role to conduct Capability backlog refinement sessions with the affected ARTs and Suppliers. Solution Management is also involved in Epic refining, which is led by the Epic Owner.

Portfolio Level of Scaled Agile Framework

Portfolio Management Office, or PMO, is in charge of overseeing Lean techniques and SAFe. The portfolio of an average-sized firm is the entire organization, although a larger enterprise may have multiple portfolios. Consider a bank: it will have various portfolios such as a personal loan division, a house loan division, a credit card division, and so on.

To allow the flow of strategic initiatives at the Portfolio Level, Lean Portfolio Management, Epic Owners, and Enterprise Architects must keep the vision and roadmap up to date, polishing associated Epics so that they are ready for the trains. This includes both Business and Enabler Epics. Additionally, the Epics must match with Enterprise Strategic Themes, and the strategic vision must be kept up to date. This gives executives access to information that informs Solution Trains/ARTs about major strategic initiatives that touch them as they move through the Pre-PI, PI Planning, and Post-PI Planning Events.

Conclusion

Scaled Agile Framework is a framework that enables businesses to deliver value in digestible chunks by employing a flow-based, methodical methodology. The enterprise backlog structure must be understood in order to permit consistent flow at multiple levels. Even in the face of shifting strategic goals, the responsible roles must consistently drive their backlogs to maintain them ready. Staying ahead of PI preparation will allow for a steady flow, with the PI time box serving as the program's heartbeat. Parallel execution and PI preparation operations at the Portfolio, Large Solution, Program, and Team levels, using a JIT strategy, provide enough lead time for ART leaders and the rest of the company to prepare.

Attention must be taken to ensuring that we actually enable JIT decomposition as near to delivery as possible, without performing excessive decomposition early in the PI. This will make it easier to support the collaborative discoveries, conversations, and alignment that PI Planning encourages.