SAFe Agile vs Agile: Selecting the Right Approach for Your Team

What Is SAFe Agile?

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) enables the enterprise-level implementation of lean-agile principles. It is commonly used in large-scale businesses to meet the demands of all stakeholders by directing projects within the enterprise portfolio and value streams. It was meant to scale to different levels, ranging from essential to complete SAFe. It is based on and builds upon the Agile Foundation.

SAFe significantly improves product quality, delivery period, and operational efficiency by incorporating accessibility and team management within its structure. It improves coordination and collaboration between teams and stakeholders by streamlining complicated development projects with a number of dynamic components.

It is particularly beneficial in software development and business product management, where teams work on long-term projects and programs, with ongoing changes, updates, and versions published and provided to clients over time.

SAFE's foundation is built upon three significant pillars: the Team, Project, and Portfolio. Additionally, SAFe gives a product team greater autonomy. Furthermore, it helps to manage some of the challenges that larger organizations have while adopting Agile.

Train Engineer: Makes sure that Agile teams follow the right processes and communicate effectively.

Program Director: Ensure that the features are built and communicated effectively.

Solution Architect: Creating and sharing the common architectural vision of the teams.

Company Owner: The person is primarily responsible for the organization's outcome.

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The Agile Manifesto

The Agile Manifesto is a roadmap that its writers feel software developers should use to organize their work. It lists 12 principles and four core values. The goal of the Agile Manifesto's 12 principles is to establish and foster an atmosphere at work where the demands of the user and the market are prioritized, where business goals are met, and where quick decisions are made in response to changing circumstances.

1. Face-to-face communication is the most economical and successful way to share information with development team members.
2. Having functional software is the main indicator of development.
3. Changes in requirements are always welcomed, even late in the development process. Agile methods capture change to give the client a competitive edge.
4. Provide functional software often, ideally within a few weeks or months; however, a shorter timeline might be preferred.
5. Delivering highly efficient software on time and consistently is the primary focus in order to satisfy the demands of our clients.
6. Design projects around people who are motivated. Give them the space and assistance they require, and have faith in their ability to complete the task at hand.
7. Corporate executives and developers must collaborate on a daily basis throughout the life cycle of the project.
8. The team tweaks and modifies the way it acts in response to its insights regarding how it can become more productive at regular intervals.
9. It all comes down to simplicity and the skill of maximizing the quantity of work not done.
10. Agile methodologies encourage sustained growth. It should be possible for the investors, developers, and users to keep up a steady pace constantly.
11. Agility is improved by constant attention to technical perfection and smart design.
12. Self-organizing teams produce the most effective structures, specifications, and designs.

Top Agile Methodologies

When having the scaled agile vs Agile discussion, the other Agile methodologies are also considered. Here are some of the well-known Agile methodologies.

Kanban

The Kanban methodology focuses on routine workflows and procedures. It is an easy-to-use, visual project management tool that lets teams see their current status and upcoming tasks. Kanban is common among many forms of agile development teams, as well as among product and project management teams.

The Kanban Board, generally segmented into columns to demonstrate the software development process flow, is used to supervise projects that follow the Sprint System. Teams benefit from increased visibility as a result of being able to monitor their progress at each stage of production and plan ahead for approaching activities to deliver the final product "just in time."

Scrum

The agile scrum development approach, which is represented by different cycles of development, is among the most prominent examples of agile methodology. Scrum divides the stages of development into units known as "sprints," which are cycles or stages. Each sprint's development period is optimized and carried out, allowing only one sprint to be managed at any given moment.

Scrum is defined by how long it takes to put together a software product in order to fulfill the Product Goal. This Product Goal is a higher-value objective in which sprints move the scrum team's product one step closer. Although it is most commonly employed in software product development management, it can also be effectively applied in business-related domains. 

Teams convene daily following an initial planning session, and at the conclusion of each sprint, they hold retrospectives to discuss areas for improvement. Scrum works best with small teams that are cohesive, quick to adapt, and eager to change course frequently in response to input from stakeholders.

Feature-driven Development (FDD)

Feature-driven development is one more software-specific Agile methodology. With this process, software models are produced on a biweekly basis, and each model feature necessitates a design and creation strategy. FDD is centered on diligent activities such as domain walkthroughs, design, coding, and inspection. The model then gets put together along with a set of features. Every feature has a creation and design plan that is put into action.

FDD makes it easier to review design and code and provide strong documentation. FDD is most suited for large-scale business development in the banking and finance sectors, where process maturation and quality control are required.

Extreme Programming (XP)

The Extreme Programming (XP) method places a strong emphasis on feedback, teamwork, and communication. Its main priorities are client satisfaction and continuous growth. In order to increase team productivity and efficiency, XP also leverages the concept of sprints. As client demand changes, teams are quickly prepared to keep up with it and put it into effect in a shorter duration.

XP is a highly helpful strategy when dealing with clients' inconsistent and changing demands. It encourages developers to keep up with client requests for updates, even when they come up during a more advanced stage of the project. 

Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

The Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) strives to fill the gap in the industry by providing a standard blueprint for fast software delivery. Teams working on DSDM projects have set costs, set deadlines, and negotiated features. Sprints are used by DSDM, much like they are by Scrum, XP, and FDD.

With a focus on objectives and business-related impact, DSDM blends the concepts of time limits and teamwork. It sets out certain stages for taking on projects, from assessing practicality to prototype development and execution. DSDM is often chosen by larger enterprises and governments that have the resources to handle expenses and implementation.

