By Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow, Agile Rising Principal Consultant
Agile Rising is pleased to announce our support for the launch of SAFe 6.0! Our team has been busy learning the new release, recertifying, and contributing feedback on the new content.
For over a year, I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with the SAFe Framework team (again) to help them develop SAFe 6.0. It was an amazing team effort where every article was ‘mob reviewed.’ Everyone at SAI contributed to this release in different many ways. So did many other SPCTs and SAFe Fellows.
Being a member of the Agile Rising team and others have allowed me to bring my learning from the field into the new SAFe.
Say hello to SAFe 6.0!
This release is a big deal, and a new and improved Big Picture (BP) usually comes with every major release. SAFe 6.0, pronounced six dot oh by Scaled Agile, Inc. (SAI), is no exception.
One of the most striking changes you will see is the significantly improved and sophisticated colors and figures throughout the Framework, enhancing the user experience. The new branding has been standardized across the Framework, which makes it look more mature and easier on the eyes.
SAFe 6.0 includes many new and advanced practices and terminology simplification. The most exciting terminology change is that Program has been replaced with ART in most cases (for example, ART Backlog, ART Epic, ART execution, a PI now represents a Planning Interval, and an SPC is a SAFe Practice Consultant). A similar change was made to standardize on Solution Train instead of just Solution (for example, Solution Train Backlog, Solution Train PI Objectives, and so on).
All articles have been refactored to improve readability and make them easier to understand, especially for non-native English speakers.
Six in SAFe 6.0
Unsurprisingly, SAFe 6.0 has six main themes offering the newest and most effective Lean-Agile practices:
- Strengthening the foundation for Business Agility
- Empowering teams and clarifying responsibilities
- Accelerating value flow
- Enhancing Business Agility across the business
- Building the future with Al, Big Data, and Cloud
- Delivering better outcomes with Measure and Grow and OKRs
Below is a distilled version of the What’s New in SAFe article.
- Strengthening the foundation for Business Agility -The fundamental aspects of Business Agility, including the Business Agility Value Stream (BAVS) and SAFe Foundation articles, are substantially improved. The new BVA article gets promoted from extended guidance, where it proudly sits on the top of the Big Picture.
Updates to the SAFe Implementation Roadmap and revised responsibilities for SPCs clarify the path for navigating the change. All articles in the SAFe foundation were greatly improved, and the House of Lean was retired in favor of the five Lean Thinking principles. Core Values are now Alignment, Transparency, Respect for People, and Relentless Improvement.
- Empowering teams and clarifying roles and responsibilities – New guidance helps people better understand their roles and improve job performance, leading to better support for the organization’s goals. Below are examples of the new responsibility wheels for each role.
These new responsibility wheels are one of my favorite features. At a glance, they provide an overview of the role’s main responsibilities. The new ‘SAFe Scrum Master /Team Coach’ article shows their expanded responsibilities and gives enterprises a choice of using either Scrum Master or Team Coach for this area of responsibility.
- Accelerating Value Flow — Understand, measure, and improve flow. Our latest guidance defines flow, identifies eight flow properties, and offers flow accelerators anchored by a new SAFe Principle #6 mentioned earlier. Brand new SAFe Scrum, SAFe Team Kanban, Built-in Quality, and Value Stream Management articles add flow directly into the teams’ daily work.
SAFe introduces four new flow articles, which provide advanced guidance on how to apply Principle #6 to all levels of SAFe (Essential, Large Solution and Portfolio).
VSM was previously an extended guidance article. It’s now on the BP, emphasizing its importance. Accelerating value flow is perhaps one of the most important themes of SAFe 6.0.
- Enhancing Business Agility – The updated Business and Technology article highlights five patterns to extend business agility throughout the organization.
- Building the future with AI, Big Data, and Cloud – Accelerating the adoption of the latest technologies through expanded guidance for integrating AI, big data, and cloud into value streams. Applying these technologies has become critical for competing now and in the future.
- Delivering Better outcomes – Delivering better results with expanded guidance on OKRs and improved tools for measuring competency and flow.
Summary
If I had only one word to describe SAFe 6.0, it would be Flow, Flow, and Flow! SAFe 6.0 represents a quantum leap in how enterprises integrate SAFe practices in daily work, make the changes stick, and achieve the benefits of true business agility. SAFe 6.0 includes many new and advanced practices to support and enable the latest technology and business trends, including eight ways to accelerate the flow of value and guidance for expanding SAFe across the organization into other business functions. Are you excited, I know I am!
SAFe Studio Platform
SAFe Studio is the evolution of the subscription-based community platform that empowers SAFe professionals to learn, practice and manage SAFe. It is designed to drive organizational change–translating SAFe guidance into execution, helping employees adopt and excel in a different way of working, and achieving this across the enterprise throughout all business units.
Where can I learn more?
Agile Rising’s Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow a discussion on what’s new in the latest version of SAFe – SAFe 6.0 and how it can benefit your organization. Agile Rising’s Michelle Warner, SPCT joins Richard to review the new information and highlight key updates in SAFe 6.0 in this webinar. Watch now.
Get the FAQs about SAFe 6.0 here.