In 2019 Adaptavist published a whitepaper laying out a pragmatic approach for implementing the Scaled agile Framework for Enterprise® (SAFe®), while keeping the toolset within the Atlassian ecosystem. This paper went on to become a leading source of knowledge on the topic, topping search rankings and receiving over 1000 downloads. But, spoiler alert: A lot has happened since then.
SAFe® has updated its framework to 5.0, making many changes to existing practice, and incorporating new additions. What's more, Atlassian now has a software tool aimed squarely at enterprise agile planning called Jira Align. And most importantly, the global pandemic has accelerated many businesses' plans for agile transformation.
This drove resident SAFe® experts at Adaptavist Nick Bialaszewski, Rizwan Hasan, and William Rojas to decide that the updates and expansions required more than just one-off content to highlight them. Instead, the team elected to thoroughly refresh the previous paper, and you can download the new edition below.
Building software at scale with SAFe® and Atlassian tools
The choice of tooling is a crucial part of any SAFe® implementation. Learn a flexible Atlassian-based solution in this pragmatic guide.
This new release tackles the backward compatibility of SAFe® 5.0 with 4.6, and outlines the additional competencies that bring teams and leadership together to achieve total business agility as a lean enterprise. The paper highlights the different Atlassian products (including Jira Align) and Atlassian Marketplace apps which combine to form a toolset that matches an organisation's level of SAFe® configuration.
All of which brings us to the most important part of the paper: No two companies are alike, and no two SAFe® configurations are the same. The journey to implementation isn't a prescriptive one. SAFe® must be a unique experience to enable success, harmony, and agility in organisations. And the toolset in turn must have the flexibility to support a bespoke approach.
Just as importantly, organisations which undertake an agile-at-scale transformation must be 'all in' on implementing the new framework. This drive must be holistic, as Donald Feinberg, a Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner puts it:
"Adopting an agile business mindset is crucial . . . the continued survival of any business will depend upon an agile, data-centric architecture that responds to the constant rate of change."
In response to that, the approach Adaptavist takes with client organisations is to implement SAFe® flexibly in ways that make sense relative to the structure of their business. For more information on agile transformation, have a look at our blog posts on the topic. And if you're seeking guidance to help you on your journey, simply reach out to our team.
Building software at scale with SAFe® 5.0 and Atlassian tools is relatively simple if you follow this pragmatic guide. Download it now.
