SAFe Core Values: Key Principles for Agile Success

Born out of my experience as a SAFe Program Consultant for the last ten years, working on the Scaled Agile Framework in different industries, I've come to appreciate how the core values of SAFe Agile serve as the bedrock of successful enterprise transformations. It does not matter if you are at the start of your agile journey or if you are trying to enhance your already existing SAFe implementation, possessing core values is important for any sustainable endeavor.

This blog will cover a detailed elaboration on the core values of SAFe Agile and on their importance when scaling agile practices across levels of an organization. I will share my personal experiences at different companies that have helped me understand the value of these core values, along with practical examples and implementation guides.

The framework of SAFe Agile has a pre-defined set of values. Values form the belief system and the framework that guides actions and choices across an organization. It is the values that shape the culture of the organization and its approach to issues, and which ultimately makes the implementation of SAFe possible.

The four key SAFe core values are:

• Alignment: Creating clarity and unity of purpose across the organization
• Built-in Quality: Embedding quality thinking and practices at every level
• Transparency: Making work, progress, and challenges visible to all
• Program Execution: Reliably delivering working solutions that create value

These values do not exist in isolation because they form an integrated system that makes it possible for organizations to successfully scale agile. It has become clear to me that neglecting one of these values can put the entire transformation at risk.

As Dean Leffingwell, creator of SAFe, aptly puts it:

"Values are the fundamental beliefs that drive behavior and ultimately create the cultural fabric of the organization. These values guide the way we work with each other, with our customers, and with our stakeholders."

Now, let us go through each of these SAFe core values explained to see their importance and how they can be implemented.

In my experience implementing SAFe across dozens of organizations, Alignment consistently emerges as one of the most challenging yet impactful values to establish. It means ascertaining that everyone from the executive level to individual contributors understand and work toward the same strategic objectives.

SAFe Framework Core Components of Alignment in an Organization

Alignment in SAFe works vertically (from portfolio to teams) and horizontally (across teams and divisions). This is how effective alignment looks like:

• Strategic alignment: Teams can relate their work to enterprise goals
• Planning alignment: There are recurring Big Room Planning sessions to harmonize work across teams
• Execution alignment: Teams manage dependencies and integrate their work together
• Feedback alignment: Learning flows in both hierachical directions within the organization

In an organization, a proper alignment can only be achieved when there are distinct strategic themes defined at portfolio level, which then get translated into program and team goals. This creates what I term as the "golden thread" linking daily activities to organizational goals.

Strategies for Ensuring Alignment

From my perspective, I have noticed the following strategies as being particularly useful for achieving alignment.

• Visualize strategy: Construct strategy maps that illustrate how specific objectives within teams link to the higher-level goals of the enterprise.
• Establish cadence: Incorporate and synchronize organizational planning and review cycles so that everyone continues to move in unison.
• Define objectives clearly: Do not set imprecise instructions and instead develop measurable results.
• Share information broadly: Share insights regarding the strategies undertaken and the reasons for these strategies widely.

For example, I once assisted a financial services firm which had 30+ agile teams that were all operating with differing priorities. After they started holding quarterly PI Planning events and building program boards that were visible to everyone, they reported a reduction in conflicting priorities of 72% and an increase in predictable delivery of 45% within six months.
 

This second core SAFe Agile principle emphasizes that quality should be embedded in the processes as much as possible, instead of trying to "test it in" at the end of the development cycle. For a great number of companies that are used to traditional quality assurance methods, this is a point of paradigm shift.

Built-in quality signifies that it is not the sole responsibility of QA to ensure this is done. It requires integrating quality processes throughout the entire development process - starting from ideation, during the development phase, delivery and after.

