What's new in SAFe® 6.0?
An overview of what is new in SAFe 6.0, including business agility, team responsibilities, flow, AI and cloud, and Measure and Grow with OKRs.
What’s New in SAFe 6.0: Enhancing Business Agility in a Rapidly Changing World
Introduction to What’s New in SAFe 6.0
In today’s fast-paced and unpredictable business environment, organisations need to be agile and adaptable to thrive. The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) has been instrumental in helping enterprises navigate change, build resilience, and succeed in the digital age. With the release of SAFe 6.0, organisations gain access to the latest Lean-Agile practices and tools to tackle the challenges of an ever-changing marketplace. This article explores the key updates and enhancements introduced in SAFe 6.0, enabling organisations to work differently, build the future, and enhance their business agility.
Strengthening the Foundation for Business Agility
In the era of digital transformation, the ability to swiftly adapt to market changes and seize emerging opportunities has become imperative. SAFe 6.0 emphasises the importance of business agility as a means to compete and thrive in this environment. The Business Agility Value Stream (BAVS) is introduced to help organisations quickly adapt and deliver innovative, digitally-enabled business solutions. The SAFe Foundation is also enhanced, focusing on the Lean-Agile mindset, core values, principles, and the SAFe Implementation Roadmap. These updates provide a solid foundation for organisations to embrace business agility.
Empowering Teams and Clarifying Responsibilities
Agile teams play a vital role in driving value delivery and organisational success. SAFe 6.0 brings clearer and more explicit responsibilities for each role within the framework. Role articles, such as Scrum Master/Team Coach, Agile Release Train, Product Owner, and Solution Train Engineer, are updated to provide better guidance on optimising flow, building high-performing teams, and supporting organisational agility. These enhancements enable individuals to improve their job performance and contribute effectively to the organisation’s goals.
Accelerating Value Flow
Value flow is a critical aspect of achieving business agility. SAFe 6.0 introduces the concept of flow accelerators, which are practices that help make value flow faster. The framework defines eight properties of flow and aligns them with SAFe Principle #6. New articles on Team Flow, ART Flow, Solution Train Flow, and Portfolio Flow provide guidance on applying flow accelerators at each level of SAFe. Additionally, SAFe Team Kanban and SAFe Scrum methodologies are updated to incorporate flow directly into the teams’ daily work. These enhancements enable organisations to accelerate value delivery and enhance overall performance.
Enhancing Business Agility across the Organisation
Business agility requires a holistic approach that extends beyond IT. SAFe 6.0 emphasises the need for organisations to apply Lean-Agile principles across all business functions. The updated Business and Technology article highlights patterns such as business-enabled Agile Release Trains, Agile executive teams, Agile business functions, and combined portfolios. SAFe beyond IT provides access to real-world experiences of extending Lean, Agile, and SAFe practices to non-IT functions like finance, marketing, human resources, and operations. These updates foster a culture of agility throughout the organisation.
Building the Future with AI, Big Data, and Cloud
SAFe 6.0 recognises the transformative potential of emerging technologies like AI, Big Data, and Cloud. The framework provides new guidance on harnessing these technologies to compete and innovate. Articles on AI, Big Data, and Cloud highlight their impact on software and systems development and emphasise their strategic importance for organisations. By leveraging these technologies effectively, organisations can stay ahead of the curve and build a sustainable future.
Delivering Better Outcomes with Measure and Grow and OKRs
To drive continuous improvement and measure progress, SAFe 6.0 introduces the concept of Measure and Grow. This approach encompasses three measurement domains: Outcomes, Flow, and Competency. The framework emphasises the importance of metrics in supporting better decision-making and identifying opportunities for improvement. SAFe 6.0 also introduces Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a powerful tool for enhancing strategic alignment, defining business outcomes for epics, and setting improvement goals for the SAFe transformation. These updates enable organisations to deliver better outcomes and track their progress effectively.
Conclusion
SAFe 6.0 brings a comprehensive set of updates and enhancements to support organisations in their quest for business agility. By strengthening the foundation for business agility, empowering teams, accelerating value flow, enhancing agility across the organisation, embracing emerging technologies, and implementing effective measurement and improvement practices, organisations can navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing world and build a successful future. SAFe 6.0 equips enterprises with the tools and practices needed to work differently and thrive in the digital age.
What’s Next?
- Read SAFe’s article on ‘What’s new in SAFe 6.0’