This course introduces Agile and the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) for coordinating teams and delivering value across an organization. Participants explore Lean-Agile principles, key roles, Agile Release Trains, planning, delivery, and continuous improvement. The course connects organizational priorities with team execution and concludes with a capstone that brings the concepts together in a practical enterprise scenario.

 

Duration 3 Days – 21 hrs.

 

Objectives

• Explain Agile values, Lean thinking, and the purpose of SAFe.
• Describe SAFe principles, core values, roles, and organizational structures.
• Explain how Agile teams and Agile Release Trains coordinate value delivery.
• Connect customer needs with features, stories, and prioritized backlogs.
• Contribute to Planning Interval (PI) Planning and develop aligned objectives.
• Identify dependencies, capacity constraints, and delivery risks across teams.
• Explain built-in quality, DevOps, and continuous delivery concepts.
• Describe how Lean Portfolio Management connects strategy with execution.
• Identify opportunities to improve flow and support organizational change.
• Develop an integrated delivery plan for a sample enterprise initiative.

 

Target Audience 

• Project managers, program managers, and delivery managers.
• Scrum Masters, Agile coaches, and team leaders.
• Product owners, product managers, and business analysts.
• Software development, quality assurance, and operations professionals.
• Enterprise architects and solution architects.
• Business managers and transformation leaders.
• Professionals joining or supporting a SAFe environment.

 

 Prerequisites

• No formal certification prerequisites.
• Basic familiarity with project work or product delivery is recommended.
• Awareness of Agile, Scrum, or Kanban is helpful but not required.
• Experience collaborating in a team environment is beneficial.

Course Outline 

Day 1: Agile Foundations and the SAFe Environment

Module 1: Agile and Lean Foundations

• Agile values and principles.
• Iterative and incremental delivery.
• Scrum and Kanban fundamentals.
• Lean thinking, customer value, and waste reduction.
• Challenges of coordinating multiple Agile teams.

 Module 2: Introduction to SAFe

• Purpose and scope of the Scaled Agile Framework.
• Business agility and the Lean-Agile mindset.
• SAFe core values and principles.
• Overview of Essential SAFe and broader configurations.
• Organizing around value and understanding value streams.

Module 3: Teams, Roles, and Agile Release Trains

• Cross-functional Agile teams and shared responsibilities.
• Agile Release Train (ART) purpose and structure.
• Product Owner, Scrum Master/Team Coach, and team responsibilities.
• Product Management, Release Train Engineer, and System Architect responsibilities.
• Business Owners and stakeholder collaboration.
• Team and ART coordination.

Module 4: Customer Needs and Backlog Management

• Customer-centricity and design thinking.
• Connecting product vision with customer outcomes.
• Epics, features, and user stories.
• Acceptance criteria and backlog refinement.
• Prioritization and an introduction to Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF).

 

Day 2: Planning and Coordinating Value Delivery

Module 5: Preparing for PI Planning

• Purpose and expected outcomes of a Planning Interval.
• Business context, product vision, and architectural guidance.
• Backlog readiness and team capacity.
• Identifying dependencies and constraints.
• Defining clear PI objectives.

Module 6: PI Planning and Cross-Team Alignment

• PI Planning activities and responsibilities.
• Creating team plans and coordinating dependencies.
• Building an ART planning board.
• Resolving planning issues and managing risks.
• Applying ROAM: Resolved, Owned, Accepted, and Mitigated.
• Confidence voting and plan adjustments.

Module 7: Executing the Planning Interval

• Iteration planning and team coordination.
• ART synchronization and stakeholder communication.
• System demonstrations and integrated progress visibility.
• Managing changing priorities and delivery impediments.
• Innovation and Planning iteration.
• Inspect and Adapt and improvement actions.

Module 8: Quality, DevOps, and Delivery Flow

• Built-in quality and shared ownership.
• Continuous exploration, integration, and deployment.
• Release on demand and the distinction between deployment and release.
• Work-in-progress limits, queues, and bottlenecks.
• Using flow and outcome measures to guide improvement.

 

Day 3: Strategy, Leadership, and Integrated Application

Module 9: Lean Portfolio Management Fundamentals

• Connecting enterprise strategy with execution.
• Strategic themes and portfolio vision.
• Portfolio epics and Lean business cases.
• Portfolio Kanban and initiative prioritization.
• Lean budgets and investment guardrails.

Module 10: Lean-Agile Leadership and Organizational Change

• Leadership behaviors that support agility.
• Empowerment, collaboration, and decentralized decision-making.
• Supporting organizational readiness and adoption.
• Addressing common implementation challenges.
• Establishing a culture of continuous improvement.
• Responsible use of AI to support planning, backlog refinement, and communication.

Module 11: Capstone—Planning an Enterprise Initiative

• Define a customer problem and desired business outcomes for a sample initiative.
• Identify participating teams, key roles, and relevant value streams.
• Create and prioritize a feature backlog.
• Develop PI objectives and a coordinated delivery plan.
• Document cross-team dependencies and risks.
• Identify quality expectations and release considerations.
• Produce a consolidated plan with improvement priorities and next steps.