SAFe 5.

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What is SAFe for Lean enterprises?
5.0

Learning Aid
Upon completion of this SAFe 5.0 Upgrade course, learners will be able to describe
SAFe 5.0, to include how implementing the seven core competencies of the Lean
Enterprise can help organizations achieve Business Agility.
The objective of this lesson is for each student to describe SAFe for Lean
Enterprises.
Enabling Learning Objectives:

• Define SAFe for Lean Enterprises

• Navigate the SAFe Big Picture
• Describe the SAFe configurations and the Overview tab

Lesson Introduction
Watch the What is SAFe for Lean enterprises? video here
https://vimeo.com/scaledagile/review/368287903/17a0b40037

The SAFe Big Picture

Before we explore Business Agility and the Core Competencies, it is important to
familiarize yourself with the Scaled Agile Framework, which is visually represented
using the "SAFe Big Picture."
The Big Picture, which can be found at www.scaledagileframework.com, is a
repository for a wealth of information pertaining to all items and concepts portrayed
on the SAFe Big Picture.
This section of the course provides an overview of the Big Picture and includes tips
on how to navigate it.

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Configurations

These tabs show the four SAFe configurations (Essential, Large Solution, Portfolio,
and Full SAFe) and the Overview tab, which provides a simplified view of SAFe’s
Seven Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise and their 21 dimensions that
enable business agility.

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Levels

There are three levels of SAFe, which you can see on the Full configuration of the
Big Picture shown here.

• Portfolio SAFe provides portfolio strategy and investment funding, Agile

portfolio operations, and Lean governance.
• Large Solution SAFe is for enterprises that are building large and complex
solutions, which do not require the constructs of the portfolio level.
• Essential SAFe is the most basic configuration of the framework and it
provides the minimal elements necessary to be successful with SAFe.

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Business Agility

Business Agility is the ability to compete and thrive in the digital age by quickly
responding to market changes and emerging opportunities with innovative business
solutions.
Business Agility requires that everyone involved in delivering solutions — business
and technology leaders, development, IT operations, legal, marketing, finance,
support, compliance, security, and others — use Lean and Agile practices to
continually deliver innovative, high-quality products and services faster than the
competition.

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Core Competencies

SAFe version 5.0 is built around seven core competencies of the Lean Enterprise.
These competencies are the primary lens for understanding and implementing SAFe,
as illustrated in the new overview tab of the SAFe Big Picture.
Each competency is a set of related knowledge, skills, and behaviors, which
together enable enterprises to achieve business agility by delivering the best quality
and value in shortest sustainable lead time.

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Roles
SAFe roles are grouped together toward the left of the Big
Picture. SAFe 5.0 expands the definition of Agile teams
beyond technology, as described at left by the definition of
Technical and Business teams.
Both types of teams strive for fast learning by performing
work in small batches, assessing the results, and
adjusting accordingly.
All SAFe Agile teams include two key roles, the Scrum
Master and Product Owner.
Technical teams define, build, test, and – where
applicable – deploy, some element of Solution value.
Business teams collaborate with technical teams to
provide a range of support that includes:

• Guardrails and other business parameters

• Infrastructure
• Contracts and suppliers
• End-user training
• Legal guidance
• Marketing
• Security and compliance expertise
• Fitness for use
• Solution knowledge

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Spanning Palette
The Spanning Palette contains various roles and
artifacts that may apply to a specific team, program,
large solution, or portfolio context.
An essential element of SAFe’s flexibility and
configurability, the spanning palette permits
organizations to apply only the items needed for their
configuration, as shown in the image at the left.

Foundation

The Foundation contains the supporting principles, values, mindset, implementation

guidance, and leadership roles needed to deliver value successfully at scale.
The Lean-Agile Leadership core competency is central to the Foundation. This
competency will be covered in depth in a later lesson.

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Customer Centricity and Design Thinking
SAFe 5.0 places special emphasis on keeping the
customer as central to our work as we provide value.

In SAFe 5.0, design thinking finds a place on the Big

Picture, as well, providing guidance on tools and practices
for implementing design thinking in support of customer
centricity.
The foundation of the customer-centric enterprise is
market and user research that creates actionable insights into the problems that
customers face, the solution requirements, and the solution context.
Design thinking applies divergent and convergent techniques to understand a
problem, design a solution, and deliver that solution to the market.

Measure and Grow

Measure and grow describes how to measure the
state of business agility and how to accelerate
growth to improve overall economic outcomes.
Portfolio leaders and the Lean-Agile Center of
Excellence (LACE), now have a way to self-assess
their progress on this journey.

The SAFe Configurations

Here we explore the four SAFe configurations and suggestions around when each
may be used, as well as a deeper look into the Overview tab, which provides a
visual way to read the Big Picture and best understand how the seven core
competencies enable business agility.

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 Overview
The Overview configuration
provides a simplified view of
SAFe’s Seven Core
Competencies of the Lean
Enterprise and their 21
dimensions that enable
business agility.
It can be used to provide an
initial orientation to SAFe, as
an introduction to the
business agility assessment,
and for framing executive
briefings.

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Essential

Essential SAFe is the most basic configuration of the framework and it provides the
minimal elements necessary to be successful with SAFe.

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Large Solution

Large Solution SAFe is for enterprises that are building large and complex solutions,
which do not require the constructs of the Portfolio configuration.

Portfolio

Portfolio SAFe provides portfolio strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio
operations, and Lean governance.

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Full

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