SAFe-for-devs.md

Scaled Agile Framework Cheatsheet

What is SAFe 6.0?

• SAFe 6.0 is the latest version of the Scaled Agile Framework, a knowledge base of proven, integrated principles, practices, and competencies for achieving business agility using Lean, Agile, and DevOps .
• SAFe 6.0 helps enterprises thrive in the digital age by delivering innovative products and services faster, more predictably, and with higher quality.
• SAFe 6.0 provides guidance on how businesses and employees can grow and respond to change.
• What's new in SAFe 6.0?
  • SAFe 6.0 introduces seven core competencies of Business Agility: Customer Centricity, Enterprise Solution Delivery, Agile Product Delivery, Team and Technical Agility, Organizational Agility, Continuous Learning Culture, and Lean-Agile Leadership.
  • SAFe 6.0 incorporates the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) methodology to align strategic goals with day-to-day operations and track progress towards achieving those objectives.

SAFe Ceremonies:

• Program Increment (PI) Planning: Teams plan and align their work for the upcoming PI.
• Iteration Planning: Teams plan their work for the iteration.
• Daily Stand-up: Daily check-in to synchronize and plan the day's work.
• System Demo: Teams showcase the completed work from the iteration.
• PI System Demo: Teams demonstrate the integrated solution at the end of a PI.
• Inspect and Adapt (I&A): Reflect on the PI and identify opportunities for improvement.

SAFe Artifacts:

• Vision: A clear description of the desired outcome.
• Roadmap: High-level plan of milestones and deliverables.
• Program Backlog: Prioritized list of features and enablers for the PI.
• Team Backlog: Subset of the Program Backlog for the team.
• Program Increment Objectives: Specific goals for the PI.
• PI Metrics: Quantitative measures to track progress and performance.

Responsibilities of a Product Owner:

1. Prioritizing and managing the product backlog: The product owner is responsible for creating and maintaining the product backlog, which is a prioritized list of features, enhancements, and fixes that need to be developed. They work closely with stakeholders to understand their requirements and ensure that the most valuable items are at the top of the backlog.
2. Making decisions and providing direction: The product owner is the ultimate decision-maker for the product. They work with the development team to define and clarify requirements, answer questions, and provide direction throughout the development process. They also collaborate with stakeholders to gather feedback and ensure the product meets their needs.

Responsibilities of a Product Manager:

1. Defining the product strategy and roadmap: The product manager is responsible for setting the overall vision and strategy for the product. They conduct market research, gather customer feedback, and analyze industry trends to determine the product's direction. They create and communicate the product roadmap, which outlines the planned features and enhancements over time.
2. Collaborating with cross-functional teams: The product manager works closely with various teams, including development, design, marketing, and sales, to ensure alignment and successful execution of the product strategy. They facilitate communication, gather input from different stakeholders, and coordinate activities to deliver a high-quality product that meets customer needs.

Other Roles

• Scrum Master: Facilitates team processes and removes impediments to maximize productivity.

• Development Team: Self-organizing, cross-functional group responsible for delivering working software.

• System Architect/Engineer: Provides technical guidance and ensures system-level design and integrity.

• Release Train Engineer (RTE): Facilitates Agile Release Train (ART) processes and execution.

• Product Management: Defines the strategic direction and roadmap for the product.

• Epic Owner: Responsible for defining and managing large-scale initiatives.

• Solution Architect/Engineer: Ensures solution alignment and architectural integrity across ARTs.

• DevOps: Ensures continuous delivery and deployment of software.

Notes:

According to the SAFe Lean-Agile Principles, we want to decentralize decision making. This means empowering individuals and teams to make decisions closer to the work and reducing the need for hierarchical approvals.

In SAFe, the two kinds of Value Streams discussed are the "Operational Value Stream" and the "Development Value Stream." The value stream that represents the "sequence of activities needed to deliver a product or service to a customer" is the Operational Value Stream.

The value stream that contains the "sequence of activities needed to convert a business hypothesis into a technology-enabled product or service that delivers customer value" is the Development Value Stream. In SAFe, a "Solution" refers to a combination of products, services, and other assets that are developed and delivered to address specific customer needs or market opportunities.

ART stands for Agile Release Train. It is a long-lived team of Agile teams that work together to deliver value in a structured and synchronized manner.

The responsibility to "Accept Stories" typically lies with the product owner. They review and accept user stories or features once they are developed to ensure they meet the specified criteria and are ready for deployment.

The two "Specialty Roles" on an Agile Team can vary depending on the specific context, but examples could include roles such as UX designer (User Experience Designer) and QA engineer (Quality Assurance Engineer). These roles bring specialized skills and expertise to the team to support the development process.

PI stands for Planning Increment. It represents a timeboxed period during which an Agile Release Train (ART) plans, executes, and delivers work. It typically spans multiple iterations or sprints.

A Planning Increment (PI) usually lasts for 8 to 12 weeks in SAFe. However, the exact duration can vary depending on the organization's context and needs.

