SAFe 5.0 Distilled

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
About the Authors xvii

Part I: Competing in the Age of Software 1
Chapter 1: Business Agility 3
Chapter 2: Introduction to SAFe 11
Chapter 3: Lean-Agile Mindset 25
Chapter 4: SAFe Principles 39

Part II: The Seven Core Competencies of the Lean Enterprise 63
Chapter 5: Lean-Agile Leadership 65
Chapter 6: Team and Technical Agility 75
Chapter 7: Agile Product Delivery 89
Chapter 8: Enterprise Solution Delivery 121
Chapter 9: Lean Portfolio Management 143
Chapter 10: Organizational Agility 167
Chapter 11: Continuous Learning Culture 187

Part III: Implementing SAFe, Measure and Grow 201
Chapter 12: The Guiding Coalition 205
Chapter 13: Designing the Implementation 215
Chapter 14: Implementing Agile Release Trains 229
Chapter 15: Launch More ARTs and Value Streams; Extending to the Portfolio 245
Chapter 16: Measure, Grow, and Accelerate 253

Glossary 267
Index 279

Richard Knaster, SAFe Fellow and Principal Consultant at Scaled Agile, Inc., has more than 25 years’ experience in software development in roles ranging from developer to executive and has been involved in Agile for more than a decade. Prior to joining Scaled Agile, Inc., Richard worked at IBM, where his career spanned from product line management (PPM domain) and professional services to chief methodologist, Agile and Lean. Richard is a certified IBM Thought Leader and an Open Group Distinguished IT Specialist. He is also a certified SPC, PSM, Agile Certified Practitioner, PMP, and a contributor to the Disciplined Agile Delivery framework and PMI Portfolio/Program Management standards. He is a contributor to SAFe® 4.5 Reference Guide (Addison-Wesley, 2018).
Dean Leffingwell, creator of SAFe®, is widely recognized as the one of the world’s foremost authorities on Lean-Agile best practices. He is an author, serial entrepreneur, and software systems development methodologist. His two best-selling books, Agile Software Requirements: Lean Requirements Practices for Teams, Programs, and the Enterprise (Addison-Wesley, 2011), and Scaling Software Agility: Best Practices for Large Enterprises (Addison-Wesley, 2007), form much of the basis of modern thinking on Lean-Agile practices and principles.