Why Scale Agile? Explore the Basics of Scaling Agile with SAFe Principles

Scaling Agile for Real Results: A Customer-Centered Approach

When organizations look to scale Agile, they usually aim to boost speed, improve quality, and create more value in the work they’re already doing. Sounds great, right? But the reality of scaling Agile can be trickier than it seems. It’s not uncommon to find companies that claim to be Agile but are still operating like traditional waterfall teams—holding Scrum ceremonies but not truly embracing the Agile mindset.

But don’t worry, we’re not here to scare you away from scaling Agile. In fact, we believe it’s worth the effort, but there’s a catch—you need to get the basics right first. If your foundation isn’t solid, scaling Agile across multiple teams could lead to frustration and failure. Think about it: if your core practices are shaky, adding more teams only amplifies the problem.

Before jumping into scaling, take a moment to reflect on your current practices, processes, and tools. Once you’ve got everything aligned and your teams are ready, then you can start scaling with confidence.

How to Scale Agile with SAFe®—The Right Way

Scaling Agile is no small feat. It requires significant effort from both leadership and team members to make it work. If you’re looking to implement SAFe® (Scaled Agile Framework), it’s crucial to have strong backing from leadership, and more importantly, everyone needs to be clear on why this change is happening in the first place.

There are several frameworks to choose from when scaling Agile—LeSS, DaD, SoS, and others. But today, we’re focusing on SAFe® because it’s one of the most widely adopted and offers a structured approach to scaling. Developed by Dean Leffingwell in 2011 and refined over time, the latest version, SAFe 6.0, incorporates new updates that make it even more relevant and actionable in today’s dynamic business environment. It provides four configurations: Essential SAFe®, Large Solution SAFe®, Portfolio SAFe®, and Full SAFe®.

What makes SAFe® stand out is that it’s not just a set of practices—it’s a framework grounded in a set of proven principles and core values. These principles help guide organizations in scaling Agile to achieve real customer value.

Core Principles of SAFe®

1. Take an Economic View

The core goal of Agile and Lean is simple: deliver the best quality and value in the shortest time possible. SAFe® emphasizes economic decision-making throughout the process, helping teams focus on delivering incremental value sooner rather than waiting for a “big bang” release.

• Deliver early and often: By breaking work into smaller chunks and releasing more frequently, you can deliver value faster and adjust based on customer feedback.
• Economic Framework: Understand how development costs, lead time, product cost, and risk all play together. It’s about making smart choices that create the most value for the business.

2. Apply Systems Thinking

One of the biggest lessons in scaling Agile is that optimizing individual parts doesn’t automatically optimize the whole system. SAFe® encourages you to think in terms of systems:

• Value Stream Optimization: Look at the entire value stream—from concept to delivery. It’s about breaking down silos and optimizing the flow of work across all teams.
• Cross-Organizational Integration: Systems don’t just involve developers. Suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders are part of the ecosystem. To scale successfully, everyone needs to be aligned.

3. Assume Variability; Preserve Options

When you’re developing software, uncertainty is inevitable. SAFe® encourages teams to keep multiple design options open throughout the development cycle. As teams learn and get more clarity, they can eliminate options and focus on the best solution for the customer.

4. Build Incrementally, with Fast Integrated Learning Cycles

Agile thrives on feedback, and SAFe® takes this to the next level with short, fast learning cycles. Teams build incrementally, testing assumptions and learning from customers regularly. This approach helps reduce risk and improve product quality over time.

5. Base Milestones on Objective Evaluation of Working Systems

In traditional projects, milestones are often based on static documents or phase reviews. In SAFe®, milestones are based on objective evidence—usually demos or working systems. This approach helps teams make adjustments earlier and builds confidence with customers.

6. Visualize and Limit WIP, Reduce Batch Sizes, and Manage Queue Lengths

To ensure work moves smoothly from concept to delivery, SAFe® stresses the importance of flow:

• Visualize WIP: Keep track of what’s in progress and avoid overwhelming teams with too many tasks. This makes bottlenecks easier to spot.
• Reduce batch sizes: Smaller work batches flow through the system faster with less variability. The goal is to keep work manageable.
• Manage queues: Shortening the time work sits in queues allows high-priority tasks to move through the system faster, improving overall speed and efficiency.

7. Apply Cadence, Synchronize with Cross-Domain Planning

Cadence brings stability to Agile processes, helping teams manage both routine and unpredictable tasks. Synchronizing planning efforts across teams ensures everyone is aligned and working toward the same goals, reducing wasted effort and improving collaboration.

8. Unlock the Intrinsic Motivation of Knowledge Workers

Agile isn’t just about tools and processes; it’s about people. SAFe® highlights the importance of intrinsic motivation. Teams thrive when they feel valued, trusted, and empowered to make decisions. By giving them autonomy and a sense of purpose, you unlock creativity and innovation.

9. Decentralized Decision-Making

When decisions are made from the top down without context, it often leads to delays and poor outcomes. SAFe® encourages decentralized decision-making, allowing teams to make more frequent, context-driven decisions. Of course, there are times when centralizing decisions makes sense, but overall, empowering teams to act fast can lead to better results.

10. Organize Around Value

A key update in SAFe 6.0 is the reinforced focus on organizing around value. In addition to organizing around value streams, SAFe® now encourages businesses to align teams to business agility value streams—helping organizations deliver better results more quickly. By forming cross-functional Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and teams, organizations can deliver value directly and more effectively.

Scaling Agile with Customer Value at the Heart

Adopting SAFe® principles isn’t just about following a framework—it’s about creating real customer value. By focusing on these principles, organizations can scale Agile in a way that improves speed, quality, and responsiveness to customer needs. The result? Faster time to market, better products, and happier customers.

At Trundl, we believe in getting the basics right and executing with precision. We focus on what works, helping teams implement Agile practices that drive measurable outcomes.

Curious to learn more about SAFe®? Check out our Program Increment (PI) Planning blog to take your Agile practices to the next level.