Agile vs SAFe Agile: What is the main Difference?

Agile methodologies and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) both aim to enhance organizational efficiency, however, they differ in their scopes and implementations. While Agile focuses on iterative development and collaboration within small teams, SAFe extends these principles to large-scale projects encouraging a structured framework.

What is Agile?

Agile is a dynamic and collaborative approach to software development, emphasizing iterative progress, adaptability to change, and close collaboration among cross-functional teams. The agile framework promotes flexibility and customer satisfaction by delivering functional increments in short cycles.

Agile is a software development methodology that values flexibility, collaboration, and customer satisfaction. It is based on the Agile Manifesto, a set of principles for software development that prioritize individuals and interactions, working software, customer collaboration, and responding to change. Agile is an iterative and incremental approach to software development that emphasizes the importance of delivering a working product quickly and frequently. It involves close collaboration between the development team and the customer to ensure that the product meets their needs and expectations.

Steps for Implementing the Agile Framework:

• Define Project Vision and Objectives: Clearly state the project’s goals, vision, and expected outcomes.
• Create a Product Backlog: Develop a prioritized list of features, functionalities, and tasks that need to be addressed throughout the project.
• Form Agile Teams: Encourage self-organization within teams to encourage collaboration for diverse skills relevant to the project
• Sprint Planning: Divide the project into fixed-length iterations called sprints. In each sprint planning session, select items from the product backlog to work on during the upcoming sprint considering team capacity.
• Daily Stand-ups: Conduct brief daily stand-up meetings where team members discuss progress, challenges, and plans.
• Iterative Development: Emphasize iterative development with a focus on delivering functional increments at the end of each sprint.
• Review and Retrospective: At the end of each sprint, hold a review session to showcase the completed work to stakeholders for improvement and adjustment of processes accordingly.
• Continuous Integration and Testing: Integrate code frequently to ensure continuous builds and conduct automated testing to maintain code quality.
• Customer Feedback and Adaptation: Regularly seek feedback from end-users and stakeholders. Use this feedback to adapt and adjust priorities to ensure the product aligns with evolving requirements.
• Scaling Agile as Needed: Evaluate the need for scaling Agile practices based on the size and complexity of the project.

What is a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)?

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) is a comprehensive system designed to extend Agile principles to large enterprises. SAFe empowers enterprises to navigate the challenges of scaling Agile. It provides a structured framework for scaling Agile practices, ensuring alignment, coordination, and collaboration across multiple Agile teams involved in complex projects.

An agile framework designed for development teams is called Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe. The three symbolic pillars that make up SAFE’s basis are the Team, Program, and Portfolio. SAFe also provides a product team more freedom. Additionally, it aids in the management of a few of the difficulties larger organizations have when implementing Agile. SAFe is made up of a large body of established best practices. Similarly, SAFe is used by product teams to produce software that works.

Steps for Implementing the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Framework:

• Lean-Agile Principles: The principles of the SAFe framework help organizations innovate, adapt to change, and maintain an intense focus on providing value to the customer.
• Agile Release Trains (ARTs): Agile Release Trains, a type of cross-functional team organized according to SAFe principles, are groups of people who coordinate their efforts across time iterations in order to produce outcomes.
• Program Increments (PIs): Program Increments are time-based planning intervals during which an Agile Release Train delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems.
• SAFe Roles: SAFe defines specific roles to ensure clear responsibilities and accountabilities. Key roles include the Release Train Engineer (RTE), Product Owner, Scrum Master etc.
• SAFe Ceremonies: SAFe introduces ceremonies like PI Planning for teams planning and Inspect and Adapt (I&A) sessions for continuous improvement to encourage collaboration.
• SAFe Artifacts: SAFe provides various artifacts to facilitate transparency and communication.
• Lean Portfolio Management: SAFe extends Agile principles to the portfolio level, emphasizing lean and flow principles for strategic decision-making.
• Value Streams and Value Stream Mapping: SAFe focuses on value streams, mapping the steps that deliver value to the customer.

Key Differences Between Agile and SAFe Agile:

Agile focuses on small self-organizing teams working on incremental projects increasing adaptability. In contrast, SAFe Agile is tailored for larger organizations, introducing additional layers of structure and coordination to synchronize efforts across numerous Agile teams within a comprehensive framework.

Below are tabular differences between Agile and SAFe Agile framework:

Feature	Agile Framework	SAFe Agile Framework
Scope	Mainly suited for small to medium-sized teams	Suited for large-scale enterprises
Structure	Focuses on minimal structure, individuals and interactions	Follows a hierarchical structure with specific roles and layers
Roles	Promotes cross-functional teams with few roles	Introduces specific roles like Release Train Engineer (RTE), Product Owner, Scrum Master, etc
Scaling	Limited scalability beyond a few teams	Scales to manage multiple teams, and programs.
Ceremonies	Highlights standard procedures like stand-ups and reviews	Includes ceremonies like PI (Program Increment) Planning and Inspect and Adapt (I&A)
Planning	Emphasizes short-term planning with flexibility	Involves long-term planning with fixed iterations and Program Increments
Release Frequency	Encourages frequent releases based on priority	Follows regular, fixed releases synchronized across multiple teams
Customer Involvement	Promotes continuous customer collaboration	Involves customer participation through PI planning and demos
Documentation	Values working software over documentation	Values comprehensive documentation in larger organizations

FAQs on Agile Framework vs SAFe Agile Framework:

Q: Can Agile and SAFe Agile accommodate changes in project requirements?

A: Yes, both Agile and SAFe Agile are designed to accommodate change. They prioritize flexibility allowing teams to adapt to evolving requirements throughout the project lifecycle.

Q: What is the primary difference between the Agile framework and SAFe Agile framework?

A: The Agile framework is designed for small, self-organizing teams for iterative development and adaptability. SAFe Agile extends these principles to large enterprises introducing additional layers of structure and coordination across multiple Agile teams.

Q: How does team organization differ in Agile and SAFe Agile?

A: Agile encourages small cross-functional teams with self-organization. SAFe Agile organizes teams into Agile Release Trains (ARTs) which are larger groups aligned for collaboration.

Q: Are there specific roles in SAFe Agile that differ from traditional Agile?

A: Yes, SAFe introduces specific roles such as Release Train Engineer (RTE), Product Owner etc to ensure clear responsibilities and accountabilities at the program level.

Q: Is SAFe Agile suitable for all types of projects?

A: SAFe Agile is particularly well-suited for large-scale, complex projects in enterprise. For smaller projects or teams traditional Agile practices are suitable. However, the choice depends on the specific needs of the organization.

Conclusion:

Agile and SAFe both share common principles, the choice between them depends on the scale and complexity of the project. Agile suits smaller, dynamic teams while SAFe provides a structured framework for organizations dealing with extensive projects and multiple interconnected teams. Understanding both the frameworks allow organizations to choose their framework efficiently.