Welcome back to our Power of SAFe series – this is installment #5! You can find previous articles linked throughout the post, or check our main insights page to start at the beginning.
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Who has expectations for deliverables on week 1 of any implementation or project? TMG!
How, you ask?
We avoid the feeling of herding cats. Cats all have their own ideas of what they should be doing and when. Instead, we start with common language and expected ways of working to avoid extended onboarding and ongoing confusion. It’s one of the reasons we lean on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) for implementations. Everyone spends more time focused on what really matters: delivering value.
SAFe® relies on proven frameworks like Agile, Scrum and DevOps, and along with their own proprietary parts of the framework, they define common roles, delivery cadence and process for preparing work. With these in place, our teams speak the same language as their counterparts at our clients on day 1. It’s like everyone knows all the same dance steps from the outset.
Roles and Responsibilities
When roles and responsibilities are well defined, everyone knows what to expect from each other. This promotes collaboration and prevents responsibilities from falling through the cracks.
The Team includes the roles responsible for delivering work from the Team Backlog.
Product Owners are responsible for maximizing the value of the product and manages the Team Backlog.
Scrum Masters removes impediments to delivery and supports The Team in following Agile practices.
The Release Train Engineer (RTE) acts as a coach for the Agile Release Train, ensuring that teams plan and deliver together well.
Delivery Cadence
A regular delivery cadence creates consistent rhythms, enhances productivity and ensures the team’s execution is regularly aligned to stakeholder expectations.
Planning Interval (PIs) is a timebox for a team of teams to plan and map out delivery together. They typically last 8-12 weeks, during which a set of planned objectives are executed. Work for each PI is planned through a PI Planning event.
Iterations are smaller timeboxed sections of a PI, typically lasting 2-4 weeks. During this time, delivery teams work on a specific set of work to develop, test and deliver work. Work for the Iteration is planned for and delivered using the Scrum-recommended gatherings: Iteration Planning, Daily Standup, Backlog Refinement and Iteration Review/Retrospective.
Process for Preparing Work
- Vision and Roadmap are informed from the Portfolio level to the Solution Level.
- Shared product and architectural leadership at the ART (Agile Release Train) level prepare work for the team of teams to deliver in the upcoming PI.
- At the PI Planning event, delivery teams outline the work for the upcoming PI. They will estimate work, create delivery plans, and commit to objectives. They will also map out dependencies and risks.
- Each Iteration, the team will review the work completed and plan for the work in the next Iteration.
- For each Iteration and PI, teams and ARTs will strive for continual improvement by reviewing what is working efficiently and here they can make improvements.
Before getting overwhelmed by this list, consider this: What if every meeting or planning session felt like a well-rehearsed dance? When everyone knows their part and what steps are coming up next, everyone’s time is spent moving work forward.
Time is our most valuable resource. Any time spent avoiding miscommunication, backtracking to cover gaps, duplicating efforts is worth the work to establish the process. A well-oiled, collaborative machine is an investment that will yield many times over.