Fundamental Built-in Quality Methods

In my experience, these practices are optimally effective at various organizational levels:

Team-Level Quality Achievements

• Test-Driven Development (TDD)
• Integration of pair programming and code reviews
• Implementation of continuous integration
• Refactoring
• Collective code ownership

Program-Level Quality Achievements

• Development of architecture runway
• Set-based design
• System demonstrations
• DevOps integration
• Validation of non-functional requirements

Portfolio-Level Quality Approaches

• Architectural and infrastructural enabler epics
• Portfolio completeness indicators
• Application of Lean UX and design thinking
• Accounting for innovation

Quantifying Built-in Quality

Measuring built-in quality progress requires a blend of leading and lagging indicators. These are measurements I suggest:

One of my healthcare clients experienced an 82% decline in production defects after adopting built-in quality practices. Most importantly, their teams reported greater satisfaction and an overall reduction in reported overtime, as they spent less time battling organizational fires.
 

"Transparency" is likely the most culture-altering of the SAFe framework core values. It entails opening up work, progress, and—most troubling of all—problems for everyone to see.

Transparency nurtures trust, speeds up problem resolution, and improves learning. I have witnessed organizations struggle with embracing transparency initially because of the vulnerability it showcased, only to uncover that it became the most remarkable strength.

Fostering Change: A Culture of Transparency

Encouraging transparency requires tools as well as a shift in behavior:

• Visual Management: Physical or digital boards that display the status of work function as visual aids.
• Open Communication: Sharing progress and roadblocks regularly and candidly.
• Shared Metrics: Measures of achievement that are available to everyone.
• Collaborative Problem-Solving: Cross-functional analysis of problems.
• Fearless Openness: Establishing the freedom that allows one to aim at issues.

Addressing the 'Lack of Clarity' Problem

I often encounter these inadequacies of transparency in my consultancy work.

• Blame Avoidance: People cover up issues as they try to evade criticism.
• Political Power: The information is but a resource or meaning.
• Competitive Criteria: Different subdivisions optimize for non-collaborative goals.
• Inaccessible Technology: Systems which do not allow easy transfer of information.

For these barriers, the procedure can be simplified. Foster transparency among teams before trickling it down to program and portfolio levels. Leadership has to lead the charge by revealing personal challenges and mistakes.

A technology client I worked with created a "transparency wall" where all processes, their statuses, and issues were displayed for all to see. While discomforting at first, this practice reduced meeting time by thirty percent and enabled faster problem resolution by more quickly uncovering dependency issues.
 

In SAFe, program execution is where the 'rubber meets the road', which is the cornerstone of the first three values of SAFe. This core value emphasizes the need to consistently provide working, integrated solutions that are of value to the customer.

The absence of "alignment," "quality," and "transparency" simply makes consistent execution impossible. These SAFe core values are essential. Another layer of competencies is required for excellent execution:

Key Components of Successful Program Execution

• Predictable delivery rhythm: Regular and synchronized iterations with program increments.
• Dependency management: Coordinated action across multiple teams.
• Integration points: Showcase the working features of the system through frequent demonstrations.
• Risk Management: Identification and mitigation of issues done early.
• Adaptation: Based on feedback received, improve throughout the process.

The Functions of the Agile Release Train

Program execution in SAFe is primarily done through the Agile Release Train (ART). Based on my experience, the best ARTs have the following features:

• From 50 to 125 individuals arranged into 5 to 12 agile teams.
• Focused on achieving a shared goal.
• Possess the same updated backlog and roadmap.
• Performing collective planning.
• Performing joint demos.
• Participating in collaborative learning.

While applying SAFe in a large insurance company, we created cross-functional ARTs aligned with customer value streams instead of technical partitions. The reorganization improved predictability in delivery from 65% to 91% and nearly halved the time to market.
 

A critical strategic understanding for any organization using SAFe framework is identifying how its core values work simultaneously. Each core value is inter-linked with and supports the other:

• Alignment directs the attention required for efficient program execution.
• Built-in Quality allows a sustainable pace of delivery and satisfaction.
• Transparency identifies the misalignments and quality issues early.
• Program Execution validates that the other values are working effectively.

These interactions can also be represented as a feedback system:

1. Alignment sets the commanding focus
2. Transparency reports commander's orders and draws attention to problems
3. Built-in Quality creates dependability and sustainability in delivery
4. Program Execution provides consistent delivery.

