Tag: Agile

  • How to Guide the Scaled Agile Framework Certification

    How to Guide the Scaled Agile Framework Certification

    Scaled Agile Framework or SAFe is an agile framework designed for development teams. SAFe’s foundation comprises three meta-policies: Team, Program, and Portfolio. SAFe provides flexibility to a product team. It also helps to address some of the challenges that larger organizations face when implementing Agile. Also, The SAFe framework consists of a large knowledge base of tried and true best practices. Similarly, product teams use the SAFe framework to deliver high-quality software products.

    The Best Ultimate Guide to Scaled Agile Framework Certification

    What is the Scaled Agile Framework? It is an open-source online knowledge base that enables teams to implement Lean-Agile practices at the enterprise level. SAFE provides a straightforward and easy-to-use experience for software developers. Also, It is a collection of organizations and workflows that stand designed to help enterprises scale lean and agile processes. It broke down into three segments: Team, Program, and Portfolio.

    The SAFe framework enables teams to:

    • Implement Lean-Agile software and systems at the enterprise level
    • Build Lean and Agile workflows based on Lean principles
    • Provide detailed workflows at the enterprise Portfolio level, enterprise Value Stream level, enterprise Program level, and team level
    • Designed to meet all stakeholder needs within an organization
    • Developed in the field and published in books and blog
    • SAFe version 1.0 was released in 2011
    • Also, The SAFe latest version 4.6 was released in October 2018

    Scaled agile framework History

    The scaled agile framework (SAFe) was first introduced to the product world in 2011. It was created by the software-industry veteran, author of agile software requirements, and dean Leffingwell. The SAFe framework was originally known as the “agile enterprise big picture.” In it, Leffingwell outlined how to use existing agile frameworks, such as lean, Konban, scrum, and XP, and apply them to the team, program, and portfolio. Now, the entire SAFe knowledge and success pattern catalog is free to use. SAFe continues to be one of the best agile frameworks.

    Why use the SAFe (scaled agile framework) Framework?

    The SAFe Framework is simple and lightweight, but it can handle the demands of large value streams as well as complex system development.

    • Implementing the SAFe Agile framework will increase your productivity by 20 – 50%.
    • Quality increases by more than 50%.
    • Time to market is faster than 30 – 75%.
    • Also, Employee engagement and job satisfaction will increase.

    What is the SAFe Framework Diagram? You can find the detailed framework diagram on the SAFe website. The diagram shows all the key roles, activities, deliverables, and flows. The diagram also serves as a reference for the rest of the website.

    What is a story? A story is an extensive body of work that broke down into many smaller stories. Each team allocates the story as a sub-epic. Each team then works on the story or software feature accordingly.

    When to Use the SAFe

    Scaled Agile Framework should use when:

    1. A team wants to consistently implement an agile approach across a large, multi-team program and portfolio
    2. Multiple teams are running Agile implementation on their own but face common challenges, delays, and failure
    3. A team wishes to work independently
    4. You want to scale agile across the organization but don’t know what new roles need to add or what existing role (i.e. management) needs to change and how
    5. You have tried to scale the agile across your organization but are struggling to achieve alignment to achieve a unified or consistent strategy across all business departments from the portfolio, program, and team levels
    6. Also, You need to improve your product development lead time
    7. You’re curious to see how other companies have scaled Agile using SAFe

    SAFe for Project Management

    Project management within an organization utilizing SAFe takes place at three levels. At the team level, it is essentially Scrum business as normal. Small teams have defined goals and responsibilities, so they release iterations after every Sprint. A Scrum Master usually leads the charge. The only notable difference is that small teams now roll up into programs.

    At the program level, SAFe’s advantages begin to shine. Each team’s output must blend with everyone else’s to create something complementary, cohesive, and consistent. Under the leadership of an Agile Release Train Engineer, teams come together as a group to work on a project. After five or so Sprints, a PIII undergoes a full round of testing.

