If you are working in an organization, you know the importance of how teams work and how various agile frameworks help achieve defined scope and goals for an organization. Today we are going to talk about SAFe and we will cover the topic of various SAFe agile ceremonies and their importance on this page. But first, let us briefly understand what SAFe is and why this is so much important in the organization.
The Scaled Agile Framework is the way to achieve more efficient and successful agile projects in the organization. In this, the teams make sure that there is a better relationship between the organization and the end users which involves having continuous feedback from both ends. The best part about this framework is that it is very flexible and can be applied to so many industries and can be easily scaled up. Using this, the organizations are able to scale up from the basic enterprise level to the full SAFe level and have all the essential features of this framework. If you are looking to understand more about this framework, then going for safe training is the best option.
Now that we have refreshed our memory of what SAFe is and why it is needed in an organization, let us understand what are the various scaled agile ceremonies that are needed in the team when they are following the SAFe approach in the project.
Various SAFe ceremonies
There are some levels at which the SAFe agile ceremonies took place. These levels are needed to make sure that the teams are involved and that the bigger picture is clearly visible to everyone in the room. So, in the topic below, we are going to discuss those levels and understand what ceremonies come in those levels.
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Essential ceremonies
Team Level
We know that in this framework, there are various agile teams that work towards the same goal and there are almost 5-11 people in those teams. They come together and work in an iteration that is generally consisted of 1-4 weeks. The work during this sprint is managed by the scrum master and he overlooks if the team is diverting from the project goals. There are some SAFe agile ceremonies that help in making sure of that:
Iteration Planning: This is known as an important phase when it comes to the iteration as in this the work is decided and with the help of SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) the work is understood, and the team understands what is needed in the story. The team members come around and work on the backlog and see what stories part of this iteration should be and how they can deliver it.
Daily Stand-up: This helps in keeping the progress on track and what is going on in the team. This daily stand-up call happens at the same time same place and here all the project progress is discussed on the individual level and the plan is created for the day.
Iteration Review: In this phase, the team will complete the iteration and they will review the stories that they have produced. Also, in this ceremony, the team will get feedback from the customer, stakeholders and business owners as well.
Iteration Retrospective: here, the team comes together and reviews the whole process, and they agree to make changes in the processes, the practices and the improvements that are needed in the project.
Program Level
The program-level ceremonies will include various agile teams of 5-12 members each and there will be different members in these safe agile ceremonies. The participants in these are- Business Owners, Release Train Engineers (RTE), System Architects/Engineers, and Product Managers. They will come together and when they are working in increments of 8-12 weeks, then this is called program increment. All of this happens on ART (Agile Release Train).
PI Planning: This is one of the crucial phases in any project and this defines clearly what is needed to be done in the project. This is a 2-day event that will have the members mentioned above in the ART and they will come together to discuss the PI objectives for the project. They will work on the team dependencies, the risks involved, the backlogs and the stories which are of high priority.
System Demo: this is putting what was discussed into the picture. This is shown after the PI iteration is completed. This bridges the gap between the developers and the business owners as they are now aware of what is done by the team with the demonstration. This is mostly for reviewing the iteration and seeing if the team is on the right track.
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ART Sync: In this, there are two meetings. These are:
Scrum of Scrums: This is mostly used for large ARTs and in this, all the teams come together in a cadenced manner. This involves- RTE (Release Train Engineer), the scrum master of the individual teams and also the few selected members from the team. The purpose is to see if all the teams are going in the right direction along with the harmony in the team. The duration of these SoS meetings depends on the size of the ART.
Also Read: Scrum Vs SAFe
PO Sync: In this event, the members involved are- Product Owner, business analysts and the product management group. This is a crucial event as in this event, the product backlog is levelled up and the PI is very well defined so that the team is clear of the goals. Also, it includes reviewing the roadmap and the grooming of the upcoming PIs. The duration and frequency of these events depend on the team and the organization.
Inspect and Adapt
This is an event that is scheduled after every PI. This event helps in understanding how the further PI can be made better and this is a self-induced event which means that the processes are revalidated with the assumption that everything is okay. This comes with the sub-part which is mentioned below:
- PI System Demo
- Quantitative and qualitative measurement
- Retrospective and problem-solving workshop
Now that we have learned about various SAFe agile ceremonies, it is safe to see the benefits of following these ceremonies. So below are some of the reasons why these ceremonies are beneficial for the team.
Also Read: SAFe DevOps
Benefits of SAFe agile ceremonies
Use of PI Planning
One of the major benefits that the team will have is that they are able to understand the scope of the project in a better way. With the brainstorming part and knowing what is needed to be done in this sprint, everyone onboard will be able to see the right picture.
Also Read: What Is Practice Consultant
Seeing what is done
With regular scaled agile ceremonies, the team and the project managers including the business owners will be able to see what is done till now and with the feedback, they can make sure that further work is delivered with more efficiency. The visualization will be very helpful, and the team members will be able to see results with each iteration.
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Synchronization
As we know that there are many teams working towards the same goal, and there are many members in the team, so it becomes difficult at times to find that synchronization in the overall team. But with these regular ceremonies, the reiteration of that common goal is done, and this makes sure that everyone is on the same page.
Also Read: Implementing SAFe in Lean Enterprises
Less prescriptive
The framework itself is less prescriptive and with the time and management of the project, things progress on their own. These ceremonies are there but the most important ones are- inspect and adapt as this will help the team the most. The ceremonies can be as long as it demands, and they can be planned as per the need of the project. This gives flexibility along with the major benefits of having a SAFe framework in the organization.
As these are some of the benefits that the team will have with these ceremonies, but there are certain things that are needed to be taken care of when you are working with these. Timing these ceremonies is needed along with knowing who should be present in those ceremonies. This will make sure that everyone is aware of when they are needed and that they know their role in the ceremonies. Also, make sure that the things discussed in these ceremonies are well documented.
Final words
We have discovered that there are many ways that the team can have a better understanding of what is going on in the project and how they can ensure timely goal deliverability. But with SAFe ceremonies, these tasks become streamlined. These ceremonies are very important and give a framework to the working in the team.
So, if you think that this will be something of your interest, then going for SAFe certification will be the right path for you. You can find the best platform online where you can learn all about this framework and find the best pathway for yourself. With SAFe training and certification, many doors will open for you. So, choose the right place. With StarAgile you will get the best safe certification and learn from the best. So, start now and have a bright career for yourself in no time.
