30/01/2023, 00:25 New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective guidance for using Kanban in SAFe

ng Kanban in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

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New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective

guidance for using Kanban in SAFe

EXTENDED SAFE GUIDANCE NEWS SAFE FRAMEWORK UPDATES

July 27, 2022 6 Comments By Richard Knaster

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30/01/2023, 00:25 New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective guidance for using Kanban in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

Hi Folks:

We are excited to announce some additional new guidance for applying Kanban in
SAFe.  As you know, Kanban systems are already used to manage backlog flow at
every SAFe level (see Figure). Each Kanban reflects the unique activities at the level
for delivering value, describing the workflow, and applying work-in-process (WIP)
limits.

Figure 1. SAFe’s connected Kanban systems

We are extending our guidance with a new article on Applying Kanban in SAFe. It
describes how to establish a Kanban system, the various elements of the Kanban
board, and how these systems are connected to help strategy changes flow quickly
across value streams to the teams who do the work. 

And now, with the growing trend of companies expanding SAFe into areas beyond IT,
other business units—from marketing and finance to legal, security, operations, and
more—are appreciating the unprecedented level of visibility provided by Kanban.
Therefore, we are also pleased to announce an extensive update to the SAFe Team
Kanban article, which better describes using Kanban as a primary team method. And
of course, Scrum teams can also leverage this guidance to enhance the visibility and
flow through their process. Taken together, we hope these articles deliver more
effective guidance for using Kanban alongside Scrum in SAFe.

Stay SAFe,

— The Framework Team with Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow

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AUTHOR INFO

RICHARD KNASTER

COMMENT (6)

DAN MIKLUSICAK, SPC5

05 Aug 2022 - 4:52 PM - Reply

It might be useful to connect the dots to team topologies mentioned in

the agile team article, and reinforce which ones are likely to use kanban
as well as scrum of course.

REBECCA.DAVIS@SCALEDAGILE.COM
10 Aug 2022 - 8:27 AM - Reply

Thank you for the suggestion Dan!

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30/01/2023, 00:25 New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective guidance for using Kanban in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

MIKE SHAW
04 Aug 2022 - 3:28 PM - Reply

We have acquired some groups that follow Kanban and we are

attempting to not be dogmatic about the sprint team ALM. What we are
struggling with is 90% of the teams use Scrum and with our PI planning
the kanban teams dependencies on Scrum teams aren’t getting called
out. As a result, the Kanban team may find out too late about a
dependency. What are articles that can talk me through how to resolve
this?

REBECCA.DAVIS@SCALEDAGILE.COM
10 Aug 2022 - 11:02 AM - Reply

Hi Mike! The community forums in the community login are great

places to get advice from peers on more detailed ways folks around
the world have solved items like you bring up here. From what I’ve
experienced personally, Kanban teams still participate in planning like
Scrum Teams do. This means the full set of teams are still responsible
for talking through dependencies and aligning on when they need
things from each other per usual. Kanban teams still create objectives
and align on milestones. Throughout the PI, all teams, regardless of
type, will still also utilize syncs, demos, etc across the ART to align and
communicate and update dependencies.

ALEX AUGUSTSSON
30 Jul 2022 - 10:14 AM - Reply

Great update. Makes a great contribution.

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30/01/2023, 00:25 New and Updated Kanban Articles provide more effective guidance for using Kanban in SAFe - Scaled Agile Framework

One thing I have seen that makes sense (which you also touch in the
‘Program and Solution kanban’ section) is to have seperate Kanbans for
Epics on the Solution and Program level with regards to capabilities and
features. The main reason off course being that Epics and
Features/Capabilities are following different procceses and are used for
different purposes. There are cases where it makes sense to have a
complete Lean Business case and follow the Lean Startup cycle on
Solution and/or Program level.

That would give that there in reality are two additional possible Kanbans,
a Solution Epic Kanban and a Program Epic Kanban.

Perhaps this perspective is lost in the visualization but could be

something to think about in next iteration/update.

Agree/disagree?

REBECCA.DAVIS@SCALEDAGILE.COM
01 Aug 2022 - 3:25 PM - Reply

Thank you Alex for the comments and suggestions. It’s true that Epics
and Features/Capabilities could have different criteria for entering or
exiting a Kanban state. It’s also true that the combined work is
important to view for Solution and Program level to ensure capacity
allocation and prioritization are done with all due consideration. We’ll
continue to look to provide helpful visuals that tell the full story and
appreciate your feedback.

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