    In this process, code ships much more frequently. The highest-level portfolios comprise multiple programs with long-term visions spanning multiple quarters or even a full year. Also, This is where budgeting defines epic-level milestones are set. Strategic planning and project planning meetings at the program level. For Synchronicity.

    What are SAFe’s strengths and weaknesses?

    SAFe’s strengths are that it facilitates cross-functional collaboration, helps organizations be more transparent, and aligns every aspect of a project with the overall business objectives.

    SAFe’s weaknesses are that, firstly, some believe that SAFe is not a pure agile framework, as it requires too much pre-planning and process definition. Secondly, SAFe tends to be more of a “top-down” approach, rather than a “team-based” approach.

    Scaled Agile Framework Certification & Training

    The duration of SAFe Agile training modules ranges from two to four days, depending on the topic. Upon completion of the course, further study and preparation prepare candidates for a multi-choice SAFE Agile exam in the discipline they have chosen.

    The SAFE Agile framework offers a wide range of certifications to meet the needs of almost anyone working within the framework. You can become a SAFE Certified Agile Product Manager or SAFE Certified Product Owner/Manager to learn best practices and also practices for product management in a SAFE Agile context.

    You can also become SAFE Certified Lean Portfolio Managers, SAFE Agilists, SAFE Practitioners, and SAFE Program Consultants. SAFE Agile certifications are also available for architects, scrum masters, train engineers, software engineers, and DevOps.

    SAFe Agilis Certification Course Summary

    The SAFe Agilis certification training course covers the principles and practices of Lean-Agile through the use of the SAFe® framework. This two-day course provides an introduction to the SAFe® Lean-Agile framework, the Agile mindset, Agile release train implementation, Agile Portfolio building, and leadership in Lean-Agile in and organization transformation.

    SAFe Agile Certification Training Course

    SAFe Agile is a certification training course designed to help you and your organization adopt a lean-agile framework. The Scaled Agile Certification course is suitable for executives, senior managers, quality analysts, directors, program and project managers, product managers, portfolio managers, process, and enterprise architects, and solution architects.

    What requires to take this course?

    • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
    • High school diploma or equivalent.
    • Minimum five years experience in software development.
    • Business analysis.
    • Project management.
    • Also, Agile Scrum.

    Scaled Agile Academy training

    What is Scaled Agile? Scaled Agile is an industry-proven framework for scaling Agile methodology for larger development efforts requiring over 50 people. This SAFe framework is constantly being developed and expects to remain the standard framework for scaled agile for years to come. Agilest has experience with scaling Agile and offers a variety of SAFe certifications.

    The SAFe certifications offered by Agilest are designed to prepare teams at companies that are starting to scale Agile for continuous delivery and capacity management. The SAFe training modules delivered by Agilest result in function-specific certifications which serve as a credential.

    Suggested Requirements

    If your team members are planning to attend your scaling class and have not completed basic training such as a CSM then consider having them go through one of the other Agile certification training offered by Agilest®, such as the Agile Scrum Master™ AASM™, Agile Product Owner™ AAPO™, or Agile DevOps Engineer™ AADE™ training. The type of training they will attend should be relevant to the role they will be taking on the Scrum Team. The SAFe Training offerings are not starting sessions.

    It expects that all SAFe-certified attendees have prior Agile experience and several years of experience in Agile development. At the very least, team members should have attended role-specific training before the SAFe Training. While it is not as effective as having a couple of years of experience before going into the SAFe Training, it is a much better option than going in with no Agile experience at all.

    Agile® offers cost-effective packages that allow attendees to earn multiple certifications for a single package price. These packages are role-specific training packages that will help prepare attendees for the fast-paced demands of Agile development.

    How to Guide the Scaled Agile Framework Certification Image
    How to Guide the Scaled Agile Framework Certification
  • What is Agile Methodology?

    What is Agile Methodology?

    What do you Mean about Agile Methodology?

