SAFe 5.0 Distilled

Description

Combine agile, lean, and flow thinking to transform enterprise software development into a true competitive advantage

• Gain an in-depth understanding of the Scaled Agile Framework and understand how to successfully implement it in their organization
• Be able to provide guidelines for implementing agile/lean principles at Scale
• Learn how to overcome the most common potential barriers to organizational impediments that prevent business agility
• Become lean thinking managers who are able to teach teams to continuously improve the program and performance

Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow and Principal Consultant at Scaled Agile, Inc., has more than 25 years’ experience in software development in roles ranging from developer to executive and has been involved in Agile for more than a decade. Prior to joining Scaled Agile, Inc., Richard worked at IBM, where his career spanned from product line management (PPM domain) and professional services to chief methodologist, Agile and Lean. Richard is a certified IBM Thought Leader and an Open Group Distinguished IT Specialist. He is also a certified SPC, PSM, Agile Certified Practitioner, PMP, and a contributor to the Disciplined Agile Delivery framework and PMI Portfolio/Program Management standards. He is a contributor to  SAFe® 4.5 Reference Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2018).

• Gain an in-depth understanding of the Scaled Agile Framework and understand how to successfully implement it in their organization
• Be able to provide guidelines for implementing agile/lean principles at Scale
• Learn how to overcome the most common potential barriers to organizational impediments that prevent business agility
• Become lean thinking managers who are able to teach teams to continuously improve the program and performance

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
About the Authors xvii

Part I: Competing in the Age of Software 1
Chapter 1: Business Agility 3
Chapter 2: Introduction to SAFe 11
Chapter 3: Lean-Agile Mindset 25
Chapter 4: SAFe Principles 39

Part II: The Seven Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise 63
Chapter 5: Lean-Agile Leadership 65
Chapter 6: Team and Technical Agility 75
Chapter 7: Agile Product Delivery 89
Chapter 8: Enterprise Solution Delivery 121
Chapter 9: Lean Portfolio Management 143
Chapter 10: Organizational Agility 167
Chapter 11: Continuous Learning Culture 187

Part III: Implementing SAFe, Measure and Grow 201
Chapter 12: The Guiding Coalition 205
Chapter 13: Designing the Implementation 215
Chapter 14: Implementing Agile Release Trains 229
Chapter 15: Launch More ARTs and Value Streams; Extending to the Portfolio 245
Chapter 16: Measure, Grow, and Accelerate 253

Glossary 267
Index 279

SAFe® 5.0: The World’s Leading Framework for Business Agility

“Those who master large-scale software delivery will define the economic landscape of the twenty-first century. SAFe 5.0 is a monumental release that I am convinced will be key in helping countless enterprise organizations succeed in their shift from project to product.”
–Dr. Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop and author of the book Project to Product

Business agility is the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age by quickly responding to unprecedented market changes, threats, and emerging opportunities with innovative business solutions.

SAFe® 5.0 Distilled: Achieving Business Agility with Scaled Agile Framework® explains how adopting SAFe helps enterprises use the power of Agile, Lean, and DevOps to outflank the competition and deliver complex, technology-based business solutions in the shortest possible time.

This book will help you

• Understand the business case for SAFe: its benefits, and the problems it solves
• Learn the technical, organizational and leadership competencies needed for business agility
• Refocus on customer centricity with design thinking
• Better align strategy and execution with Lean Portfolio Management
• Learn the leadership skills needed to thrive in the digital age
• Increase the flow of value to customers with value stream networks

Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

Updated for SAFe 5.0. 

To succeed in today’s adapt-or-die marketplace, businesses must be able to rapidly change the way they create and deliver value to their customers. Hundreds of the world’s most successful companies–including Intel, Capital One, AstraZeneca, Cisco, and Philips–have turned to the Scaled Agile Framework^® (SAFe^®) to achieve agility at scale and maintain a competitive edge. 

SAFe^® 5.0 Distilled: Achieving Business Agility with the Scaled Agile Framework^® explains how adopting SAFe can quickly improve time to market and increase productivity, quality, and employee engagement. In this book, students will 

• Understand the business case for SAFe: its benefits, the problems it solves, and how to apply it
• Get an overview of SAFe across all parts of the business: team, program, value stream, and portfolio
• Learn why SAFe works: the power of SAFe’s Lean-Agile mindset, values, and principles
• Discover how systems thinking, Agile development, and Lean product development form the underlying basis for SAFe
• Learn how to become a Lean-Agile leader and effectively drive an enterprise-wide transformation

Additional information