The SAFe core value of "Alignment" is demonstrated at PI Planning through various activities. These include bringing together teams and stakeholders to collaboratively plan and align on objectives

3 Design Thinking tools that SAFe recommends Product Managers use to create Features are:

1. Empathy Mapping: This tool helps in understanding the needs, motivations, and behaviors of the target users or customers. It involves creating a visual representation of the user's perspective, including their thoughts, feelings, actions, and aspirations.
2. Value Proposition Canvas: This tool helps in defining and refining the value proposition of a product or feature. It involves identifying the customer segment, their specific needs, and how the product or feature addresses those needs, ultimately creating a compelling value proposition.
3. Storyboarding: This tool helps in visualizing and mapping out the user journey or the flow of interactions with the product. It involves creating a series of sketches or illustrations that depict the different stages or steps involved in using the product, allowing for a better understanding of the user experience.

The 4 layers of Whole Product Thinking, as described in SAFe, are:

1. Core Product: The essential or basic features and functions of a product that address the core needs of the users or customers.
2. Augmented Product: Additional features, functionalities, or services that enhance the core product and provide added value or differentiation.
3. Enabling Product: The infrastructure, platforms, tools, or systems that support the development, delivery, and operation of the core and augmented product.
4. Potential Product: Future or potential enhancements, innovations, or extensions that can be added to the product to further meet customer needs or tap into new market opportunities.
 Stories live in the Team Backlog. The Team Backlog contains the user stories or work items that are prioritized and ready for the development team to work on during an iteration or sprint.

A WIP (Work in Progress) limit is a constraint or a maximum limit set on the number of work items that can be actively worked on or in progress at any given time in a specific stage or process. It helps in reducing multitasking, improving flow, and avoiding bottlenecks.

Epics are estimated in SAFe using relative estimation techniques, such as story points or t-shirt sizes. The estimation is done based on the perceived complexity, effort, and value of the epic compared to other epics or user stories.

Features are sized or split to fit the duration of a Program Increment (PI). In SAFe, the PI is a timeboxed period typically lasting 8 to 12 weeks, during which features are planned, developed, and delivered. Features are sized or split in a way that allows them to be completed within the duration of the PI.

Product Managers would use the Program Kanban tool when trying to balance Feature Work with Enabler work. The Program Kanban provides a visual representation of work items and their flow across various stages or columns, allowing the Product Managers to track and manage the balance between feature development and enabler work (which includes architectural, infrastructure, or technical improvements).

WIP Limits are applied to the ART (Agile Release Train) Kanban to optimize flow, limit work in progress, and avoid overloading the system. It helps in creating a sustainable pace of work, reducing delays, and ensuring that the team focuses on completing work before starting new items.

Stories are sized or split to fit into the duration of an iteration or sprint. In Agile methodologies, an iteration or sprint is a timeboxed period typically lasting 1 to 4 weeks, during which a set of user stories or work items are planned, developed, and delivered.

Features live in the Program Backlog. The Program Backlog contains the prioritized list of features that are aligned with the product roadmap and ready to be planned and developed in upcoming Program Increments (PIs).

The two elements that make up the WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) equation are the Cost of Delay (CoD) and the Job Size (JS).

1. Cost of Delay (CoD): This represents the economic impact or opportunity cost of delaying the delivery of a particular feature or work item. It takes into account factors such as the potential revenue loss, customer satisfaction impact, market opportunity window, compliance risks, or other financial considerations. The higher the Cost of Delay, the greater the urgency and priority to deliver the feature.

2. Job Size (JS): This refers to the size or effort required to complete a particular feature or work item. It can be estimated using various sizing techniques, such as story points, t-shirt sizes, or other relative measures of effort. The Job Size helps in understanding the complexity and effort involved in delivering the feature.

By combining the Cost of Delay and Job Size in the WSJF equation, teams can prioritize their work based on the relative economic value and effort, ensuring that high-value, low-effort items are given priority in the development queue. This helps in maximizing the overall economic benefit and flow of value through efficient sequencing and prioritization of work.

At the Management Review in SAFe, several aspects can be adjusted and discussed:

Program Increment (PI) objectives and progress: The management team can review and adjust the objectives for the current PI or upcoming PIs based on changing business needs or market conditions. They can also assess the progress made towards achieving the set objectives.

Program performance and metrics: Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics related to the Agile Release Train (ART) and value delivery can be reviewed and analyzed. The management team can make adjustments or decisions based on the insights derived from these metrics.

Roadmap and strategy: The management review provides an opportunity to assess the product or solution roadmap and make necessary adjustments based on market dynamics, customer feedback, or new opportunities. Strategic alignment and adjustments can be discussed and decided upon.

Resource allocation and capacity planning: The management team can review the resource allocation and capacity planning for the ART and make adjustments based on changing priorities, resource availability, or skill requirements.

Risks and dependencies: Risks, dependencies, or impediments that are impacting the ART's progress can be discussed and mitigating actions can be decided upon. Adjustments to the overall risk management approach can be made.

Compliance and regulatory considerations: Any changes or updates in compliance or regulatory requirements can be reviewed, and adjustments can be made to ensure that the ART is aligned with the necessary standards.

Regarding the statement "Epics are broken down into stories," the answer is true. In SAFe, epics are typically large bodies of work that cannot be completed within a single Program Increment (PI). Epics are decomposed or broken down into smaller, more manageable units of work called user stories. User stories represent specific features or functionality that can be implemented and delivered within a single PI.

Christmas and Flu Season are examples of seasonal market trends. These trends are characterized by predictable patterns and fluctuations in demand or customer behavior during specific times of the year. For example, during Christmas, there is typically a higher demand for certain products or services, and during the flu season, there is an increased demand for healthcare services and related products. Understanding and anticipating these seasonal trends is important for planning and adjusting business strategies accordingly.