Crystal

Crystal comprises various smaller agile development approaches, such as Crystal Yellow, Crystal Clear, Crystal Red, Crystal Orange, and so on. Every one of them has a specific and distinctive framework that is defined by variables like project goals, team strength, and system priority. Crystal addresses client satisfaction, consistency, and reduced management with strong user interaction, as well as timely software delivery.

The Crystal family has earned a reputation for using the lightest forms of agile methodology by promoting the idea that every system or project is unique and requires the combination of many techniques, processes, and regulations to achieve the best possible outcomes.

What Is Agile?

With Agile, the team's main goal is to provide the customer with a functional solution in one iteration at a given time. This can result in a series of iterations that go swiftly from concept generation to approval and delivery.

Agile is a fundamental competence for creating and responding to change. It enables businesses to quickly adjust to change and embrace innovation without compromising quality. Agile was introduced as an alternative to project management's customary methodology. 

With Agile, the team's main goal is to provide the customer with a functional solution in one iteration at a time. This can result in a series of iterations that swiftly move from concept generation to approval and delivery.

Agile is a fundamental competence for creating and responding to change. It enables businesses to quickly adjust to change and embrace innovation without compromising quality. Agile was introduced as an alternative to project management's customary methodology.  

Teams that use agile are more cohesive, cooperative, and well-organized. According to the Agile methodology, the project is divided into several phases, and constant cooperation is fostered at all stages.

An Agile team includes the following members and roles:

Team Lead: A team lead, often referred to as a scrum master, is responsible for monitoring the team, providing the required tools, and organizing and scheduling the necessary duties for the entire team.

Team Members: They are in charge of completing the project on schedule and producing high-quality work.

Product Owner: He is the executive or significant stakeholder who has a plan to align the finished product with the broader goals of the business.

Core Components of SAFe Agile

The major components of SAFe Agile include:

Lean-Agile Leadership

The Lean-Agile proficiency explains how leaders enable people and teams to unlock their true potential. They lead the transition to an innovative working method and operate according to the framework's values, tenets, and practices.

Enterprise Delivery Solution

Enterprise Solution Delivery allows for more system development, implementation, and operation adaptability. Modern Lean systems serve as the foundation for this delivery. Enterprise solution delivery also uses simulations and virtualization in a cyber-physical setting.

Technical and Team Agility

Team and Technical Agility concentrates on setting up cross-functional Agile teams. Teams typically adopt the finest Agile methodologies and practices rather than being confined to using just one Agile framework. This forms Agile teams that develop and learn from other teams, leading to shorter development times and more creative business solutions.

Organizational Agility

When unforeseen events arise, organizational agility enables quick responses. To be completely responsive, the organization must be put together by people who embrace the Lean-Agile culture, values, and principles. Organizational agility helps transform change from a challenge to an opportunity.

Lean Portfolio Management

A large-scale company needs to implement portfolio management strategies in order to succeed. Agile portfolio management prioritizes the alignment of strategy and execution while working to maintain consistency across the portfolio's value streams. Lean governance serves as a gauge of its effectiveness. 

Key Differences Between SAFe Agile vs. Agile

Here is a comparison to understand the difference between Agile and SAFe.

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Which Is Better, Scaled Agile or Agile?

As you examine your project and the personnel needed, you will determine its size. Agile is the ideal methodology for working with smaller teams; SAFe, on the other hand, can help keep processes simple while ensuring quality for working with larger teams.

The budget also serves as an important variable to consider while deciding between either of them. The main difference between SAFe and Agile is mostly dependent on the available resources. Larger projects typically have greater budgets. However, this isn't necessarily always the case, making it possible to hire more employees and maintain a more efficient workflow. This is how SAFe should be done. Agile, however, can significantly lower the expenditure for roles unless your team is quite large.

With Agile, the team's main goal is to provide the customer with a functional solution in a single iteration at each stage. This can result in an iterative procedure that goes swiftly from concept generation to validation and delivery. SAFe tends to be project-oriented and concentrates on offering functional software steadily over a longer period of time, with distinct success standards for every phase of the release cycle.

Conclusion

The agile methodology is one of the most widely used in software development. It is very prevalent since it makes it possible for the product team to react effortlessly to developments in the marketplace. All Agile approaches are based on the Agile philosophy regardless of any variations. It's important to carefully weigh each approach to determine which will work best for your workplace before selecting one.

With the increasing demand for Agile practices, career prospects for Scrum masters are opening up at a good rate. To get an understanding of SAFe principles and create an Agile portfolio, you can join SAFe Certification: Leading SAFe® 6 Training with SAFe Agile Certification by Simplilearn and earn several benefits. Also, if you are looking to climb up the corporate ladder and become a Scrum master, you can join the SAFe® 6 Scrum Master (SSM) Certification Training by Simplilearn to become a trained and certified SAFe Scrum Master and flourish in your career. 

FAQs

1. Why is SAFe Agile better?

SAFe encourages coordination, cooperation, and delivery among numerous agile teams. The three main areas of expertise that shaped it were systems thinking, lean product creation, and agile software development. Agile scaling is made more organized using SAFe as organizations get bigger.

2. What are the main benefits of adopting SAFe over traditional Agile? 

SAFe is designed to provide teams with flexibility and help with managing the roadblocks that large businesses face when implementing Agile. It facilitates delivery across numerous Agile teams and encourages successful program execution, teamwork, alignment, and baked-in quality.

3. How does the implementation of SAFe Agile impact team dynamics?

SAFe boosts efficiency by helping effective teams and group members avoid redundant work, detect and minimize delays, constantly improve, and ensure they're developing the ideal products.

4. Is SAFe truly Agile?

SAFe is not an agile framework. The SAFe framework emphasizes organizational flexibility, uniform structure, and collaboration and coordination across several teams.