Preface
We often meet organizations and the conversation starts along these lines:
Organization: “We want to go Agile.”
Us: “Great!”
Organization: “And we want to adopt SAFe®.”
Us: “Even better because we are pretty good at SAFe®. But first, can we ask why you are doing so?”
Organization: (long pause) “Because other big organizations are doing it!”
Generally, that is not a good reason to undertake a significant change within your organization. The goal is not to be Agile or SAFe® but to make your organization more effective using lean Agile and to utilize a supporting scaling framework such as SAFe® to support that goal.
We see a lot of ill-informed commentary on various social media platforms about SAFe®, including a video that was described as a “candid and unscripted conversation about SAFe®” with two people that declared that they had no experience of SAFe® and all their thoughts were based on anecdotal evidence. As a consequence, it was littered with misinformation.
So, let’s start here.
SAFe® is not a prescription or a rule book, it is a Framework!
A standard definition of a Framework is as follows: “A framework is a supporting structure around which something can be built.”
Every time we have implemented SAFe® in an organization, we have implemented it differently because each organization is different and the appetite for change and disruption varies significantly.
You can not implement SAFe® in an algorithmic way; you need to implement it in a heuristic way. That is, you have to implement it with your brain switched on! You cannot just follow a book.
That said, there are certain foundations that need to be in place; if you bake a cake, then there are certain ingredients that you must use, while fillings and decoration can certainly vary.
SAFe® is like a wonderful toolbox but you have to know what tools to use in the right circumstances. If I am putting a picture on a wall, I will use a hammer and a nail; I don’t need a chainsaw! And a chainsaw in the wrong hands can be very dangerous.
SAFe® for Lean Enterprises is a knowledge base of proven, integrated principles, practices, and competencies for achieving business agility using Lean, Agile, and DevOps. (© Scaled Agile, Inc.)
Let’s break that down! It is not based on some folks sitting in Colorado and coming up with ideas; the 10 versions since 2011 have all been built on feedback from practitioners (like the authors) and from organizations that have implemented SAFe®.
Moreover, it is underpinned by some genuine thought leadership from Deming, Reinersten, Kotter, Moore, Ward, and many more.
Now that we have got that off our chest, who is this book for?