The output offers alignment feedback to refine the system, consolidating control.

Weakness in one core value dilutes its effectiveness. For example, poor execution halt impact trust, transparency, and alignment as teams resort to workarounds.
 

To put the core SAFe Agile values into action, an approach with consideration on incremental steps is necessary. From my experience with accompanying many transformations, here's a practical roadmap:

Step 1: Assess Your Current State

Consider evaluating where your organization falls with respect to each value in a brutally honest manner. Assessment can be done using criteria below:

• Alignment: Do teams appreciate how their contribution impacts the corporate strategy?
• Built-in Quality: Are good quality procedures integrated during every stage of work development?
• Transparency: Is the work done, the progress made, and anything preventing work from being done visible?
• Program Execution: Do the teams consistently provide integrated solutions?

Assess each value using 1-5 scale, where 1 means "mostly absent" and 5 means "strongly present."

Step 2: Create Awareness and Understanding

Using every value as a focal point, run workshops where leaders and team members are assisted in:

• Recognizing barriers preventing the value from manifesting
• Identify specific actions needed to strengthen the value
• Tracking progress to set defined measures to

Step 3: Implement Recommend Value-Specific Actions

As per your assessment conclusions, pass ways which need bolstering first:

For Alignment:

• Set up and maintain strategic themes with discussions around them.
• Conduct regular PI Planning
• Visible links that join team objectives and portfolio vision should be created.

For Built-in Quality:

• Train inhouse teams on TDD and CI/CD functionalities.
• Develop mutual acceptance criteria integrating quality measures
• Create enabler capacity for resolving backlog issues

In The Transparency Category:

• Establish prominent displays of information at the team and program level
• Facilitate system-wide demonstrations with stakeholders
• Develop psychological safety for escalating concerns

In the Program Execution Category:

• Set up synchronized iteration frequency
• Set up inter-team cadences
• Create clear definitional metrics for assessing program reliability

Step 4: Measure and Adapt

Define lead and lag indicators for value components:

Alignment Metrics:

• Proportion of team goals assigned to strategic initiatives
• Team members understanding of the organizational strategy (polls)
• Conflicts across project teams

Built-in Quality Metrics:

• Proportion of Functional Requirements Document (FRD) covered by automated testing
• Trends in technical debt
• Defects found during production

Transparency Metrics:

• Timely provision of accurate information
• Defenders confidence estimation on reporting
• Lead time for detecting the growing problem

Program Execution Metrics:

• Reliability of information on delivery deadlines
• Duration of cycle for features
• Value provided relative to cost
   

While these serve as the foundation, they integrate to the wider set of SAFe Agile core principles that include:

• Observe from economical perspective
• Use system approach
• Assume fluctuation; keep options open
• Construct in parts with rapid integrated learning cycles
• Milestones should be based on objective assessment of working systems
• Visualize, limit WIP, lessen batch size and control length of queues
• Cadence application with synchronizing cross-domain planning
• Harness the self-regulating drive of knowledge workers.
• Delegate authority.
• Form around the output.

These guidelines enhance the implementation of SAFe, but as I have experienced, core values must precede foundational principles to ensure proper balance in application.
 

From working with countless organizations across their SAFe adoption journeys, I firmly believe that the SAFe core values embody the boundary between profound transformative achievement and mere superficial adherence. If organizations sincerely adopt these values, they don't just improve processes; they re-engineer entire ways of working for the better.

These values are not only a matter of methodology, but serve as the means to transform organizational culture. They form the basis upon which organizations can construct learning technologies that respond and adapt to volatile shifts in market conditions.

As you progress in your SAFe implementation journey, I recommend the following:

• Evaluate each value on the scale of importance.
• Teach your employees the purpose and significance of the values.
• Take measures that reinforce practices relating to each value.
• Track the quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess progress.
• Use the information you gather to change your approach.

Keep in mind that the SAFe core values are not the end goal, but rather serve as the navigation for agility, innovation, and customer value guiding the journey. These core values will build an adaptable organization for the changing and evolving world.