    First, know about What is Agile? Agile has been the buzzword in project management for about a decade, and with good reason. Agile is actually an umbrella term over several project management approaches that are characterized by their ability to allow project teams to respond to changing requirements and priorities by using incremental work packages. While all agile methods have common characteristics, each agile method has unique processes that set it apart. Let’s look at how each method is used with Charlie’s team, who is developing a new software game. What is Agile Methodology? 

    Agile software development methodology is a process for developing software (like other software development methodologies Waterfall model, V-Model, Iterative model etc.) However, Agile methodology differs significantly from other methodologies. In English, Agile means ‘ability to move quickly and easily’ and responding swiftly to change – this is a key aspect of Agile software development as well.

    Agile-Methodology-process

    “Agile Development” is an umbrella term for several iterative and incremental software development methodologies. The most popular agile methodologies include Extreme Programming (XP), Scrum, Crystal, Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Lean Development, and Feature-Driven Development (FDD). Learning Development and Exercise of Self-Efficacy Over the Lifespan!

    Engineering methodologies required a lot of documentation thereby causing the pace of development to slow down considerably. Agile Methodologies evolved in the 1990s to significantly eliminate this bureaucratic nature of engineering methodology. It was part of developer’s reaction against “heavyweight” methods, who desired to drift away from traditional structured, bureaucratic approaches to software development and move towards more flexible development styles. They were called the ‘Agile’ or ‘Light Weight’ methods and were defined in 1974 by Edmonds in a research paper.

    An agile methodology is an approach to project management, typically used in software development. It refers to a group of software development methodologies based on iterative development. Requirements and solutions evolve through cooperation between self-organizing cross-functional teams, without concern for any hierarchy or team member roles. It promotes teamwork, collaboration, and process adaptability throughout the project life-cycle with increased face-to-face communication and a reduced amount of written documentation.

    Agile methods break tasks into small increments with no direct long-term planning. Every aspect of development is continually revisited throughout the lifecycle of a project by way of iterations (also called sprints). Iterations are short time frames (“timeboxes”) that normally last 1-4 weeks. This “inspect-and-adapt” approach significantly reduces both development costs and time to market. Each iteration involves working through a complete software development cycle characterized by planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, unit testing, and acceptance testing. This helps minimize overall risk and quicker project adaptability. While iteration may not have enough functionality necessary for a market release, the aim is to be ready for a release (with minimal bugs) at the end of each iteration.

    Typically, the team size is small (5-9 people) to enable easier communication and collaboration. Multiple teams may be required for larger developmental efforts which may also require a coordination of priorities across teams. Agile methods emphasize more face-to-face communication than written documents when the team is in the same location. However, when a team works at different locations, daily contact is maintained through video conferencing, e-mail, etc. The progress made in terms of the work done today, work scheduled for tomorrow and the possible roadblocks are discussed among the team members in brief sessions at the end of each working day. Besides, agile developmental efforts are supervised by a customer representative to ensure alignment between customer needs and company goals. New Roles of Human Resource Management in Business Development.

    Software Development was initially based on coding and fixing. That worked well for smaller software, but as the size and complexities of software grew a need for a proper process was felt because the debugging and testing of such software became extremely difficult. This gave birth to the Engineering Methodologies. The methodologies became highly successful since it structured the software development process. One of the most popular models that emerged was the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) that developed information systems in a very methodical manner.Waterfall method is one of the most popular examples of Engineering or the SDLC methodology. A paper published by Winston Royce in 1970 introduced it as an idea. It was derived from the hardware manufacture and construction strategies that were in practice during the 1970s. The relationship of each stage to the others can be roughly described as a waterfall, where the outputs from a specific stage serve as the initial inputs for the following stage. During each stage, additional information is gathered or developed, combined with the inputs, and used to produce the stage deliverables. It is important to note that the additional information is restricted in scope; “new ideas” that would take the project in directions not anticipated by the initial set of high-level requirements are not incorporated into the project. Rather, ideas for new capabilities or features that are out-of-scope are preserved for later consideration.

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