The Why, What and How of SAFe

Part 1 of 3 – The Why?

Simon Sinek tells us, “Start with the Why”. For SAFe, the Why? is about real value and business results (versus cost control and method debates which, frankly, have a tendency to destroy rather than add value). It's also about avoiding retrospectives that read like this:

So, what type of results does SAFe yield? Perhaps this is most appropriately summed up by one word from Tom Peters; WOW!

We routinely see improvement in quality of 30-50%. It’s not uncommon to see productivity improvement at these levels too. Time to market is typically the measure that increases the fastest as big “releases” become smaller, more manageable and frequently realize value earlier. Finally, those responsible for delivery, development, new products or services etc. like the lean-agile development approach as this enables them to practice their skills in the most proven, realistic way which, in turn, unlocks the intrinsic motivation of those workers and increases employee engagement substantially. Essentially, they are liberated - empowered to make decisions and practice their science and art in a way that works. This leads to enjoyment in the workplace and fun – which is often lost in many enterprises but is a critical success factor if ever there was one.

Now, to close out the Why of SAFe, let’s turn our attention to the thing that’s currently top of mind. You don’t believe the numbers/results claimed! That’s ok; we get that all the time. So we’ll simply offer this for you to consider: SAFe is a ‘proven’ set of behaviors, practices and techniques. The results cited are supported via publicly exposed case studies. Further, over 60% of the Fortune 100 companies have adopted SAFe and the overall adoption rate of SAFe is growing year over year at a rate of around 185% globally. As a Latin phrase recalled from my law school days best articulates: res ipsa loqiuitur. “Let the facts speak for themselves”.

One final thing to get you thinking. SAFe has an in-built adoption approach (recommended – we’ll talk solely to the successful adoption of SAFe in part 3 of this series) which, when applied, has never failed to yield the promises that other approaches and agile in general has often failed to deliver.

To find out more, read parts 2 and 3 and also our article on SAFe as a catalyst to build an enterprise adaptive capacity.

Ready to take a leaf out of Tom Peter's book and take action? Join us for our 2-Day Leading SAFe training courses in Vancouver (13 – 14 September 2016) or Toronto (20-21 September 2016) to experience SAFe for yourself.

You can contact us for an information pack to learn more about how SAFe can enable your team, programs, portfolio or enterprise as a whole become adaptive and drive the sensational results routinely experienced.